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| Photo credit: Roxanne Cooke on Flickr |
This will make sense in a moment. Bear with me.
Last week, fellow awesomesauce writer/twitterer Daniel
Swensen (@surlymuse) wrote a
post about taking
criticism gracefully. I recommend the post both for its insightfulness and
his masterful way with dry wit and humor, but I digress.
The post reminded me that taking writing criticism
gracefully has never been much of a problem for me—and that’s not because I
have the patience of a Tibetan monk (I don’t) or because I’m a particularly
graceful person (let’s not even pretend). The reason I’ve been able to take
much of the writing criticism I’ve received in stride is, in fact, largely due
to my competitive nature.
You see, when I receive a manuscript or chapter from a
critique partner dripping with red ink, I don’t see it as a mountain load of
work (even though, let’s face it, it usually is) or as another chore I have to
now complete. To me, a manuscript that’s been ripped apart by my most difficult
and nit-picky critique partner is a challenge. The red ink dares me to be
better and the notes are arrows giving me a not-so-gentle nudges to a much
improved manuscript.
When I see weaknesses pointed out in my WIP, something riles
up inside me challenging me to do better, to be better, to make this WIP the
very best it can be. I “compete” so-to-speak, with my desire to submit the
manuscript for publication now now now
and the part of me that is exhausted from years of work on a single story with
the perfectionist, challenge-seeking part of me that loves nothing more than to
rip the weaknesses out of my work until I’m confident it has reached its
potential.
I also adopt the same attitude when critique another
writer’s work—to me, when a writer hands over a chapter or manuscript for
critique, they’re challenging me to find the weaknesses (I know that’s not
actually the case, but try telling that to my competitive side). This can sometimes make me
a rather nit-picky critique partner, but I digress.
Now that’s not to say that I don’t get tired of doing
revision after revision after revision only to have a critique partner tell me
that it’s nowhere near ready. That’s not to say that sometimes I don’t feel
like Sisyphus, forever pushing that boulder up the hill, with no end in sight. That’s
not to say that sometimes this writer thing doesn’t feel ridiculously hard and
I wonder if I’ll ever get published at all.
We all have those moments at one time or another. But that’s
when we have to ask ourselves what kind of writer we want to be: one who buries
his head in the sand and ignores the need to improve, perfectly content with
his current writing ability or one who strives to continuously be better.
I for one choose the latter, even when it’s the more painful
and exhausting option of the two. And a good critique partner can certainly
help you get there.
How do you handle tough critiques?
In the past couple years, tough critiques have absolutely inspired me to solve problems, approach my stories differently and rewrite. And my story is always better for it! I say, bring it on!
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to your competitive side!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Tough critiques are a blessing in disguise. :)
ReplyDeleteKnew I wasn't the only competitive writer out there. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way with tough critiques. I see it as a challenge and a push for me to do better.
ReplyDeleteIt's very difficult to see what needs fixing in your own writing. When a good critique partner points out problems, it's definitely a push to improve.
ReplyDeleteAs odd as it sounds, most people can love tough critiques with the right delivery. I just spent the evening hearing how big a dope I am at work, but phrased in such a supportive, encouraging way that I felt like I'd had the most productive day of the year. Imagine all the time that shan't be wasted like that again! Even the notoriously thin-skinned can be caught caring more about the outcome than protecting the ego.
ReplyDeleteI love harsh critique too. Of course, I love it when someone says my work is great, but the scathing reviews I can learn from. I would love a manuscript dripping in red ink too as then I would know exactly what I need to fix. What I hate, is when there is a section of my story that doesn't quite work and I don't know why. Part of me is too lazy to fix it and another part of me is afraid that if I rewrite this bit that I will unittingly unravel all the cool subplots and running jokes I sneak in. I'll assume something I wrote and then deleted is there and then realise it isn't. But it is a challenge and great when I get it sorted.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that the way the critique is presented can make all the difference. It can still be difficult to accept at times, but the right delivery can make even the harshest critique a little easier to swallow.
ReplyDeleteThat feeling of knowing something is off, but not being sure what that something is can be rather frustrating, but usually with enough feedback (or staring at it long enough) you can start to get an idea as to how to fix it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rewriting bit, have you tried writing down those subplot points and running jokes before you start rewriting? I've sometimes found that if I need to remember to include something, it can be helpful to make a list of what to include before I start writing, then refer to it while I'm working on the scene.
Preaching to the choir here! I love getting solid feedback from editors. It's humbling and changeling and like you said, it dares you to be better. I myself am a really harsh editor because I truly believe it's the best thing you can do for a writer. And learning to embrace the red ink is the best thing any writer can do for themselves. Thanks so much for the great post!
ReplyDeleteOf course, Christelle! I agree 100% that learning to embrace a critique (or, I should say, a lot of critiques) is one of the best things a writer can do to improve. The more you learn about how to improve your writing through critiques and revisions, the more you'll internalize it and further enhance your skills as a writer. There's a reason the first draft you ever write for your first WIP is nowhere near as good as the first draft you write for your fourth or fifth WIP.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind word, Ava, and I agree completely. I love tough criticism. It shows the reader engaged with the materials and they care!
ReplyDeleteI think I will in future if I find myself in that position again (I say 'if'i really mean 'when') but I don't plan like that before writing. My subplots tend to happen organically as I am writing.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Dan--it was well deserved. I like your take on criticism--very true that if a critique partner or beta reader took the time to give you a thoughtful critique, it's because they care and think it has potential to be even better.
ReplyDeleteRight, I meant more before you rewrite as you said you worried you would lose something from the original version during a rewrite--unless I misunderstood what you meant...
ReplyDelete