Handling Critique & Criticism: July 'Challenges' Week 4

Critique, one of the most important parts of the writing process, is often daunting to newcomers and old-hats alike. Additionally, the fear of rejection is often wrapped up in critique and tied into the fear of failure. As both critique and criticism are important for every writer to experience and grow accustomed to, it's important to understand the purpose of both, and how to best prepare yourself to face the fear of failure.

The first thing I want to address here is actually the culture in which we (or I) live. American culture values 'being right' and 'being good at' what we do. Many Americans grow up buying into a productive and perfectionist mindset - that they must always be producing, and that the things that they produce must be good. This cultural value can be good in some respects, but often leaves us with a fear of failure - a fear of 'being wrong' or not 'being good at' what we are trying to do. This creates an insecurity when trying new things - especially things that we are not immediately good at. In many cases, people who don't immediately succeed are driven to quit or 'give up'. But almost no one is inherently great at fiction writing. Each of us needs to spend a lot of time being not-so-great, so that we can learn, grow, and develop our voices as writers.

The first thing we might need to overcome is our own mindsets towards productivity and perfectionism. As we enter the field of writing, we must set and manage healthy expectations, rather than setting up impossible ones. We are all imperfect writers when we start. Release the idea that you have to be good, perfect, or right, and get started anyways. Invest the time, and eventually, you'll look back on a long history of growth.

Before you begin taking critique from others, practice with critique of the self. Allow yourself to look back over old work and drafts - whether hours, weeks, or months later. Practice self-critique by examining your work and making your own improvements. Find what you like about your own writing - your voice, perhaps your meter or style, or specific skills, like dialogue or description. Additionally, identify the areas in which you could most improve. Take some creative risks by re-writing or drafting small pieces. I actually recommend focusing on short fiction, even if your desire is to some day write longform, because by writing short fiction, you can more easily draft and revise full pieces, building good habits of writing, editing, and possibly even publishing.

There's two ways to arrive at what comes next, which is taking critique from others. One route is this: somewhere along the way, you're going to start having fun with your first draft, and with your second draft. Mistakes will become a thing you shrug off, or laugh off. You'll have a few bad pieces and you might not even care. Once you're there, it means you're no longer worried about perfection, and you are ready for the advice of others - because of the opportunity you can see there, rather than the possible judgement. The other route is - a piece or several pieces you're working on just won't feel right, and you really, really want them to be better. In fact, you're so ready for this, you want to throw it at anyone, and regardless of what they have to say, you want to hear it. Tada. Both are totally fine ways to arrive at the realization that it's time for external critique. If you're curious and ready to put aside your own ego as the writer, then you're ready for the real critique coming from others.

It's important, here, to recognize the differences between critique and criticism. Critique is, "a detailed analysis and assessment of something, especially a literary, philosophical, or political theory," and, in writing-related settings, is often thought of as a healthy dialogue - whether between you and individual beta-readers, or a conversation in a workshop setting (which typically is held without the author's input for the fist round of discussion). Critiques like these include reactions to the work, the characters, the pacing - particular 'loves' within the piece, as well as targeted feedback. Mostly, targeted feedback sounds something like, 'this bit felt off,' or 'the dialogue felt clunky here,' or 'I just didn't relate to this character, maybe because of...'. Notably, these are observations, and don't give the author direct suggestions on how to fix it. It's just an assessment the author can respond to. If you are looking for direct suggestions, you might need to ask - but often, as much as others might make suggestions, they aren't going to be exactly right, and you, the author, are going to have to find your own way forwards based on the sum of the feedback. It's also okay to revise and then un-revise; so keep your draft's history.

Criticism, by definition, sounds similar. "The analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work." However, the way we talk about critique and criticism are often different - and the word 'judgement' has a lot to do with that. Criticism is inherently a bit harsher - both to give, and to receive. The 'merits' are often not what we first think of when we hear 'criticism.' We think first of the faults. If you've really got an idea you love, be ready to see it through all of the 'criticism'. Hopefully, you get constructive criticism throughout the process - because reconning with the criticism a piece receives allows you to respond by either making changes, or accepting that this part of the piece is an 'un-changeable' part of the work, and you're going to hold your ground on it.

Let's dig into an example. You write a piece of fiction about a girl and her difficult relationship with her father, and how that relationship changes during a summer backpacking trip. You bring it in to critique; generally, you get a lot of positive feedback about the overall plot, the characters, some symbolism you used is being read the way you intended. Then the constructive feedback begins. A piece of critique would be, "it felt like the characters only thought about food once or twice, and I was wondering if that was intentional," or, "I liked the specific details everywhere in the piece, but this made the fact that the car wasn't a specified detail stand out." These observations allow for a correction if desired - and in both cases, are pretty easy revisions. But then someone says, "Were you really sure about the ending? It rubbed me the wrong way." Suddenly, everyone is agreeing - the ending felt 'wrong' or too abrupt.

Maybe the abrupt ending was intentional, but it was meant to provoke a thoughtful reflection, rather than outrage or disappointment. If that's the case, it's definitely time to re-draft the ending. And if you actually meant to cause outrage or disbelief that the story was over - well, this 'criticism' is actually exactly what you wanted. There's a lot of grey area there, but as you gain experience with critique and criticism, you'll find what feedback resonates with you. Trust you gut - but never be afraid of trying a revision, either. There is always room to grow. Find what is healthy for you.

As I draw towards the conclusion, I want to encourage you to write - and write badly, so that in the future, you'll write better. See critique (and even criticism) for the opportunity it is, rather than framing feedback as judgment. Honestly, celebrate your first few 'total flops,' because they'll probably teach you something important. Overall, don't get discouraged and keep coming back. Build up your resiliency, and try, try, try again. Your writing journey doesn't have to be linear or pretty - but it has to be yours.

Happy writing!

-Sophie

P.S. If you want to read the story I based my example on, check out my short story 'Click' via Amazon or StoryShares (read for free with an account).