Comments on: Being Critical

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:35:44 +0000

@Karen I can see where the balancing act comes into play. A writer looking to get better at writing will take criticism for what it is: a chance to get better. A business person may just want to get it done and move on… Of course, when dealing with someone who believes they are “naturally gifted” as a writer, any revelation to the contrary must be approached with a certain amount of delicacy.

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:30:51 +0000

@Steven As a matter of fact, I read the entire Conan series. Howard was indeed a master. Did you read Jeffrey Ford’s “The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant”? That’ll take you into the heart of Robert Howard.

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:49:21 +0000

Jamie, great points. The critique gets trickier when writing is your business and clients are not "writers" but business professionals. You learn to navigate personality types and there is a fair amount of balancing. There is also a stark reality that not every client is committed as a "writer" and will not want to do the work needed to polish their writing to perfection. One of the many reasons I stopped accepting editing jobs for manuscripts. Karen Swim´s last blog post..Blowing in the Wind

By: Steven Smith

Steven Smith — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:34:13 +0000

Ever read old Robert Howard, the early works about the great Conan? Most people weaken sentences with adverbs and adjectives, falling flat with pathetic, inaccurate verbs. Not Howard. He plunges honed adjectives through weak hearts and deftly shoves adverbs through wide eyes. Steven Smith´s last blog post..Peeling George W. Bush

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:39:08 +0000

@WriterDad Thanks for kind words, Sean. It was my pleasure to read and provide feedback on January. Can’t wait till the next installment!

@KevinBlake That’s high praise coming from you as you are the best editor who is not editing that I know. You’ll be happy to know I cut the first 9 pages of this post before putting it up. [inside joke, people}

@Tamara It definitely takes practice to master, and I can tell you from personal experience that Kevin is indeed a master of #4. If he ever gets his blog up and running, he’ll have no trouble getting editorial business. The guy’s a genius.

@Justathought08 Thanks for stopping in! I try to put it all out there. No sense holding it back as I have nothing to lose. Best of luck to you!

@Yael True enough. I think that if you are going to go back and work with that person face to face, the use of awkward can serve as a placeholder for further discussion. Even if you’re just going to say that it stops the narrative flow.

By: Yael K. Miller

Yael K. Miller — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:41:25 +0000

“and of course the ubiquitous AWKWARD scribbled in the margins.”

This made me smile because I do this. I agree that feedback should be specific but “awkward” is a special case. If I don’t quantify “awkward’ with another comment, it means: I have a bad gut reaction to this, it stops the narrative flow, it needs to be fixed but I can’t think of any suggestions.

By: Justathought08

Justathought08 — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:18:25 +0000

Great post. Being a new writer….its nice to find someone as honest as you seem. ) I’m new to your blog, so I look forward to reading more.

Justathought08´s last blog post..God’s Mercy

By: Tamara Sellman

Tamara Sellman — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:49:54 +0000

Great advice, as usual. People who choose the padded, soft critique are always certain that being other than padded and soft is being mean. Well, I think it's mean-spirited to couch everything in warm fuzzies and not be honest or direct. And one can be honest, specific and remorseless and still be nice. It's definitely a skill to hone, but it's possible, nonetheless. PS I like Kevin's rule #4: trying to fix someone else's writing is no great service, either, nor is it useful for the critic to be that invested in someone else's writing. At any rate, it's annoying when others try to rewrite your work for you and says more about their ego than their desire to help. So yes, point out what doesn't work, but let the writer make the fix. It's their job. Tamara Sellman´s last blog post..Writer's Resolutions for 2009

By: Kevin Blake

Kevin Blake — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:04:42 +0000

A great post on giving a critic.
And the reason you are one of the few people I would let critic a story for me.

I think rule number 4 should be: Tell them what’s wrong but don’t try to fix it.
As a writer when I critic a piece I keep thinking of how I would fix the parts I don’t like. I have to continually remind myself that it isn’t my story to fix.
Now if the author wants to toss around ideas on how to fix different parts, that’s his or her call. But don’t include them as part of the critic.

By: Writer Dad

Writer Dad — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:55:32 +0000

I received a lot of feedback from the first story in the newsletter, but nothing compared to what Jamie gave me. His criticism was wonderfully concise, and every line made perfect sense. When this story is revisited (even sent out it is still a work in progress) Jamie's points will be at the forefront of my tweaking. Thanks again, Jamie. Your devotion to the written word is an inspiration. Writer Dad´s last blog post..Motivation: The Essential Ingredient For New Year Aspirations