A shot to the gut. Criticism... · 2:00pm Apr 15th, 2020
Criticism... if ever there was something an artist can receive to knock them down or build them up, it's the opinion of others. And... well... I got a good dose of it today.
Long story short, I had a conversation with a fellow writer about my story. The topic of having difficulty writing on a story came up. I offered up my own difficulty with where I am now, which led up to me going into details of the story not yet published. Needless to say, they were not impressed. Dare I say, the fact I would implement such a component into my story basically left them with the reaction that it can't work ruins the story. I might not be conveying their reaction to the most accurate degree, but what followed was a series of questions of why someone would care to read a story like what I'm writing if that's where it's going.
Mind you, this was coming from a place of constructive criticism. I wasn't being insulted or told to stop. This author just really had a distaste for what I was working with, plot-wise. Regardless... it didn't give me a feel-good sensation having my thoughts on the subject or rationality towards it with counterpoints of why I was falling short. I couldn't win...
So, why bring this up? Because I wanted to talk about how that shouldn't stop a writer.
No, if you are writing for someone else, then yes, their opinion matters and could very well dictate how you might need to change up your writing. For me, though, I'm writing this for me. The overall story I'm writing is not going to change because someone else has a distaste for it or doesn't understand what I'm trying to convey. There have been criticisms offered by this writer that I have taken to heart and tried to implement. However, just like how others can't stand an HiE story, the use of Anon as a protagonist, or reversed gender roles as story components, not everything in my story is going to win everyone over.
That's not the point of writing. Granted, I love hearing how people can enjoy my writing. After everything I've put into it, it's so rewarding to hear and see others enjoying it. Seriously, for anyone who reads this and has been following my story, you all give me a lot of inspiration to put more into this and make it a better quality publication.
But, onto the root of this blog...
Bad criticism, the likes of, This sucks! You're terrible! Delete this! and so many other harsh comments are worthless and should be treated as such. It's the equivalent of making a sandwich that you're going to eat and someone giving you shit for not making it the way they like it. That's gross! Throw that in the trash! You're a failure at food! Comments like those, what do they do for you? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They've offered you no advice or clarification on why it's bad or how to make it better. They're wasting your time, and even sadder, their own.
Now, constructive criticism... that can be harder to deal with. Being told how your spelling is off, or the grammar structure and spacing is incorrect and then being shown how you're wrong can hurt more than someone just being a dick about the content of your writing. However, that can make you a better writer for learning from it.
The hardest criticism to deal with thought is an honest critique based solely on opinion of what works and what doesn't... that's what hit me today. Try as I might, I couldn't justify my point of view in a way the other author would accept, nor could I give a good enough explanation, when I wasn't being interrupted, to explain why my take on how I could make this component of my story work. In a lot of ways, though, I understand where they were coming from. Even more so, I both couldn't explain clearly what they asked for and didn't understand what they wanted to hear.
Really, where I screwed up, was trying to explain myself. That's probably one of the biggest takeaways I can offer. If it's a difference of opinion, you're usually better off just leaving it as "Well, I guess we just disagree."
All that being said, I have no ill feelings towards the author I spoke with. There's nothing to hold against them. Their lack of interest or appreciation for what I love writing about didn't change the caliber of their character. It didn't make them less helpful with writing in general or less enjoyable to talk to. It just hurt to hear from someone I admire that something I value could be so easily shot down. Even if they encouraged me to keep writing... them feels... I couldn't stop from feeling them.
Now, I'm going to keep on doing what I would tell any other author or artist in my shoes:
KEEP GOING!
Case in point, chapter 53 will be published in five hours from posting this. Hopefully with some finished artwork that doesn't suck.
well that fine then, if this criticism is constructive maybe you consider it when you write future chapter and make you more aware of the parts of your writing that could be improved helping make you a better writer, but in the end as long as your satisfied then all good, after all im still reading your story so you must be doing something right
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This author has been helpful and I take the approach to my story development strictly as a difference in opinion. It was already agreed that outside of my grammar mistakes, my writing is good. So, nothing wrong with doing what at worst could be called good writing of a bad concept (opinion).
But I'm glad to have been able to keep your attention. Also, art was completed successfully. Finally going to get a good idea of what the local bar mar of Ponyville looks like.