[PUBLIC POST] Criticisms of your writing

[ljwrites]

To members: Sorry I completely forgot about this week's midweek Open Chat. I was going to space it out from the last one, and then I got absent-minded, and now it's a bit too late. I'll resume next week, and schedule a post in advance so I don't forget.

To everyone: Let's talk about criticism, specifically criticism of your writing. Some questions to get you started:

- How do you generally respond to negative feedback?
- What's a piece of critical feedback that was painful to you?
- Did criticism help you, and how?
- What was an unhelpful piece of criticism?
- Have you make any changes in response to negative feedback?
- What do you think constitutes helpful negative feedback?
- Giving criticism can be as tricky as receiving it. Do you have any techniques for giving effective criticism?

Feel free to answer one or more of these questions, or to relate any other anecdotes or thoughts about critical feedback.

We'll cheer ourselves up next week with the flip side of this post, positive feedback, so stay tuned for that!

Comments

[ljwrites]

(Username and icon love!)

Ha, I relate to this so much: I sometimes need a break after negative feedback, too. I find myself resistant at first, and it's often only after taking a little time off that I can open my mind to it, whether I end up agreeing with the critique in the end or not. To me what matters is not so much whether I accept the criticism or not, but that I not come from a place of ego and defensiveness in my response. And my first reaction almost always is that of ego.

You give very fitting examples of destructive criticism (also HUGS if you want them, both instances are just awful). I think "why aren't you catering to my specific tastes?" is a leading example of critique that should be ignored. Also, congrats on ignoring the haters and getting your story published! XD

My philosophy of giving critique is similar to yours; I always try to point out the good with the bad, and if I find myself being relentlessly negative I try to cool down and explore why, since much like your writing buddies I may be using criticisms of the story to work out issues that have nothing to do with the quality of the story. And sometimes "if you can't say anything nice..." applies and I simply click the back button or otherwise decline to comment.

I'm so with you on the necessity of criticism if one wants to grow as a writer. The question is how to give and receive it in a constructive way. The funny thing is, I often find that the criticism I was the most initially resistant to is the most helpful in the end, since these are likelier to target entrenched problems that I am more defensive of.

[warqueenfuriosa]

(EEEE thank you!! :D Furiosa is so badass awesome *HEART EYES*)

Your excellent reply got me thinking. Even if the feedback isn't helpful, or it's just plain negative all around, it's still a learning experience. You still get a tougher skin (ALWAYS helpful). You still learn to dismiss whatever isn't useful for you and better focus your energies. And even if the critique leaves you defensive, as long as the seed has been planted, you'll still revisit it at some point in the future to better your writing (when you're more ready to hear it maybe).

So in a way, no matter what feedback you might get, you still get something out of it that will change you and your writing. (But it's still not pleasant to go through :P )