Dealing with criticism
I'm in my fiction writing class now! So far it's been really fun. Lately, though, I've been thinking a lot about criticism--and the best way to deal with it. Obviously, criticism is built into creative writing workshops (like the one I'm in now). And creative writing workshops are a big part of my major. So I have to deal with criticism (or "feedback") on a pretty constant basis. One of my housemates is a studio art major. Workshop-based criticism is a big part of that too. The two of us have had several conversations about the value of criticism, the difficulty of taking it well, and what it does to our work. We've come to the conclusion that some kinds of criticism are more helpful than others. But we also think that people can choose to take feedback in ways that are more beneficial to them.
So I've been reconsidering the way I respond to feedback. I think I center too much of my self-esteem on writing, which makes me liable to be upset by negative feedback. By "negative feedback," you probably know what I'm talking about: "I just wasn't into your story." "I didn't connect with the main character." "Your story was too long." "Your story didn't have enough substance...." And so on. In past fiction writing workshops, I haven't handled criticism in a very good way. I get all disappointed and end up wanting to throw my entire story in the wastebasket. I always think that criticism makes my story worthless. I just give up. I'm getting a lot better about this, but I'm still curious: How do you handle negative feedback when you get it? How do you move forward with your work after hearing criticism?
I'm trying to focus on the helpful aspects of criticism. That said, I stand by my opinion that some kinds of criticism are just plain destructive. One thing I don't like about creative writing workshops is the fact that the criticism never seems to stop. I think it's because people are looking for any and all possible flaws in the work. You reach a point where you just want to let it rest--and have it be YOUR story, not anybody else's. It's often hard to distinguish between the critic's personal preference and something you actually need to change.
Then there are the people in the workshop who never point out the positives before the negatives. They seem to delight in focusing on the negatives only. To me, they seem arrogant. I guess they feel accomplished and smart when they put everyone else's work down. Creative writing workshops would be a lot better without these people. What are your thoughts on workshops?
So I've been reconsidering the way I respond to feedback. I think I center too much of my self-esteem on writing, which makes me liable to be upset by negative feedback. By "negative feedback," you probably know what I'm talking about: "I just wasn't into your story." "I didn't connect with the main character." "Your story was too long." "Your story didn't have enough substance...." And so on. In past fiction writing workshops, I haven't handled criticism in a very good way. I get all disappointed and end up wanting to throw my entire story in the wastebasket. I always think that criticism makes my story worthless. I just give up. I'm getting a lot better about this, but I'm still curious: How do you handle negative feedback when you get it? How do you move forward with your work after hearing criticism?
I'm trying to focus on the helpful aspects of criticism. That said, I stand by my opinion that some kinds of criticism are just plain destructive. One thing I don't like about creative writing workshops is the fact that the criticism never seems to stop. I think it's because people are looking for any and all possible flaws in the work. You reach a point where you just want to let it rest--and have it be YOUR story, not anybody else's. It's often hard to distinguish between the critic's personal preference and something you actually need to change.
Then there are the people in the workshop who never point out the positives before the negatives. They seem to delight in focusing on the negatives only. To me, they seem arrogant. I guess they feel accomplished and smart when they put everyone else's work down. Creative writing workshops would be a lot better without these people. What are your thoughts on workshops?