FanStory.com - Taking it on the Chinby giraffmang

Okay, so it’s pretty much a well-established fact that no one actually enjoys having negative things said about something that they have poured their time, energy, blood, sweat and tears into. It stings coming to the realisation that we’re not perfect at what we do and could, probably, use some improvement.

However, criticism- good criticism – can be a very powerful tool. It can give you great raw material to help propel you to the next level and build yourself up.

2 of the most common reactions to criticism are quite non-constructive:

Resistance – dismissing, denying or arguing with the reviewer’s comments or point of view.

Withering – letting the critique deflate and demoralise you.

Whilst these reactions are commonplace and understandable, they actually rob you of a great opportunity – to learn and to grow from honest feedback.

To get the most from feedback, reviews, criticism or critique, you need to have a degree of humility and humbleness in recognising that your work may indeed have faults but not so much as to let it cripple you. You need to push past that instinctiveness to get defensive and replace it with a sense of curiosity to see how you can use the feedback to improve your craft.

What follows is some tips to help you do this.

1 - Filter out bad criticism.

Criticism worth listening to usually possesses three main components:

It is constructive with a purpose to build, not belittle you.
It resonates. It holds the elements of truth.
It addresses specifics with the piece, or technique.

If it doesn’t meet these criteria, it’s bad feedback (which also goes for the bland platitudes of your piece being wonderful).

Bad critique can look like this:

‘This is terrible.’

‘This sucks.’

‘This is a pile of crap!’

Good critique can look like this:

‘I wasn’t drawn in; the hook wasn’t strong enough.’

‘The descriptions are a bit wordy.’

‘The paragraph structure was confusing.’

‘The characters feel underdeveloped. I needed to know more about them.’

It’s worth pointing out here that we should never view our work in these negative terms either.

2 - Breathe.

As stated at the very opening, criticism hurts, no matter how much we might think we’re prepared for it. That’s okay. Let it hurt but remember your bravery. You opened yourself up and let others in. That’s a very brave move. You only received criticism because of that bravery. You took a risk. Celebrate your courage, nurse your wounds, and move forward.

The sooner you move on to the next step, the better you’ll feel.

3 - Gather as much information as you can.

When you receive a critique, you can ask for the reviewer to clarify or expand upon what they mean. Don’t be afraid to do this. Ask for specifics if it’s a little vague. If you ask for help, some folk will be more than willing to assist. Make it a dialogue not a challenge or argument.

4 - Question yourself. What can I do to address these issues?

Gather information. Read up on things that have been pointed out. Remember, a good critique should be specific and constructive. It should lead you in the right direction to improve your work. If it’s a grammar issue, read up on the fundamentals. Don’t rely on soulless programmes (like Grammarly!). Do a bit of leg-work.

If it’s pacing, look at where you can tighten up or slow down. Have you developed your characters enough; if you don’t know enough about them, how can the readers? Do they sound like real people (within reason)?

5 - Re-engage with your work and enjoy the process.

Take everything you’ve learnt and the answers to your own questions as well as the critique’s signposts and apply it to your work. It can be a very rewarding experience when you look at your next draft and see the changes. It may flow a lot better, have more well-rounded characters, and sound real. You may have added more depth and nuance and made a great story coherent and much more accessible and readable.

In Conclusion.

Whilst hard and painful, if you learn to take criticism in the right way, you may even come to enjoy it. Perhaps even love it…