This time last year I was preparing to give a talk at my local library on how to handle being critiqued. Most of this was drawn from my own experience of receiving some pretty blunt critiques over the years, and the talk presented tips and techniques for getting past the pain, achieving balance and objectivity, and sifting the wheat from the chaff.
Back then, I felt this would be good to turn into an e-book to reach a wider audience. This is aimed mostly at newcomers who’ve drafted a book and are wondering what the next step might be. All too often, writers hitting this part of the journey are fearful of getting critical feedback, or don’t even realize how important it is. And, let’s face it, until you grow armor-plated skin the critiquing process can be darned painful!
This booklet is intended to help people through that hurdle.
Of course, most of this year has been taken up with getting Tiamat’s Nest out the door, but in between times I’ve been plugging away at this next project. After making good progress in the last month I’m close to finishing the first draft.
This is exciting for me because I’ve not tackled a non-fiction project before.
How has critiquing or professional editing featured in your writing? How important do you think it is, and how do you handle those painful truths that you really didn’t want to hear?
Showing posts with label Critiquing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Critiquing. Show all posts
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Being critiqued - you're the boss
Wow! I'm shocked at how long it's been since my last post. Real life is drowning me this month, mostly with end-of-school-year activities, but also doing some reading and relaxing too.
Plus pushing Tiamat's Nest through the queue on CC, critiquing, and being critiqued.
Oh, look! Back on topic!
In this mini-series on being critiqued, I've talked about the pain of hearing things you don't want to hear, some tips for recognizing comments worth paying attention to, and some cautionary tales about comments best set aside.
I want to wrap this theme up with some final thoughts.
When you put up a story for feedback in a good forum, the good news is that you'll get lots of impassioned feedback. The bad news is ... you'll get lots of impassioned feedback, and you'll have a hard time deciding what to do about it.
The hardest part of receiving critiques is developing your own judgment about what advice to accept, and what to set aside.
Regardless of all the tips and techniques for sorting the wheat from the chaff, there is one fact that you need to engrave in granite and hang on the wall above your writing space, tattoo on the back of your hand, and scribe on a large sheet of paper in mirror writing and staple to your forehead so you see it every time you gaze in the mirror wondering if it's really all worth it.
Don't ever forget it.
Some folks will tell you that you have to kill adverbs, make the MC more likeable, cut the description, throw in a love interest, rewrite the whole chapter... You must, must, must follow their advice because otherwise your manuscript sucks and they know best because you asked them for your opinion, didn't you?
Yes, you asked them their opinion, and what they gave you is exactly that - their opinion. Not law. Not inviolable edicts that you are bound - on pain of testicular separation - to follow to the letter. They gave you an opinion, which it is up to you to decide what to do with.
That doesn't mean simply ignore any advice you don't like. After all, some comments will hurt like heck but may be just what your manuscript needs.
It means exercise judgment and discretion and make a choice.
Easy to say. So hard to do well.
Plus pushing Tiamat's Nest through the queue on CC, critiquing, and being critiqued.
Oh, look! Back on topic!
In this mini-series on being critiqued, I've talked about the pain of hearing things you don't want to hear, some tips for recognizing comments worth paying attention to, and some cautionary tales about comments best set aside.
I want to wrap this theme up with some final thoughts.
When you put up a story for feedback in a good forum, the good news is that you'll get lots of impassioned feedback. The bad news is ... you'll get lots of impassioned feedback, and you'll have a hard time deciding what to do about it.
The hardest part of receiving critiques is developing your own judgment about what advice to accept, and what to set aside.
Regardless of all the tips and techniques for sorting the wheat from the chaff, there is one fact that you need to engrave in granite and hang on the wall above your writing space, tattoo on the back of your hand, and scribe on a large sheet of paper in mirror writing and staple to your forehead so you see it every time you gaze in the mirror wondering if it's really all worth it.
This is your manuscript,
and regardless of all the critiquing,
the end result is up to you.
Don't ever forget it.
Some folks will tell you that you have to kill adverbs, make the MC more likeable, cut the description, throw in a love interest, rewrite the whole chapter... You must, must, must follow their advice because otherwise your manuscript sucks and they know best because you asked them for your opinion, didn't you?
Yes, you asked them their opinion, and what they gave you is exactly that - their opinion. Not law. Not inviolable edicts that you are bound - on pain of testicular separation - to follow to the letter. They gave you an opinion, which it is up to you to decide what to do with.
That doesn't mean simply ignore any advice you don't like. After all, some comments will hurt like heck but may be just what your manuscript needs.
It means exercise judgment and discretion and make a choice.
Easy to say. So hard to do well.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Being critiqued - treading the minefield
Being critiqued can be overwhelming. I've talked about the need to pay attention to things that you might not want to hear, and not disregard painful advice out of hand. Now, I'm cautioning against the other extreme - trying to pay heed to everything.
There is a skill to scanning a critique and picking out things to take action on. An equally important skill is deciding what to ignore.
Not all advice is equal. Not all advice is good. Even good advice is not always applicable.
Here are some reasons to be cautious, and things to watch out for...
The compulsive rules junkie: This is the critiquer who likes to wave the rule book at every opportunity. Some "rules" seem to acquire inviolate tablet-of-stone status. No adverbs. No passive voice. No telling. I'm sorry, but adverbs and passive voice have their place. If I see someone embarking on a relentless mission of adverb annihilation then I can see that actual critical thought - the point of a critique - has flown the nest.
Inaccurate advice: More insidious than the blatant rules junkie is the "wrong rules junkie" - the critiquer who insists on some rule that simply isn't true. I once had someone tell me that every piece of dialogue absolutely had to start on a new line. He'd clearly misunderstood the actual rule where someone new is speaking, but was most insistent. He then went through my MS pointing out every single instance of my "error". The trouble is, that was the sum total of his critique.
Plain old unhelpful: "Boring" or "this sucks" is simply not helpful. If you make no effort to explain why something is not doing it for you, I'll probably make no effort to listen.
Personal taste: Some advice amounts to little more than personal preference. That doesn't necessarily mean it's worthless - it is a genuine reaction from a reader, after all - but neither is it gospel.
Trying to rewrite your story: Personal taste taken to extreme can lead the critiquer to try to rewrite your story how they would have written it. This is far more dangerous. Write your own darned story and leave me to get on with mine!
Wrong audience/just doesn't get it: Personal taste is especially dangerous if the critiquer is clearly far removed from your target audience. There's no problem critiquing outside your comfort zone, you can give a fresh perspective as well as general writing comments, but if you don't "get" the specific conventions of the genre then be wary. If this is a hard military sci-fi story, don't bleat about the technology or the lack of a mushy love triangle.
Wrong advice for your story: This is very hard to detect, and needs great confidence and judgment to stick to your guns. Sometimes none of the above is true, and the advice might even be good in its own way, just not right for you.
Conflicting advice: In my previous post I mentioned looking out for things several critiquers agree on. The converse is also something to watch out for. If different critiquers are leading you in conflicting directions then it's a sign you're in territory where there's no clear right answer. This is bad news if you are looking for definite advice, because you're on your own. The good news is, you're on your own. If you aren't doing anything clearly wrong, then you are free to carve your own path.
Cheerleading: It's always good to be told nice things about your story. The trouble is that if the critiquer is overly complimentary then you probably aren't getting any worthwhile advice. I am more inclined to pay attention to odd bits of praise if the critiquer has also shown no qualms about shredding bits that needed shredding. Then I know it's genuine, and not just empty cheerleading.
There is a skill to scanning a critique and picking out things to take action on. An equally important skill is deciding what to ignore.
Not all advice is equal. Not all advice is good. Even good advice is not always applicable.
Here are some reasons to be cautious, and things to watch out for...
The compulsive rules junkie: This is the critiquer who likes to wave the rule book at every opportunity. Some "rules" seem to acquire inviolate tablet-of-stone status. No adverbs. No passive voice. No telling. I'm sorry, but adverbs and passive voice have their place. If I see someone embarking on a relentless mission of adverb annihilation then I can see that actual critical thought - the point of a critique - has flown the nest.
Inaccurate advice: More insidious than the blatant rules junkie is the "wrong rules junkie" - the critiquer who insists on some rule that simply isn't true. I once had someone tell me that every piece of dialogue absolutely had to start on a new line. He'd clearly misunderstood the actual rule where someone new is speaking, but was most insistent. He then went through my MS pointing out every single instance of my "error". The trouble is, that was the sum total of his critique.
Plain old unhelpful: "Boring" or "this sucks" is simply not helpful. If you make no effort to explain why something is not doing it for you, I'll probably make no effort to listen.
Personal taste: Some advice amounts to little more than personal preference. That doesn't necessarily mean it's worthless - it is a genuine reaction from a reader, after all - but neither is it gospel.
Trying to rewrite your story: Personal taste taken to extreme can lead the critiquer to try to rewrite your story how they would have written it. This is far more dangerous. Write your own darned story and leave me to get on with mine!
Wrong audience/just doesn't get it: Personal taste is especially dangerous if the critiquer is clearly far removed from your target audience. There's no problem critiquing outside your comfort zone, you can give a fresh perspective as well as general writing comments, but if you don't "get" the specific conventions of the genre then be wary. If this is a hard military sci-fi story, don't bleat about the technology or the lack of a mushy love triangle.
Wrong advice for your story: This is very hard to detect, and needs great confidence and judgment to stick to your guns. Sometimes none of the above is true, and the advice might even be good in its own way, just not right for you.
Conflicting advice: In my previous post I mentioned looking out for things several critiquers agree on. The converse is also something to watch out for. If different critiquers are leading you in conflicting directions then it's a sign you're in territory where there's no clear right answer. This is bad news if you are looking for definite advice, because you're on your own. The good news is, you're on your own. If you aren't doing anything clearly wrong, then you are free to carve your own path.
Cheerleading: It's always good to be told nice things about your story. The trouble is that if the critiquer is overly complimentary then you probably aren't getting any worthwhile advice. I am more inclined to pay attention to odd bits of praise if the critiquer has also shown no qualms about shredding bits that needed shredding. Then I know it's genuine, and not just empty cheerleading.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Being critiqued - panning for gold
Okay, you've got a critique, preferably more than one, from people who can be trusted to be blunt and honest.
It hurt, but you got over that. Now, you need to glean some goodness out of all that commentary. After all, that's the whole point of the process, right?
I'm not going in to all the details of how to read a critique, but here are some pointers I use to help me decide what nuggets to pay attention to.
The blindingly obvious
Some things - obvious typos, for example - make me go, "Doh!" *Facepalm*
More subtle, but equally obvious, are those light bulb moments. The moment the critiquer says it, you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. These can be anything from wording or sentence suggestions, to plot points or character development.
These are so obviously right, that you don't need to put much effort into accepting them, though what to do about them isn't always so clear.
Things you don't want to hear
But handling critiques isn't all plain sailing. Sometimes you need to hear hard truths, things that go against the grain, things you don't want to hear.
How to identify nuggets of gold that you are inherently resistant to seeing?
One thing I look out for is if more than one critiquer makes the same observation. That is always a good clue that there's something worth further consideration.
Another group of comments I pay close attention to is gut reader reactions. Things that are running through the critiquer's head as they read. These may appear as criticism, or a good critiquer may identify them as running observations, but either way they are worth looking at. Whether the reaction is what you wanted or not, it is a window into how your story is landing in someone else's mind. That kind of feedback is golden.
Similar, are comments that give you a new perspective on your work - I didn't see it could be read like that! Again, a window into another world. If a reader mis-reads your words, you don't get to beat them over the head and say, "That's not what I meant, dummy!" All you have to play with are the words you choose to put on the page, and it's useful to know if they are not conveying what you intended - whether you like it or not.
That doesn't necessarily mean you need to do anything about it. The reaction may be exactly what you want, or it may be clear that the reader is too far removed from your target audience, but discarding comments should be a reasoned choice on your part, not a gut reaction.
It's not all bad news
Not all critique comments need be bad news. Sometimes, they just make you think, maybe lead you to new ideas, new avenues to explore in your story.
And sometimes, you get to hear what people actually like. As long as you can trust this is genuine, and not the dutiful gushing of a doting relative, it's invaluable to know what is working for that reader.
It hurt, but you got over that. Now, you need to glean some goodness out of all that commentary. After all, that's the whole point of the process, right?
I'm not going in to all the details of how to read a critique, but here are some pointers I use to help me decide what nuggets to pay attention to.
The blindingly obvious
Some things - obvious typos, for example - make me go, "Doh!" *Facepalm*
More subtle, but equally obvious, are those light bulb moments. The moment the critiquer says it, you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. These can be anything from wording or sentence suggestions, to plot points or character development.
These are so obviously right, that you don't need to put much effort into accepting them, though what to do about them isn't always so clear.
Things you don't want to hear
But handling critiques isn't all plain sailing. Sometimes you need to hear hard truths, things that go against the grain, things you don't want to hear.
How to identify nuggets of gold that you are inherently resistant to seeing?
One thing I look out for is if more than one critiquer makes the same observation. That is always a good clue that there's something worth further consideration.
Another group of comments I pay close attention to is gut reader reactions. Things that are running through the critiquer's head as they read. These may appear as criticism, or a good critiquer may identify them as running observations, but either way they are worth looking at. Whether the reaction is what you wanted or not, it is a window into how your story is landing in someone else's mind. That kind of feedback is golden.
Similar, are comments that give you a new perspective on your work - I didn't see it could be read like that! Again, a window into another world. If a reader mis-reads your words, you don't get to beat them over the head and say, "That's not what I meant, dummy!" All you have to play with are the words you choose to put on the page, and it's useful to know if they are not conveying what you intended - whether you like it or not.
That doesn't necessarily mean you need to do anything about it. The reaction may be exactly what you want, or it may be clear that the reader is too far removed from your target audience, but discarding comments should be a reasoned choice on your part, not a gut reaction.
It's not all bad news
Not all critique comments need be bad news. Sometimes, they just make you think, maybe lead you to new ideas, new avenues to explore in your story.
And sometimes, you get to hear what people actually like. As long as you can trust this is genuine, and not the dutiful gushing of a doting relative, it's invaluable to know what is working for that reader.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Being critiqued - handling the pain
Getting your work critiqued by someone else is an essential step on the way to producing a publishable work.
But it can hurt.
A lot.
Here's your writing - your baby - that you've agonized over for months, polishing it within an inch of its life. It's perfect. How can anyone not love it?
You put it out there to your critique group, expecting nothing but unstinting adulation - the next New York Times bestseller! Agents will be flocking to your door to represent you! Publishers will be bidding six figure advances to snag the honor of putting your novel on bookstore shelves. Movie deals are in the offing ...
What you get, instead, is carping criticism from ungrateful Philistines. Boring! Infodump! Characters flat and uninteresting. Confused - what's happening in this scene? Plot inconsistencies. Disbelief - this character would never do that. Your writing sucks!
It's easy to be discouraged, especially when you get a harsh critique on your favorite scene. It's equally easy to dismiss a painful critique out of hand. Both paths are problematic. Do you want to be a writer, or don't you? Do you want to improve, or don't you? If the answer to both is "yes" then you need to persevere and listen to what others have to say.
This first group of tips is all about coping with that pain, because you need to get past that before you can move on and get real value from the critique.
This is meant to help
Critiquing, no matter how painful, is all about making your story better. It's meant to help, no matter how harsh the comments, no matter how offensively they may be delivered, the purpose is to help.
Keep that in mind. Cling to it, even when the critique seems to be hell-bent on trashing everything you have to say. Even when the critiquer has made it perfectly clear that they are not, in fact, interested in helping but only in showing you how much your writing sucks, they are helping nonetheless.
It just may not feel like it at the time.
Distance lessens the sting
Read, but don't respond. Accept the emotion, but don't try to do anything with the critique just yet. Let it sit a few days (or weeks, or months ... whatever it takes) before coming back to it. You will often re-read with a more objective mind and be more able to decide what to pay attention to.
Another distancing trick is to pretend the writing belongs to someone else. Read what the critiquer has to say as if you were eavesdropping on someone else's critique.
It's only one person's opinion
Give this to a hundred different readers, and you will get a hundred different reactions. Remember that what you are reading is just one person's view, and it's just an opinion. It's not truth, engraved in tablets of stone that you are expected to absorb, worship, then swallow with a glass of milk.
It's not a competition
Whatever you do, don't ever ... ever ... argue with the critiquer. They've voiced their opinion. They are entitled to it. You asked for it, for heaven's sake!
The critiquer is always right, even when they're wrong. If a comment is blatantly, factually wrong, just make yourself a note that it is wrong, and move on. This is not about you versus them. It's not a competition to see who's right. From your end of the deal, the only purpose of the critique is to improve your writing, not the critiquer's.
Of course, it is always good to double-check your facts too. I've been surprised from time to time with things I was sure were correct.
It's not personal
Always remember, the comments are not about you, they are about your story. Specifically this story.
A good critiquer will always make that clear. They will refer to the words on the page, not to you as a writer.
Not all critiquers are good at critiquing. So remember, the comments are all about the story, even if they are worded personally. When they say thing like "Your writing sucks" or "You suck as a writer" all they are really saying is "This specific example of your writing sucks ... in my humble and inexpert opinion."
Some critiquers really are trying to be personal. They've decided to make it about you. Remember, they don't know you, except through the words you've written, so it's still only about the story.
OK, this assumes you don't actually know the critiquer personally. If you do, and this really is personal, then there are bigger things going on. This is no longer about the critiquing process and is outside my territory!
You're the boss
No matter what the critiquer says, no matter how emphatic they are that you need to do things their way, remember ... always ... that you're the boss. You are not obliged to pay any attention. They've given you their opinion, but they have no say in how you choose to use it. The next part is up to you.
So, finally, if you get an especially stinging critique, remember that you have the last laugh. Print it out and use it as toilet paper if it will make you feel better.
Phew! That was a long post. My apologies! More posts to follow on the specifics of processing critiques but I think that's enough for now.
But it can hurt.
A lot.
Here's your writing - your baby - that you've agonized over for months, polishing it within an inch of its life. It's perfect. How can anyone not love it?
You put it out there to your critique group, expecting nothing but unstinting adulation - the next New York Times bestseller! Agents will be flocking to your door to represent you! Publishers will be bidding six figure advances to snag the honor of putting your novel on bookstore shelves. Movie deals are in the offing ...
What you get, instead, is carping criticism from ungrateful Philistines. Boring! Infodump! Characters flat and uninteresting. Confused - what's happening in this scene? Plot inconsistencies. Disbelief - this character would never do that. Your writing sucks!
It's easy to be discouraged, especially when you get a harsh critique on your favorite scene. It's equally easy to dismiss a painful critique out of hand. Both paths are problematic. Do you want to be a writer, or don't you? Do you want to improve, or don't you? If the answer to both is "yes" then you need to persevere and listen to what others have to say.
This first group of tips is all about coping with that pain, because you need to get past that before you can move on and get real value from the critique.
This is meant to help
Critiquing, no matter how painful, is all about making your story better. It's meant to help, no matter how harsh the comments, no matter how offensively they may be delivered, the purpose is to help.
Keep that in mind. Cling to it, even when the critique seems to be hell-bent on trashing everything you have to say. Even when the critiquer has made it perfectly clear that they are not, in fact, interested in helping but only in showing you how much your writing sucks, they are helping nonetheless.
It just may not feel like it at the time.
Distance lessens the sting
Read, but don't respond. Accept the emotion, but don't try to do anything with the critique just yet. Let it sit a few days (or weeks, or months ... whatever it takes) before coming back to it. You will often re-read with a more objective mind and be more able to decide what to pay attention to.
Another distancing trick is to pretend the writing belongs to someone else. Read what the critiquer has to say as if you were eavesdropping on someone else's critique.
It's only one person's opinion
Give this to a hundred different readers, and you will get a hundred different reactions. Remember that what you are reading is just one person's view, and it's just an opinion. It's not truth, engraved in tablets of stone that you are expected to absorb, worship, then swallow with a glass of milk.
It's not a competition
Whatever you do, don't ever ... ever ... argue with the critiquer. They've voiced their opinion. They are entitled to it. You asked for it, for heaven's sake!
The critiquer is always right, even when they're wrong. If a comment is blatantly, factually wrong, just make yourself a note that it is wrong, and move on. This is not about you versus them. It's not a competition to see who's right. From your end of the deal, the only purpose of the critique is to improve your writing, not the critiquer's.
Of course, it is always good to double-check your facts too. I've been surprised from time to time with things I was sure were correct.
It's not personal
Always remember, the comments are not about you, they are about your story. Specifically this story.
A good critiquer will always make that clear. They will refer to the words on the page, not to you as a writer.
Not all critiquers are good at critiquing. So remember, the comments are all about the story, even if they are worded personally. When they say thing like "Your writing sucks" or "You suck as a writer" all they are really saying is "This specific example of your writing sucks ... in my humble and inexpert opinion."
Some critiquers really are trying to be personal. They've decided to make it about you. Remember, they don't know you, except through the words you've written, so it's still only about the story.
OK, this assumes you don't actually know the critiquer personally. If you do, and this really is personal, then there are bigger things going on. This is no longer about the critiquing process and is outside my territory!
You're the boss
No matter what the critiquer says, no matter how emphatic they are that you need to do things their way, remember ... always ... that you're the boss. You are not obliged to pay any attention. They've given you their opinion, but they have no say in how you choose to use it. The next part is up to you.
So, finally, if you get an especially stinging critique, remember that you have the last laugh. Print it out and use it as toilet paper if it will make you feel better.
Phew! That was a long post. My apologies! More posts to follow on the specifics of processing critiques but I think that's enough for now.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The art of being critiqued
I am beavering away, putting Tiamat's Nest up on Critique Circle. I'd forgotten how hard it can be to let other people see some writing for the first time, and openly invite brutal commentary.
In the case of Tiamat's Nest, I can see there's work to be done, which is what I was expecting. Luckily, there's also a lot of positive feedback too, which suggests I haven't been completely wasting my time.
Now I'm in full-on critiquing mode for the next few months, giving as well as receiving, I am reminded that there's a distinct art to the whole process. There's already all sorts of advice out there on how to give a constructive and useful critique, so I'm looking at how to receive and make use of critiques.
Being critiqued can be...
Confusing - one person says they love this part, another says they hate it!
Frustrating - dammit, it's obvious, I explained all that back in chapter three!
Overwhelming - so much advice to deal with. Where to start?
Soul destroying - you mean I have to go back through the whole novel and change my main character from an angsty emo teen to a no-nonsense snarky goth?
Heartbreaking - doesn't anyone like anything about my baby? Why do I bother?
It needn't be
Over the next few posts, I'll share some of my own critique survival tips. I hope there's something someone out there will find useful.
In the case of Tiamat's Nest, I can see there's work to be done, which is what I was expecting. Luckily, there's also a lot of positive feedback too, which suggests I haven't been completely wasting my time.
Now I'm in full-on critiquing mode for the next few months, giving as well as receiving, I am reminded that there's a distinct art to the whole process. There's already all sorts of advice out there on how to give a constructive and useful critique, so I'm looking at how to receive and make use of critiques.
Being critiqued can be...
Confusing - one person says they love this part, another says they hate it!
Frustrating - dammit, it's obvious, I explained all that back in chapter three!
Overwhelming - so much advice to deal with. Where to start?
Soul destroying - you mean I have to go back through the whole novel and change my main character from an angsty emo teen to a no-nonsense snarky goth?
Heartbreaking - doesn't anyone like anything about my baby? Why do I bother?
It needn't be
Over the next few posts, I'll share some of my own critique survival tips. I hope there's something someone out there will find useful.
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