Just this past week, I participated in the Write On! Are You Hooked? critique round, submitting the first 250 words of one of my novels. I did it last minute because I'm on the Teen Team, and we had to wait until submissions were closed. I chose my least favorite novel opening, the one I'm totally not sure what to do with, and posted it without allowing myself to think twice.
Yikes!
The feedback I got was gold. No, I'm not going to say which entry it was. If you know me and my projects, you already know. But they basically said what I already knew (and didn't want to address), with some bonus things I'd never even thought of, which is awesome!
I won't lie to you, I felt a little frustrated for maybe a day after all the comments came in. Frustrated with my talent as a writer. To be fair to myself, this beginning isn't a fair representation, since I did submit one of my more troublesome pieces. (Hey, I REALLY needed feedback!) But all the same, I developed a mini case of I'm The Worst Writer Ever.
Critiques will do this to you. Nine times out of ten. No matter how many critiques you receive, no matter how thick you grow your skin, sharing your beautiful creations with the world and getting negative feedback is always going to hurt. At least a little bit.
It happened to me. I didn't even write that day (or more like I couldn't.) I had to allow myself to feel the way I was feeling.
And then I got over it.
The important thing is to release yourself to have your moment, and then shake it off and choose to use the critiques as a mounting block. Otherwise, you're not going to get anywhere, and neither is your novel.
That's the morale of this blog post. You've got to press on! Critiques are an essential part of the writing process. Sometimes what you write will suck. Sometimes it'll just be weak. But when other writers tell you this, instead of letting it knock you down, let it push you in the right direction. Toward success.
I'm not working on that particular project at the moment, but when I do, I'll pull out all the feedback, roll up my sleeves, and dig in. And it'll be great.
As for the Christmas part of the post, it's only four days away. It's my favorite holiday. Now that I'm officially on Christmas break, it's time to relax, bake cookies, wrap presents, and enjoy cups of warm things by the tree.
That's all I have for you today. Hope your Tuesday is amazing and full of Christmas cheer, if you celebrate. Even if you don't, I hope it's still wonderful and warm and fuzzy.
For the comments, how do you deal with critiques? Were you part of Are You Hooked? Did you guess which was mine? (Don't really answer that last one. I kind of don't want to know. *hides face*)
I'm Constance. The Texan Twin. I love three things: my Twin, writing, and chocola––no, wait. I love more than three. I love...
Hi! I'm Maggie. I love and enjoy so many things, I won't be able to fit them all in one about-me. I'll start with I'm a dancer...
5 epic comments:
Maggie! Merry (early) Christmas and happy holidays! Those gingerbread men in the picture are ADORABLE.
Okay. Moving on to the critique part. I think it might be the fact that I've gotten so much critiques (for my query letters, first few pages, pitches, etc.) from so many different people (in communities like Write On Con, Absolutewrite, Agentquery, and of course, my CPs) for my previous project...but getting critiques for the WIP I submitted for Are You Hooked? didn't bother me as much. Sure, a lot of them made me go: "Huh. O_O *thinks for a moment* Okay, I guess?" but I figured that's what critiques are supposed to do to you. But yeah, when I first started getting critiques for my writing, I admit I cried a little.
And yes! We shouldn't be discouraged by critiques. If anything, we should be grateful that the people who left us critiques took their time to read over our writing and thoughtfully write up a critique for us, whether it be positive or negative. I remember watching a video by Lauren DeStefano about how even published authors get "critiques" in the form of reviews (the good and the ugly) through Goodreads. It's all part of being a writer.
@Lyla First, how'd you see this post so fast? O_o
Second, Merry (early) Christmas Naseoul!! (Did I spell that right??) And happy holidays to you too. I know, right? I want to eat one.
Aww, you cried? I actually have never cried. But I've certainly been pretty down about early critiques. It's tough being a writer. XD
Yes. I totally agree! Well said.
Thanks for reading and commenting!! :D
@Maggie I subscribe to this blog (and many others) through my Google Reader Extension on Chrome. So whenever someone posts, I get a notification. ;)
In other words, I'm a ninja. Mwahahaha.
I cried the very first time I got a really negative critique. Some of the writing communities out there are a bit harsh (but totally and definitely spot-on in terms of pinpointing flaws in your writing). But then I ate chocolate, felt better, and revised.
And yes! You spelled my name right. Yaaay! :)
Oh! I would like that feature. Maybe I'd read blogs more, then. O_O
Awww. That's so sad! Chocolate helps EVERYTHING be better. I'm glad you didn't give up.
I love critiques(though I haven't had many). They can make me sad, but once I get over the sadness, it's super exciting to think of how I can fix my writing so it's better!
Yes, I was a part of Are You Hooked?, and no, I didn't need to guess yours. I already knew. ^_^
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