Negative Reviews
Today I read a fantastic article by toxic_apiaceae called The Positives of a Negative Review. Though this may seem like a strange article to like so much it has much to do with how I move through my writing.
I really began to write what I consider my real work when I was in college. I wrote and wrote and wrote and then in my Junior year, or rather my first year of going after my bachelors after getting my associates I helped to start a writer's group at Utah State University. Thus began what I see as my revisionist period. This was a point in my writing where I think much of what I wrote became better than it had been. I really took a deep look at my writing and came back to it often to review and revise. I also took much of it to my writer's group and had it critiqued. It was here that I fell in love with what toxic_apiaceae refers to as the negative review, I thought of it as a good tough critique. I reveled in this time of my writing, though I do think that some of my better work came out of me later I do think that I was doing things with my work at that point that really made it better than it had been at first.
And I took what I learned with me when I moved away from USU, however I lost a writer's group and that caused me sorrow. I didn't realize it at the time but a good writer's group where you get honest good critiques is a rare thing and finding one can be very difficult.
Which is why I love toxic_apiaceae's article so much. Mostly because it is so true. When writing a good tough critique is often so necessary to bring your work to that next level. I think this is a big reason why it has been difficult for me to stay with many writer's groups. Inevitably you find a great group of people who have nothing but good things to say, which is awesome for one’s ego, but does nothing to improve your work. And it is then that your masochistic side kicks in and you begin to really yearn for someone to come along and rip your work a new one, just so that you can see where you might improve your writing.
Just my thoughts on the matter, based off past experiences and the fact that I am happy to have now found a writer’s group that has what I need.
I really began to write what I consider my real work when I was in college. I wrote and wrote and wrote and then in my Junior year, or rather my first year of going after my bachelors after getting my associates I helped to start a writer's group at Utah State University. Thus began what I see as my revisionist period. This was a point in my writing where I think much of what I wrote became better than it had been. I really took a deep look at my writing and came back to it often to review and revise. I also took much of it to my writer's group and had it critiqued. It was here that I fell in love with what toxic_apiaceae refers to as the negative review, I thought of it as a good tough critique. I reveled in this time of my writing, though I do think that some of my better work came out of me later I do think that I was doing things with my work at that point that really made it better than it had been at first.
And I took what I learned with me when I moved away from USU, however I lost a writer's group and that caused me sorrow. I didn't realize it at the time but a good writer's group where you get honest good critiques is a rare thing and finding one can be very difficult.
Which is why I love toxic_apiaceae's article so much. Mostly because it is so true. When writing a good tough critique is often so necessary to bring your work to that next level. I think this is a big reason why it has been difficult for me to stay with many writer's groups. Inevitably you find a great group of people who have nothing but good things to say, which is awesome for one’s ego, but does nothing to improve your work. And it is then that your masochistic side kicks in and you begin to really yearn for someone to come along and rip your work a new one, just so that you can see where you might improve your writing.
Just my thoughts on the matter, based off past experiences and the fact that I am happy to have now found a writer’s group that has what I need.