“Nobody in my critique group understands my writing style. They don’t get the type of art I’m trying to create. Do I suck at writing, or should I listen to them? What should I do?” –Artist in a Sea of Mediocrity
I’ve never been to a pageant, and I’ve never been a mother, but I’d imagine that walking doe-eyed into a fiction critique is a lot like being a pageant mom. You spend months getting your baby all dolled up and drilling her in the box step and jazz hands. Sweating so profusely you waft some of her hair spray on your pits to stay dry, your baby gets up on stage and does her dance perfectly, in tutu and heels and everything. You roar with pride when she rushes shyly offstage.
Then come the backhanded compliments: “She’s cute, for her age group.” “If you could just get her to lose a pound or two, she’d rock that dress.” “That routine is so last year, but if you got a coach she could really shine.”
Do you feel that knee-jerk reaction? That throbbing blister of roiling rage ready to explode and cover everyone (including your story. I mean baby) with goo? Some of you are probably having a knee-jerk reaction right now to the blog. Some of you are clicking away. No, don’t leave! Nooooooooo–
Over the past months, I’ve joined a super awesome critique group. I know how tough it is to hear your baby being ripped apart, but I’m a better writer for it. So never fear! Super-Becca is here (that’s me!) to help you defend against a barrage of critiques and actually get something out of it with these 4 steps.
1. Shut up
People who are bad at taking critique (listen up, self) are going to have to learn to curb that knee-jerk reaction. Does this sound familiar?
“But you missed the whole point of the story! Anyone with any smarts at all would see that this piece is genius, and if you think it needs editing there’s obviously something wrong with you!”
That fight-or-flight response is going to scare your readers into giving you less-than-honest critique, and if you refuse to listen, you’re not going to get any better at your craft.
So bite your tongue. Sit on your hands if you’re afraid they’ll punch the smug know-it-all on the left. Seethe and simmer and force yourself to listen to the critique. No, I’m not letting you ignore the critique, even if it is like swallowing glass shards. You’re a big kid now, not a spoiled baby who gets to hold the gold medal because you whined about it onstage. Pretend, for a moment, you are an open-minded person. Write down what everyone says, no matter how pointless it seems now.
2. Talk to yourself.
While you’re seething with rage, some self-talk might be helpful.
Here are some things you need to realize:
- The critique is of the particular piece, not of you as an author or as a person. If your baby trips over her box step in the Act I finale, that doesn’t make you a bad parent. It just means your kid might need some practice. Same thing with writing.
- Nothing you write is all bad. Sure, there might be a bit of baby fat here and there, but your characters really pop off the page. Or, if you’re like me, your characters’ motivations suck, but at least you’ve got a few interesting twists and turns in your plot. A good critique should focus on the good as well as the not-so-good.
- Be interested in honesty. Thank your readers for it! In college, I had a writing class where everyone was so nervous about offending anyone that they only mentioned the positives and never gave actual critique. And do you know what? Nothing I wrote in that class ever got published, and neither did anyone else’s.
- Everyone has a different opinion. While this is true, that doesn’t mean that differing opinions are wrong (or that you can dismiss differing opinions out of hand). Take everything with a grain of salt. Then (for some of you metaphor-driven people), pinch some of that salt into your pasta, and toss the rest over your shoulder.
3. Take a break
As the author/mommy of your newborn draft, you’re still very close to your words. You remember writing them, and why you wrote them. You remember what the setting smells like. You remember what your characters feel like when they’re inside you (in the spiritual sense, of course).
But that isn’t necessarily how your story is coming across. Especially if you get a lot of negative feedback, you might need to take a breather. Take a walk. Take a road trip. Immerse yourself in a completely different story. This will give you the distance you need to come back and look at your story more objectively.
4. Edit and rewrite.
Read the notes you took during your critique, and feel out if any resonate with you. Cross out the ones that obviously feel wrong—remember, your authorly instinct will usually be right, but try not to cling to your darlings too tightly.
Now read your story again with sparkly-fresh eyes. Those new eyes will invariably catch hiccups that made perfect sense while you were writing them but now just look like a kid failing at the box step (can you tell I was scarred by childhood theatre yet?). Cut everything you can. Rewrite. Check out this article.
You’ll end up with a much cleaner, clearer draft that ensures you’re meeting the needs of your reader.
At the end of the day, you’re still the mother. Father. Author. Whatever. Extended metaphors are overrated, anyway. If you don’t want to change something about your baby/story, that’s fine. But at least give the critiques a fair chance, and now you have actual readers’ impressions of your work. Chances are there is someone in the group who is your target audience. As an author, you need to please yourself first. But then think about making your potential readers happy, hmm?
Check back here in two weeks for the other (more fun) part of critiquing: dishing it out!
Got a question? Tweet me @beccaquibbles with the hashtag #askbecca, email me at becca [at] DIYMFA [dot] com, or just leave a comment below! You could see your question answered right here at Ask Becca!
…………………………….
Rebecca Ann Jordan is a speculative fiction author in San Diego. She recently won Reader’s Choice Best of 2013 for her short story “Promised Land” at Fiction Vortex and has published poetry and fiction in Flapperhouse, Yemassee Magazine, Bravura Literary Journal and more. Becca regularly columns for DIYMFA.com. Quibble with her @beccaquibbles.
