Taking Criticism

Picture a castle. A huge, beautiful castle; a castle made of words. There's only one problem with it- grammar errors. Or as they translate into our castle of words; holes in the walls. The author, sitting snugly inside, can't see these holes. The critic, standing outside, is in the perfect position to. Without the critic...these holes might never be discovered and fixed.

Critics are one of the most important aids to a writer. They catch errors, give advice, and provide an outsider’s perspective. So why do so many writers shy away from them? The truth is, receiving criticism can be just as hard as giving it. Your story (or other literary piece) is close to you. You care about it, and you're proud of it. Sometimes, criticism can feel like a dragon attempting to destroy your metaphorical castle of words, instead of someone helping you rebuild that castle (your story) to be bigger and better.

The first step of receiving criticism is simply to listen. Hear the critic out; don't automatically jump to the defense of your piece. Set aside your pride for a moment, and open your mind to the suggestions and opinions that are given. If you’re receiving criticism verbally, see if you can get a written copy of it, because you probably aren’t going to remember every piece of criticism twenty minutes…or two days, later.

The next step would be to ask questions. While it’s good to listen to what the critic has to say, it’s also okay to disagree, and ask clarifying questions. If a piece of criticism doesn’t make sense, ask! If you don’t see the logic behind a certain piece of criticism, ask! Critics are there to help you, not confuse you. Also, remember that ultimately, it is your story. If a change the critic suggests seems jarring…or just not fitting to your story, you are allowed to disregard it. That doesn’t give you license, however, to stick your fingers in your ears, sing ‘lalala it’s my story and I don’t care what you say cuz it’s perfect’ and completely ignore all criticism and/or to attack the critic trying to help you.

The last step of receiving criticism is to apply it. There’s no point in following the first two steps, if you aren’t actually going to apply the criticism. When applying criticism, it’s often easiest to tackle grammar, spelling, and other technical errors first. These are usually pretty concrete, and easy to fix. Next, move on to any syntax (the order of words in a sentence) and vocabulary suggestions given. Finally, look at criticism of the context of the story. Did the critic dislike the plot? The ending? Reread those sections with any specific criticism provided in mind, and see what modifications can be made.

Repeat this process until satisfied with results.

Useful Links:

On Mibba, the Editing and Proofreading Thread is an excellent place to get some feedback through the work of volunteer betas, as well as the Story Brainstorming and Mentoring Thread and the Story Review Thread.

Off Mibba, the Critique Circle is a great place to go. It runs on a credit system, where you have to critique stories or the site doesn't let you post stories to be critiqued.

*For more articles like this, visit the Mibba Magazine