The Critique Question | Guest Post by A. N. Chadbourne

Hey, all! Coming at you today with my first ever guest post! I'm so excited to have A. N. Chadbourne make an appearance here with a really great and insightful post about critiques. Well, let's jump into it, shall we?

Hello! I’m so excited Deigan allowed me to post on her gorgeous blog. I really look up to her, and hope that my blog will be as amazing as hers!

First of all, a little bit about me: I’ve been writing off and on since I was about eight, but only recently started writing seriously. I’ve always been a logophile (or word lover!), which often means mispronouncing words that I have only read in books. I mean, why on earth is chaos not pronounced choss? But I digress.

The first “book” I ever saw through to completion was called The Magic Snowglobe. I was very proud of it. It was a little over 7,000 words, which was the longest thing I’d ever written. So, glowing with pride, I shared my little story with my parents.

My mom said she loved it, which made me puff out my chest even more. But when I asked my dad to help me edit it…things didn’t go so well. I despised listening to all the faults Dad found with my perfect story, and eventually shut down and refused to listen.

After that, I didn’t share my writing with my parents anymore. I was fine with reading my stories aloud to my brothers, though, because they never gave me any negative feedback. In short, I effectively removed all chances for my writing to grow.

There are multiple things to learn from my experiences. The first one is, pride gets in the way of growth. Since I already thought my story was near-perfect, I wasn’t willing to hear that it wasn’t perfect. And because I refused to listen to Dad’s advice, I couldn’t become a better writer.

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The second thing we can learn is that without criticism, we won’t know where we need to grow. Because I surrounded myself with people who only told me how good my writing was, I never learned what I needed to improve. Yes, I was writing, but I wasn’t getting better.

If you can’t already tell, I wasn't very good at taking criticism. For me, it signified the end of the world. But criticism isn’t necessarily a negative thing at all! In fact, Google defines criticism as the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work.

In other words, a true critic will point out both the bad and the good of your writing!

So, how does one go about finding these true critics?

I would suggest doing what I did with The Magic Snowglobe (without the shutting down part): Go to your family. Read your stories to your younger (or older!) siblings. Share your documents with your parents! Tell them what you feel you need critiqued, e.g., flow, dialogue, etc. It doesn’t matter if they have editing experience or not, just so long as they know what to look for in good literature! And, besides, if you’re looking for true critics, your parents have already been critiquing you all your life, so they have plenty of practice.

(Hint: If your parents don’t have time to read through your 100,000 word novel, just send them a snippet to go over. Every little bit helps!)

Friends are another good place to look for critics. However, you need to be cautious with this one. A lot of friends will be hesitant to tell you what they didn’t like about your writing, since they don’t want to offend you. Make sure you make your expectations clear to them.

And lastly, having a strong writing community is super helpful if you are looking to seriously enhance your writing skills. I’m personally part of the Young Writer’s Workshop, but there are other places out there for you to join a community of writers who are all trying to write better. Posting bits and pieces of your writing for editing and critique is a great way to see where your writing needs improvement.

All right, so now we have defined three different sets of people you can go to for true critics. “That’s great and all,” you say, “but what do you do with the criticism you receive? Especially when it’s negative?”

Glad you asked.

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How To Take Criticism

Now, what I’m going to share might not work for everyone, but it has worked for me. So, here we go:

For starters, read through the comments people have made, whether it’s on your document or on a community. This first time around, only pay attention to the positive things people mention. Celebrate the fact you were able to write something they loved!

Next, methodically go through the negative comments, i.e., what your readers didn’t like. Remember, they are only criticizing your writing, not you as a person. They aren’t trying to be mean! Even so, I know negative feedback can be painful, and hurt like crazy. Just take it easy, and don’t bother about responding to the comments now.

After you have got through the comments, walk away. Go lay down, read a book, play fetch with your dog, do something that has nothing to do with your writing. You need to take a break and let your swirling thoughts settle down a bit. (I’m personally guilty of responding right away. This works for the most part, but if you are feeling especially emotional, it’s a good idea to take some time away.)

When an hour, a day, or even a week has passed, go ahead and answer all the comments, or none, if you want to. But more importantly, consider the critique in light of your goal for your writing. Is the criticism going to improve your writing, make it worse, or just different? This might require some extra thought and consideration. Prayer might be especially helpful if you’re having a hard time deciding.

Finally, when you have gone through all the edits, and made all the changes you want to, remember to thank your critics, if you haven’t already. They did take time to read your writing, after all, and it’s nice to feel appreciated.

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My No. 1 Tip For Dealing With Criticism

If you have made it all the way through this lengthy post, congratulations! As a prize, I offer you my number one tip for dealing with criticism:

Pray. Pray for humility. Pray for the eyes to see, and the ears to hear. Pray to be open to your critics’ ideas and thoughts. And if you pray with real intent, Heavenly Father will soften your heart and help you accept the criticism.

And there you have it! A (hopefully) helpful, explanatory guide to both finding reliable critics and responding to their criticism. Don’t do what I did in the beginning. Seek out the people you trust, and ask them for help. They will be more than happy to do so.

Such a beautiful post, A. N.! Thank you so much for writing this inspiring piece.

Just to recap a little bit, here's the main points touched on:

1. Pride gets in the way of growth.

2. Without criticism, we won’t know where we need to grow.

3. Go to your family and friends.

4. Have a strong writing community.

5. Remember, people are only criticizing your writing, not you as a person.

6. Thank your critics.

7. Pray.

I especially think that #5 is my favorite one. It can often feel like when people are critiquing your writing, it means they think you aren't a good writer.

What did you think of this post? What was your NUMBER ONE takeaway from this post? What are YOUR thoughts on critique questions/criticism? I'd love to know!

Cheers!