Dealing with criticism

[raven_estrella]

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 "

Comments

[raven_estrella]

Wow. You're so right. I think I do need to recognize the difference between objective and subjective criticism. So much of what comes out in workshops is subjective. I hate the feedback that runs something like this: "Why not change your ending to make the main character go off a cliff? Why not have her do ___? I think you should add a party scene..." etc, etc. It's not helpful at all. Because following that kind of feedback would mean going against the current of my own thoughts. It's like trying to conform to somebody else's personality.

There are probably cases where plot can be improved, and that's where the line between objective and subjective gets really blurry. It's just hard to tell what's subjective or objective as far as plot is concerned. That's probably when I should follow your advice and make sure the critic can justify what they're saying. "Just because..." Ugh. I hate that.

I also hate it when the criticism is exactly what I predicted for a particular story. On one of my recent stories, I just KNEW people were going to make certain comments. And they did. It seemed shallow and narrow-minded. I've also had it happen where I get overwhelmingly positive feedback and one person decides to overcriticize. When only one person is really ripping it to shreds, that's a big clue that they're biased somehow.

I'm a little disappointed that my professor didn't comment on constructive versus destructive kinds of feedback, but the bottom line is this: I can choose to take somebody's advice or forget about it completely.

[pink_siamese]

There are places where the line between subjective and objective, and when you come across those places you have to trust your instinct. One thing you don't want to do is let other people's opinions truncate your author's voice. Reviews are valuable tools, but you can't let reviewers steamroll your story.

I posted a story awhile back and the feedback I got is a perfect example of what I'm talking about: the reviews were all anonymous and they were divided right down the middle. Readers either loved it or they hated it. One person's "brilliant, evocative use of vocabulary and superb building of tension through dialogue" was another person's "pretentious, windy, and too many big boring words." At first I was startled, and then I was pleased--such a love/hate reaction means that the story strikes a powerful chord, and that alone is an achievement. I knew it wasn't going to work for everyone. I mean, can you honestly think of any one author that everyone likes?

I think it was Shakespeare who said, "You can't please all the readers all the time, but you really ought to please some of the readers some of the time." If it's good enough for Will S. it's good enough for me. ;-)

[raven_estrella]

That's right! : )

And you're spot-on to say that you can't please everyone. It's just impossible. People's personalities and opinions just differ too much. It's not anybody's fault. But f you try to follow everyone's feedback, you'll end up with a story that's an absolute incoherent mess. You've got to give it some sort of spine. Sorry, but I'm not going to pretend I'm somebody else to write a story that they like better. That applies to my professor, too. His feedback hasn't been terribly helpful so far.

I often tell myself the same thing when there's a love/hate thing going on with my story. At least it got people going. That means I succeeded in conveying an impact.

I often think, "OK. So you don't like my story? YOU try writing it. I probably wouldn't like yours as much as I like mine."

Another thing I hate: I keep a journal, and ever since I started taking this class, I feel like my professors and peers are sitting over my shoulder to criticize my personal writing.

[pink_siamese]

They probably are. And I say fuck 'em. But I'm kind of outspoken like that. ;-)

Criticism can be a very helpful thing, but it's all for naught if the criticism isn't coming from the right place. I mean, I'll be harsh if I have to be harsh, but when I've been harsh I've always been ready to defend myself because I must hold myself to the standards I expect to see in other people.

Some of it has to do with confidence, and acquiring confidence takes time. It has to be earned. Once you have the confidence it's easier to shake off the "Well I didn't like your story just because!" kind of comments.

Something to consider is audience, too. Who is your story's intended audience? Nine times out of ten it's not your creative writing class. You're really going to speedbump over personal biases in a situation like that. Whereas if you joined a writing group for other sci-fi/romance/western/erotic/fill-in-genre-here writers you're more likely to hit your target audience and get some feedback that really helps you.

[raven_estrella]

Your advice is really helping, especially since one of my stories got totally RIPPED TO PIECES in class the other day. I had been so excited about it. But the critiques were amazingly harsh. We spend 45 minutes critiquing each person's story, so I basically had to sit there and listen to people bash my story--and me--for almost an hour. Then we took a break, and people still wouldn't stop lecturing me. My story must have been unbelievably bad. Either that or everyone is ganging up on me for some reason. It helps me to know that every student's story was run through the gauntlet, but still. And my professor isn't the most sensitive person on the planet.

I felt like I was being punished or yelled at for some huge transgression, like driving drunk or stealing. I knew I shouldn't have looked forward to my class so much. Underneath my anticipation, I had a feeling it would be an ordeal. I honestly don't know how I'm going to get through critique next week. Probably by remembering your advice, for which I thank you profusely. I just need to put all this in perspective.

[pink_siamese]

Would you like me to look at your story?

[raven_estrella]

You can if you'd like, but you certainly don't have to. At this point I've had several friends look at it, and I think it's just a disaster. I'm going to revise it in a couple of months. Let me know if you want to read it now. Thanks for your willingness to help.

[pink_siamese]

Sure, I'll look at it. If only to demonstrate all this stuff I've been yammering on about criticism. ;-)

[raven_estrella]

OK. I'll ship it on over to you!