On responding to criticism · 8:53pm Sep 26th, 2013
One of the best aspects of the ponyfic community is the feedback. We've got comments, we've got several specialised groups for deeper reviews, and we've got EQD (sort of). All this makes an excellent environment for writers who take the craft seriously and want to improve.
On the other hand, as an author, having people point out flaws in your work really hurts. Someone tells you they have an issue and suddenly petulant little monkeybrain goes into overdrive and has a freak out. How dare that witless, gormless philistine criticise my work!? it says. I'm the only one allowed to do that! Arrogance and insecurity make great bedfellows, and when it comes to authorship, even the most insouciant of us are at risk. Tact on the part of the critic can soften the blow, of course, but since most denizens of the internet have all the social grace and subtlety of an Acme anvil falling on Wile E. Coyote's head, one can't rely on this.
So – here's your guide on how to respond to criticism. (And by that I mean, some thoughts I had on the matter while trying to stop myself from ranting at the comments box.) This is not etiquette, 'cause, well, fuck etiquette. This is a guide for those who want to improve, not those who want to be polite.
Dealing with criticism is something of a balancing act. As I've said, the instinctive response to criticism is anger. This is the main problem of most authors on Fimfic. Being thick headed and stubborn will do you no good at all if you want to learn. On the other hand, the obvious remedy for this, unthinking acceptance of all criticism, isn't helpful either. You've got to get over yourself, but you've also got to be confident in your abilities.
Now, there are two types of criticism, and they need to be treated differently.
The first is the emotional response: “I didn't enjoy this”, “this character annoys me”, “this is boring”, “I don't understand why character X is doing Y”, &c. Emotional responses are inviolable. You can't argue with them, so don't bother. Rather, they serve as your barometer. You probably want your story to evoke some emotional response in your readers, so this sort of criticism can let you know how well you're doing, and if something is broken. Should you always listen to it? Nope. A story can't please everyone, nor should it try. Horror won't do much for someone who's looking for the fuzzies, and a story that gives the fuzzies won't please someone who wants psychological drama. Or, perhaps your prose style will grate on some readers. Perhaps your story contradicts a reader's headcanon or features a character they dislike. Whatever. Someone just won't want what you selling. That doesn't mean you need to fix your story. If they get mad at you because they mistook your story for something else, that's their problem (though you might want to check and see if you haven't got a misleading description).
The second is the technical criticism. Someone thinks you've done something wrong in constructing your story. Punctuation issues fit here. So do writing rules: "Show, don't tell"; "avoid adverbs"; "use concrete descriptions"; &c. This sort of criticism can be even more useful than emotional reactions, because it helps you see where you've gone wrong an how to fix it. It is also more dangerous than simple emotional reactions. Not all writing advice is universally applicable, and a lot of it (like Show, don't tell) is downright silly and pernicious. If you get some technical criticism you've never heard, they pay attention, and, if it sounds sensible, give it a shot. But don't treat it as gospel. If you're a bit more confident of what you're trying to achieve with a story, and if someone gives you advice you disagree with, then you absolutely can argue back. Technical criticism is not an emotional response, and is the sort of thing you can debate. Just make sure you're arguing because you disagree, not because your feelings are hurt.
A comment can contain both, of course. It can even mix them up in an awkward way, because a lot of people don't understand the difference between emotional reactions and reasoned arguments. And, on top of all that, this distinction is a bit of an oversimplification. Illustrative and useful, but not perfect.
So, when you get criticism – feel free to rage and bitch for a while. But, when you're finished, come back to it. Use it to help you improve your craft. Shamelessly mine the useful bits and disregard or argue with (delete as appropriate) the rest.
(What's up with that prose style, man? I suppose I was just feeling obnoxious while writing this.)
Someone downvoted my everyone-rated story and said this:
"Reason I downvoted: this story is shittier than an asshole with IBS." No, I am not making this up. I ended up deleting the comment and my reply to it (I was very mature about my response as angry as I was.)
Strangely enough, this person wrote and favorited stories that had at least a teen rating. The hell is that?
Anyhow, I've gotten not many critiques on my stories, and when I did they either pointed a missing something (i.e. where the hell is Apples Everywhere.exe in your Flutter Island.exe--which was an issue I fixed the next day), under-developed characters, something very different, and a really long-as-hell rant on pretty much everything. All of which, save the Flutter Island problem, were in PM/on the comments section of a different story.
Hey, hooray for constructive criticism. :3
I generally try to not be an asshole when something crops up I feel needs criticism. How well I succeed I am less sure of, but generally I try to lead in with what I think the story did right. Also, it should be noted the one giving criticism should not necessarily expect their criticism to be followed, and that if the author argues the point, that doesn't make the author a butt either.