Friday 7 August 2015

Bea-ing Critical

My Mum is my greatest fan. If I give her a new story to read her comment is invariably, “That’s lovely, dear”. Perhaps my story is indeed perfect. More likely it means that she’s too nice to say it isn’t, or she genuinely thinks that whatever I do is brilliant.


My greatest fan
Seeing the errors in your own writing is difficult. Generally I have a feel for whether or not a story is working. The proof is of course in the eating, whether it gets snapped up instantly or is returned several weeks later with a standard rejection email or letter.
 
I am fortunate to be part of an online group of writers who provide a mutual critiquing service. If I’m not sure whether one of my stories is right, or which market it will best suit, I email it to the group. It is never wise to be precious about your writing. If you can’t take criticism, don’t ask for comments. If you can’t cope with rejection, then do not submit your work. Ever.
 
Recently the group’s facilitator asked that we let her know if we were ever offended by the feedback received. My response was echoed by the other group members. I need to know what is working and what is not. Robust but fair criticism is better than polite niceties which don’t help me improve my writing skills. So bring it on!
 
Otherwise the first inkling I have that a story has not worked is when the rejection letter drops on the doormat.

4 comments:

  1. I'm sure there must be lots and lots of perfectly OK stories which never get published. We need ours to be better than OK to get picked - honest criticism can help us achieve that.

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    1. 'better than ok' - there's the challenge for us all.

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  2. Great post - critiques are essential even though they can be nerve-wracking when you first begin writing. It is so hard to distance yourself from your work and fresh eyes pick up details you may otherwise miss (especially mid-story name changes to which I seem to be particularly prone!)

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    1. You're not immune to those, Tracey. I spotted a name change in a story in TABFF and another in PF this week.

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