Good writing is extremely hard to define as there’s a level of subjectivity to it. It’s easy to know what good math is, because you either get the right answer or you get a wrong one. But writing is different. I could read a book and think it’s the best thing I’ve ever read, and you could read the exact same book and think it’s the worst thing you’ve ever read. So, was the book good or bad?

It’s hard to define what good writing is, but it’s fun to try. That’s why people study English at school, host book clubs, or publish book reviews. There are opinions on pretty much everything that’s ever been written. There are some pieces of writing that have more unanimous opinions, but there’s no single text that has good reviews across the board. Take for instance Shakespeare, he’s worshipped by English fanatics, though if you ask the average high schooler, they’ll say he sucks. On the other hand, there’s widely enjoyed writing that literary critics rip apart, like Hallmark movies.

If you can’t trust public opinion, what can you trust? Well, all the years people have spent studying English haven’t been a total waste, there are some general principles of good writing that aren’t up for debate:

Theme: The piece must say something important, and it needs to be communicated in a way that resonates with the reader.
Originality: Is the theme being conveyed in a new, creative manner, or is it just rehashing countless other texts?
Wording: The words have to be strung together in a way that makes sense. They should also utilize literary devices that bring a semblance of poetry to the piece, to demonstrates cleverness, and the beauty of language (Not every sentence needs to do this, but there should be a good number of them that do).
Plot Structure: Events have to happen for a reason, and they need to occur in an order that’s coherent. There should be a beginning, middle, and end. You can experiment with the format, but these need to be present.

When a text doesn’t have any of these, it’s safe to consider it bad writing. When it does, it should be considered good writing. You don’t have to like a piece of writing in order to consider it good. There are lots of books that I’ve read that I did not enjoy one bit, but I recognized that they were well written. I’ve also read and enjoyed many books that I would not consider to be good writing.

Subjectivity is natural in a field vastly dependent on public opinion. But there are some concrete aspects that makes writing good. So don’t get too discouraged if someone doesn’t like your piece. And don’t get too cocky if someone does. Always examine your piece with objectivity.