This blog post was going to be long, but as I was finishing it up, I realized all my advice could be summed up under one point:
Nut up and take criticism in the spirit it is intended.
There is no worse writer than one who thinks his or her work is above reproach. It’s not. Ever. The best thing you can do as a writer, no matter your experience, is learn how to take people’s criticism in the spirit it is intended. Are there occasions when people tear your writing to shreds just to be jerks? Absolutely. But you know what? 99% of the time, when people tell writers what they liked and didn’t like about their work, it’s meant in a spirit of helping. Getting huffy and defensive about your work when someone is genuinely trying to help? Makes you a bad writer. Be willing to listen to people’s responses to your work, and be willing to ask for clarification on the issues.
Say, for example, you’re told that one of your characters is annoying. Ask for specific details. What did the character do that came off as annoying? What did the character do that didn’t come off as annoying? What recommendations do people have for fixing the problems they see with your character? If the character was actually meant to be annoying, defend yourself. But do it calmly. If you’re not getting yelled at, you don’t get to yell at other people. Accept the fact that just because you really, really like what you’ve written doesn’t mean other people will immediately think it’s perfect. Editing is the lifeblood of a good writer, and a willingness to listen to input is how you improve your writing.
If you can’t handle people being honest about your work, you can’t handle being a writer. Anything else you can do, any other skills you can learn to improve your writing, are absolutely useless in the face of you not being able to nut up and listen when people genuinely want to help you improve your work. You are not the be-all-end-all of modern writing. People are not out to get you when they try to help you write better. If you ask for truth and get it, and then turn around and say people don’t get you? You’re a bad writer.
There are certainly many things you can do to improve your writing beyond this, and I’m sure other people in this blogfest have covered everything from grammar to style to trusting your instincts, but for me, this is the be all end all: Nut up or get out.
Good advice. Criticism can be hard to take but in this game criticism usually means an improvement in your work…:)
I’ve spent a lot of time listening to a lot of writers complain how much they hate critique, and I always ask, “So, what’d you change?”
I prefer, crave honesty actually in all things, also in life in general. The worst, worst thing is when people who have read your work aren’t honest.
A guy I know finally told me what he thought 3 months after I had published an article in a newspaper after being very evasive the first time and i asked him incredulous: “Why didn’t you tell me that before? I told you to be absolutely honest with me, that you wouldn’t hurt my feelings or anything.”
He didn’t have an answer for me. I think it has a bit to do with general dishonesty in current society.
I don’t think it’s dishonesty that causes people to hold back. I think there’s a lot of concern about being mean or hurting someone’s feelings that really causes a lot of people to pull their punches. Critique is difficult for people because no matter how much you tell them you want the full-out truth, it can feel like being mean. Me? I’ve got a skin like an alligator’s hide, and as long as we’re on-topic about what needs work and how to fix it, you’re not going to offend me. Take a left turn into a personal attack, and I’ll throw it back in your face, but I won’t lose my cool if what I’m getting is useful, no matter how much the person doing the criticism isn’t a fan of what I wrote.
Lately I’ve had people hate my stuff so much they wouldn’t even say why. I literally had one person get up and leave after basically saying “this sucks.”
Well I know it doesn’t suck so I didn’t take it personally but I still think as a critiquer, if you don’t like something, at least explain why.
An explanation for a reaction is one of the base necessities of good critique. I made a point to tell the new writers to get clarifications because I’ve had critique experiences where people have just said, “I didn’t like it,” or “I didn’t like X,” and give no follow-up. I’ve also been lucky enough to know plenty of people who will give you exact reasons why something you did didn’t work. It’s not always a perfect process, but it’s a necessary one.
I think you’re right, but I would assume that sometimes we don’t critique strongly because we don’t have confidence in our own opinion.
We ought to share it more freely and deliver it with positive feedback, too. Sometimes work isn’t good or bad. It just doesn’t do anything for us. Show a writer, which part of their work did “do it.”
There are too many writers (I know from taking articles on my site) who say be brutal, then they argue with you. Actually, I’ve been guilty of this at one time.
So, when in doubt deliver a poo poo sandwich:
What I liked <top layer
What sucked so bad I can't believe you had me read it. <the poo
Reiterate what writer did well and why<bottom layer
Thanks for this post. Glad you made it to blogfest
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I’m with you the sandwich to a certain point. I think it works really well when working with people who aren’t used to critique, but I’m very much the type to just want to get to what doesn’t work. Because, usually, when someone tells you what doesn’t work, they let you know without saying anything what doesn’t.
There’s definitely a fear of our own opinions that comes along with critique, I think. I really think people think it’s mean to offer any negative feedback, which is why some critique sessions can be such a drag.
I’m glad I could participate!
I enjoyed it!
I almost did my blogfest post on this very topic, but ended up going with something else, I did give it a brief mention at the end though. I think being able to take critique and use it to improve your writing is really important to improving your craft. I remember a few years back I thought I was an awesome writer and would get defensive whenever someone picked flaws in my writing. I got over it, learned to take people’s criticisms and work on my craft. I’m a much better writer for it.
I think it’s a rule you have to start out certain you’re fully awesome in order to understand the work that goes into being a writer. Getting the wind knocked out of your sails hurts, but damned if it doesn’t teach you a few things along the way.
this is a great advice for all the creative people out there. Knowing how to take criticism is a great skill. Other great skill is knowing how to get an honest critique, as many people we approach to read our stories will not readily response with what we need to hear as a feedback.
Third one would be how to draw a line between what should be edited and what shall we fight for. Recently, I asked a friend of mine with a degree in English to proofread one of my blog posts. I am aware that my English is far from good so I really benefit from her input. But things went very bad when she started editing my sentences “over the line”. I am journalist and feel very comfortable with editors cutting and rephrasing my text. That’s part of the job. But what she actually did was changing the tone of the story. And I had to fight for it, even if I was aware that the original is highly irregular.
I completely agree, and I’m planning to cover that in-depth in another blog post. I have a degree in Professional Writing, and I’m hoping to edit books for a living, so I spend a lot of time reminding myself that my voice is MINE, and the author’s voice is THEIRS.