Well-written stories aren't that rare. Unless my interest is very uncommon, I can likely find well-written stories about it rather easily. So the well-written story about stuff that doesn't interest me isn't likely to frustrate me... I'll just skip it.
If I like a theme/topic, I'm likely attached enough to it that I will find bad handling of it irritating or depressing, even if there is that possibility of going elsewhere to find a better written thing. If I like the topic I want to read as much about it as I can, so while it doesn't negate the well written stories it does give me false high expectations and then disappointment. I won't be disappointed if a topic I find boring has badly written stories, because I don't especially care about it.
I think there's also a nuance between mere "well-written" and "makes me identify with/understand at a gut level/care about things I usually wouldn't give a damn about." In that case, I might be interested in the first, but it would still be an exception to my usual reading list, something I read to take a break or merely because someone I know wants to talk about it and recommended it; it does not follow that I would be interested in other similar stories on my own.
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Date: 7 Feb 2011 08:53 am (UTC)If I like a theme/topic, I'm likely attached enough to it that I will find bad handling of it irritating or depressing, even if there is that possibility of going elsewhere to find a better written thing. If I like the topic I want to read as much about it as I can, so while it doesn't negate the well written stories it does give me false high expectations and then disappointment. I won't be disappointed if a topic I find boring has badly written stories, because I don't especially care about it.
I think there's also a nuance between mere "well-written" and "makes me identify with/understand at a gut level/care about things I usually wouldn't give a damn about." In that case, I might be interested in the first, but it would still be an exception to my usual reading list, something I read to take a break or merely because someone I know wants to talk about it and recommended it; it does not follow that I would be interested in other similar stories on my own.