Becoming a writer is the process of acquiring skills. Many of these skills are directly related to writing. Skill in grammar, spelling, scene structure, descriptive language, characterization, and plot structure are all obvious necessities of the craft of writing. A less obvious skill is being able to receive criticism and use it wisely. I am still growing as a writer and I will be unable to grow in necessary ways unless I am able to accept criticism and glean useful information from it. Criticism can be painful, so I’ve developed a set of guidelines for myself to help me use criticism constructively.
Critics will see problems with my story that I do not see. I know what I meant to say, but a critic will only see what I actually said. I need to listen when my critic is confused or frustrated by what I wrote.
Criticism must come from two or more sources before I accept it as valid. If a criticism is made that I agree with, then I have my two sources and a change needs to be made. If I disagree with a criticism, I hold onto it to see if any of my other critics comment on the same thing.
If I have two critics with the same complaint, I compare the two critics. If they are both male computer tech guys who write high fantasy, then I can probably count those as a single complaint. However if the same complaint comes from a computer tech fantasy guy and a stay at home mom non-writer, then I should pay close attention to the complaint and change something even if I like it the way it is.
I need to have a waiting period between receiving a critique and responding to it. I should always thank the critics for the time they spent, whether or not I agree with the opinions or make any of the changes they suggest.
An insightful critic is a gem, and should be treasured as such.
Another factor which I use to decide whether to make the changes a critic suggests, is a comparison between the critic and my intended audience. If I am writing for children and the critic complains that the work is too simplistic/childish, that may actually be good news.
That, there, is a very clear explanation of what a -critic- should be supplying.
Thanks for that, I may refer a few people in this direction 🙂
That, there, is a very clear explanation of what a -critic- should be supplying.
Thanks for that, I may refer a few people in this direction 🙂
An interesting thought was given to me by another writer recently, and I think it might help to add it to your rules as well, perhaps with a bit of modification:
Triage your critics. There are people who will love your work no matter what you write. Use them for moral support, but not criticism. There are people who will hate your work no matter what you write. Don’t use them at all. Then there are people in the middle, who will be impressed if you write well and unimpressed if you don’t.
This was given to me as advice about not accepting validation of a persuasive argument from people who already agree with me; it might hold well when applied to criticism and/or moral support.
It sounds like you’re feeling your way forward towards being able to separate loving your story and being able to amputate or replace unnecessary parts of it. My Grandmother, who was an award-winning journalist, split the concepts of preserving self-esteem and being willing to accept an editor’s advice:
1. Can’t nobody judge you if you don’t let ’em.
2. Sometimes you gotta murder your babies.
Good luck!
An interesting thought was given to me by another writer recently, and I think it might help to add it to your rules as well, perhaps with a bit of modification:
Triage your critics. There are people who will love your work no matter what you write. Use them for moral support, but not criticism. There are people who will hate your work no matter what you write. Don’t use them at all. Then there are people in the middle, who will be impressed if you write well and unimpressed if you don’t.
This was given to me as advice about not accepting validation of a persuasive argument from people who already agree with me; it might hold well when applied to criticism and/or moral support.
It sounds like you’re feeling your way forward towards being able to separate loving your story and being able to amputate or replace unnecessary parts of it. My Grandmother, who was an award-winning journalist, split the concepts of preserving self-esteem and being willing to accept an editor’s advice:
1. Can’t nobody judge you if you don’t let ’em.
2. Sometimes you gotta murder your babies.
Good luck!