'good' literaure is subjective cos the onus lies with the receiver/reader. our perceptions would never be the same,just like it is with the critiques that we post.
Since you used the word "literature" as opposed to simply "writing" or "storytelling." I am going to assume that you are looking for the distinction between fiction as great art versus fiction as great entertainment. The book I am currently working on is one I hope to craft into great entertainment, but I have no illusions that what I am writing will make the annals of great literature. I'm perfectly cool with that, because my goal is to write something that turns on the reader, gets them immersed in the story and characters, propels them through the pages, and leaves them saying: "Wow! That was fun!" But great literature shoots at a different target. It brings a level of craft, insight, and artistry to the printed page that takes the most sophisticated reader (the one who has been reading all that other great literature) to a place where they are moved in ways they have never been moved before and brought to insights that they have never been brought to before. The reason that this level of writing isn't always at the top of the New York Times Bestseller list and is never at your local grocery store is simple: It's going to appeal to a smaller set of highly demanding readers. They're not browsing the grocery stores--they are reading the critiques in the New York Review of Books. As one classical music expert once explained: "Do I view classical music as better than rock-n-roll? No, I don't view it as better; I view it as different. I love rock, but I expect completely different things from rock than I do from classical." I think the same can be said for fiction that seeks to entertain well versus fiction that seeks to create the experiences and unveil the insights of great literature. Which is not to say that I take my writing any less seriously because I view it as entertainment rather than literature. Entertaining well is hard work, and you have to take what you are doing seriously.
