{"id":4744,"date":"2016-05-04T19:03:17","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T23:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/?p=4744"},"modified":"2022-05-05T19:54:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T23:54:29","slug":"want-to-write-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsavannah.com\/blog\/index.php\/want-to-write-6\/","title":{"rendered":"#IWSG – So you want to be a writer…. (pt 6)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last episode<\/a> in this series, I told you that you need to get used to disappointment as a writer. And to develop thick skin. In this episode, I want to talk about the dreaded C word: criticism<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can’t tell you how many writers I’ve run across who think the words they’ve written were handed down by God himself (or Goddess herself) and not one single word should be changed.<\/p>\n

\"grumpy_perfect_words\"<\/p>\n

This topic came to me because a writer in one of my online groups was complaining about how much she hated criticism of her work.<\/p>\n

I get it. We slave over the storyline and characters, and it’s our baby, and we want everyone to love it.<\/p>\n

My very own book, A Spicy Secret<\/em><\/a>, was not universally loved. (I know. Shocking.) On Amazon<\/a>, I have seven reviews, two of which are only two stars. (The remaining five are five-star reviews.) Essentially, the people who gave my book low ratings didn’t like the humor.<\/p>\n

Was I sad to get those negative comments? Well, yeah. But I also recognize that not everyone likes humor, or my type of humor, and they don’t have to.<\/p>\n

(In case you’re interested, on goodreads<\/a>, my book has 24 ratings and an average of 4.29 stars. With a one-star review that says, and I quote: “Almost gave up on this one, predictable, strangely written, a little dull.”\u00a0 Hmmm. Okay. You’re entitled to your opinion. I will try to make my next book better.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s absolutely impossible to edit our own work. The reason is: it’s in our heads, where it all makes sense. We can see it all<\/strong> perfectly. But all of that – sense – might not have made it onto the page. And the chances of it all<\/em> making it on to the page are pretty slim. (And yes, my book was edited. I got it back with lots of suggested changes before it went to print.)<\/p>\n

On my main site, I have a page with my editing philosophy<\/a>. I’ve crafted it through years of being part of an in-person critique group (before online even existed!), then years of being the founder and director of my own in-person critique group, and my years of being a marketing guru, writer, and editor.<\/p>\n

An aside: I too once got very upset when my words were changed. But I learned to deal with it, to know that the word changes only made my overall story better.<\/p>\n

The story: My freshman year of college, as an aspiring journalism student, I got a job as a news reporter for the college newspaper. [Aside, aside: I learned very quickly that I didn’t want to write news. Ugh. Not for me.]<\/p>\n

I turned in my first story, all excited, and then the paper came out. And my story, with my<\/em> byline, looked practically nothing<\/em> like what I had submitted.<\/p>\n

Of course, at first, I was terribly upset. I still remember it, vividly. Sitting in front of my then-boyfriend’s word processor [not computer!], reading what I had written versus what was published.<\/p>\n

After my dander went down, I realized that the story as published was much stronger than the story I’d written. And I realized that edits could and would only make my words sound better.<\/p>\n

{Aside, aside, aside: years later, in grad school, I ended up taking a class with the guy who’d been the news editor that year. He told me I had been one of his best reporters. Can you say gobsmacked?!?!<\/em>}<\/p>\n

[Back to the main point]: clearly, even if what you’ve written is perfect (and again, it never ever EVER<\/em><\/em> is), not everyone will like it. Everyone will have an opinion on your work. And the least helpful opinion in the whole entire world to a work in progress is “I think it’s perfect” or “It’s great”.<\/p>\n

Helpful opinions include things like: “Your character was sitting by the window and is suddenly across the room” or “this is written in passive voice and should be active”.<\/p>\n

If you’re in a critique group or have beta-readers looking at your work, and only one person says they don’t like something in particular, you should consider it, but you may ultimately decide not to make that change.<\/p>\n

However, if the majority of people tell you something (for instance, “I don’t think the character would do that or say that”), then you should absolutely consider it, and probably change it.<\/p>\n

If you want your writing to improve, you have to learn to accept constructive criticism. It\u2019s nothing personal, and it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a bad person or a bad writer.<\/p>\n

EVERY <\/em>published writer in the world has an editor (or several). Seriously. Pull out your favorite books, read the acknowledgments in the back, and see how many of them include a thanks to their editor.<\/p>\n

I suggest that in your head, change the semantics. Change the C word criticism<\/strong><\/span> to critique<\/strong><\/span> and use that critique. Use the ideas, learn from them, and become a better, stronger writer.<\/p>\n

\"Insecure<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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