Criticism

 

    Today's writing tip is based on accepting criticism, or more accurately, determining whether the criticism is worth accepting.  Everyone, it seems sometimes, is eager and willing to tell us what they believe is wrong with your story, poem, or blog post.  People rarely, in my experience, understand what it takes to pour your mind and heart out for examination and listen to criticism.  So, this is for any aspiring writers who are about to face or have recently faced a critique of their beloved work.

    

    First of all, let's talk about the most obvious and most overlooked aspect of criticism when it comes to writing.  Criticism, just like writing is a skill.  It's a skill that gets better with time and practice.  Lots of people think that they have the ability to write a book, a poem, or a story, but a small percentage of the human population actually does it.  Criticizing someone else's work though, no one hesitates for a second to jump into this learned field and do donuts in the mud.  Why?  Why do people hesitate to step into one area of literary art, but jump gleefully into another?  The answer is simple.  You risk nothing by criticizing another person's work.  You will not be hurt, insulted, or driven to give up on your dream after the act is done.  Writing, on the other hand, is risky.  You subject yourself to the possibility of being rejected.  You have to put yourself out there, and risk your dreams.  That's a tough thing to face, the fact that your dreams may never come true.  I'm just not good enough.  We, as writers, face it every day.  Critics, not so much.  So, when listening to criticism, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.  First of all, is this person a skilled critic, and second, is this person trying to help me improve my craft, or are they just angry at the world and taking it out on me?  If a person tells you they've heard ten stories like yours in the last week, what does that have to do with your writing?  The movie Avatar was a retread of time-honored cliche's but it set box office records.

    Another thing to think about is the generality of the criticism.  Is the critic describing your writing in vague terms like stuffy, clunky, boring, slow, or cliched?  These are all things to pay attention to, especially if more than one person used the same type of descriptor, but these are the tools of the amateur critic.  Now, don't get me wrong, professional critics may use vague terms like this, but they won't rely on them solely.  If the entire critique is written entirely with a broad brush of generalities, it can be dismissed as amateurish and unhelpful.  By no means should you take these kinds of critiques to heart and make decisions about following your dream based on this kind of critique.

    Also, we need to ask ourselves, is the critique correct?  Is it valid?  Writing, as with all art, is a subjective thing.  One person may hate it, but ten thousand more may love it.  So, the trick to acting on criticism is to learn to detect recurring patterns.  If one person says that you have too many commas in your story, and another mentions that your story doesn't flow, there is a very good chance that the two are related.  Pay attention to how the critiques compare to each other, and whether they are related in any way.  One person may dislike your ending, but that does not mean that the ending is bad, or should be changed.  Listening to people and reworking our writing is often more difficult than the first draft, and close behind marketing on the scale of difficulty imho.

    Last, but definitely not least, we need to learn to take criticism for what it is.  As artists, we tend to have our heart and soul wrapped up in our work, and criticism of our writing often feels like criticism of personal self.  "It's boring," is often heard as "you're boring."  Step outside your work and take a look at your writing almost as if someone else did it.  The best Authors and Poets in the world have room to improve, so what makes me think that my writing should be perfect?  It takes courage and determination to pour your raw mind out onto a page, but even more is needed to face an honest review.  If you have a good editor that gives you sound advice about your writing, thank your lucky stars, because they aren't falling off of trees like crabapples.  Accept the advice with a happy heart and use it to make your writing shine.

    As always have a great day and Happy Writing!

Sunday's Writing Tips

  

   I have decided to dedicate some posts to helping other people learn the craft of writing.  I write fiction, medieval fantasy, to be specific, but most of what I have to say will apply to non-fiction writers as well.  Being a writer of fantasy fiction, I spend a lot of time in my head, daydreaming.  This can also be considered procrastination, and that is what I'm going to talk about today.

    Writers in general do a lot of thinking, and this is a good thing.  To be a successful writers though, whether fantasy, thriller, or non-fiction, we have to write.  Not only do we have to write, but other people outside our circle of friends and family have to read our work.  So, the number one rule of being a successful writer is to write.  Write every day possible and do it until your story is complete.  Writing, like any other action, improves with practice.  To be a good writer, you must write a lot, and to be a successful writer, you must be good.

    We all have our reasons not to write.  You aren't alone in this.  These reasons are justifications for our fear of failure, our self doubt, our lack of motivation, and our low self esteem.  None of these reasons are good enough to keep you from writing your bestseller.  You need to write, even if you think it will be bad.  The thing is, bad writing can be made good through editing.  If you don't write at all, there is nothing to improve upon.  Nothing can't get better, because it isn't there, it doesn't exist.  I understand how hard it is to break down the mental barriers that we build up.  I understand, but I know that only you can break them, and that is exactly what you have to do.  The good news is that you can.  It's a very difficult thing to do, but it's also the easiest thing in the world.  

    The writing classes, the fantasy story-crafting groups, and the creative writing lessons aren't going to help you.  Writing will help you, and that is the only thing that will.  In my opinion, all of these classes and courses, and I have taken my share, are just another form of procrastination.  We are writers and we need to write.  

    So, today, I want you to take an hour and write.  Write anything.  Write your fantasy.  Write the prologue to the fiction novel that has been growing mold in your brain for the last 10 years.  You can do it, and once you do, the door will be thrown wide open.  Your life will change.  Start writing, and don't ever stop.  There are lots of friendly people on Twitter and Facebook who are writers.  Come join our community and share your story with the world.  

    My Twitter handle is @murickansaga, and if you write your first words after reading this, please find me and tell me about it.  I would love to read it and give you some critique.  Have a wonderful day, and WRITE!