I dread criticism as much as everyone else. But I’m trying to get better about incorporating the good suggestions and ignoring the bad. Recently someone I admire read a piece I’d written and told me “X has got to go.” I stewed for a bit, told myself that this person was missing the subtle, brilliant humor, then came to the realization that “yeah, she’s right.” Sayonara!
Why am I telling you this? My article on taking constructive criticism went live this morning. It’s geared towards young women entering the workforce, but I think it’s applicable to writers, too.
Taking Constructive Criticism
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Good advice! Although one area in which you could have improved the article…Just kidding!
I think I’m usually good at taking criticism without getting offended. Although I have to confess that I just had an editor tell me something I wrote wasn’t funny and I expended way too much energy explaining why it WAS funny. Probably not the best reaction. (If you have to explain the joke and all…)
I’ve been thinking a lot about constructive criticism lately too. Recently I’ve been learning to actively “consider” critiques people have given me on my writing and coursework, thinking about them and trying them out. I’ve found it useful to keep a reflections journal whenever I have an “aha” moment when doing revisions.
The other day I was editing a piece of writing which I thought at first was pretty good, but then changed my mind when I went more deeply into the editing and realized that there were some important elements missing from the piece. This was my “aha” moment, that as an editor I wouldn’t necessarily be able to see if a piece of writing was workable until I went more deeply in the editing process. And in this case the piece of writing might not be ready for the editing (just yet).
Jody, you had me going for a minute. Patricia, thanks for sharing your experiences with constructive criticism, too.