The* Cardinal Rules for Writers' Groups
Jun. 25th, 2010 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomi_jay*And when I say "the" I mean "my."
So, I broke my own number one cardinal rule for writers' groups last night. I said the words I don't normally read this sort of thing, so...
I personally consider this the last thing you should ever say before starting to give a critique. Back in the day when I was a poor little student in Liverpool, experiencing critiquing for the first time as part of my degree, I submitted a piece of writing that opened with an angel discussing Lucifer's fall from Heaven. One person in my group started her critique by saying I don't normally read anything with religious content because I am very religious and it usually offends me.
And I was like, okay, that's fine.
And then she said, so I didn't read this.
And that was her critique.
And I was like, okay, that's not fine. That's actually really unhelpful. I understand that people have their personal preferences in reading - as well they should - and I understand that people have difficulty with certain topics or genres for whatever reason. I, for example, would struggle to enjoy anything with a "fated to mate" central concept. But if someone submitted something like that for critique, if they had the guts to put their work out there for people to tear apart, if they had the desire to learn and improve their writing - then I firmly believe you should always do them the courtesy of reading their work and offering feedback.
Because I also firmly believe that everyone who wants to write, should be encouraged and helped to do so. Now, look, not everyone who puts pen to paper (or fingers to keys) is going to be a bestselling author. They might not even ever be a published author. But so what? If they have a passion to write, what right does anyone else have to dismiss their efforts?
That's why, after having my own efforts dismissed without them even being read, I decided I'd never use the I don't normally read this... line in my own critiques. I decided that even if the piece submitted was a genre I hated or never read, I'd still do my best to offer some constructive advice. Sure, I might not know much about space operas, for example, but I know about characterisation and worldbuilding and grammar and plotting, so I can still give feedback on those things, right? And hey, who knows, I might decide that this particular space opera has made me want to read some more. *shrug*
And yet, last night, I heard myself weakly saying those very words to another member of my critique group. Now, I want to be clear - I did my best to offer her constructive feedback. I pointed out what I felt were the weak areas and also (I hope!) the strengths. We had a bit of a to-do in the middle of my critique over a certain description that I found silly, but apart from that, it was pretty civilised. So why the hell did I finish my critique by offering up this lame-ass excuse?
Well, actually, I'd been worrying about this piece all day. I'd read the piece and knew it didn't work for me, I didn't feel any emotional connection to it, and I was really very worried about what I was going to say when my turn came to give feedback. And after listening to another member of the group rip the piece to shreds, I felt even worse about my less-than-glowing feedback. After all, other people in the group did like it and were keen to see more, which just goes to show how subjective writing is anyway. So I felt the need to offer up some caveat, some piece of reassurance that yeah, I struggled with it, but no, that doesn't mean everyone else will feel the same. Possibly I was trying to justify my own negative feelings to myself, but I also wanted the author to keep trying and not get knocked back by the negative critiques, but take heart from the positive ones.
Writing is a lonely and scary business at times. If you want to have a crack at doing it professionally, even more so. There's a lot of doubt, rejection, waiting, and pain involved. If you're successful, there's still a lot of doubt, rejection, waiting, and pain involved, and you can add a load of pressure and anxiety into that mix too. That's why I believe anyone who wants to write should be encouraged. Anyone who wants to improve should be helped. We're all in this together, guys.
For what it's worth, my other cardinal rules are 1) If someone else has already made your point, there's no need for you to rehash it in excrutiating detail again and 2) Never say I just rewrote this line for you... You're more than welcome to tell me a line didn't scan or flow for you, but please don't rewrite it for me in your style. I just find that rude.
Anybody else got any crucial rules for writers' groups?
So, I broke my own number one cardinal rule for writers' groups last night. I said the words I don't normally read this sort of thing, so...
I personally consider this the last thing you should ever say before starting to give a critique. Back in the day when I was a poor little student in Liverpool, experiencing critiquing for the first time as part of my degree, I submitted a piece of writing that opened with an angel discussing Lucifer's fall from Heaven. One person in my group started her critique by saying I don't normally read anything with religious content because I am very religious and it usually offends me.
And I was like, okay, that's fine.
And then she said, so I didn't read this.
And that was her critique.
And I was like, okay, that's not fine. That's actually really unhelpful. I understand that people have their personal preferences in reading - as well they should - and I understand that people have difficulty with certain topics or genres for whatever reason. I, for example, would struggle to enjoy anything with a "fated to mate" central concept. But if someone submitted something like that for critique, if they had the guts to put their work out there for people to tear apart, if they had the desire to learn and improve their writing - then I firmly believe you should always do them the courtesy of reading their work and offering feedback.
Because I also firmly believe that everyone who wants to write, should be encouraged and helped to do so. Now, look, not everyone who puts pen to paper (or fingers to keys) is going to be a bestselling author. They might not even ever be a published author. But so what? If they have a passion to write, what right does anyone else have to dismiss their efforts?
That's why, after having my own efforts dismissed without them even being read, I decided I'd never use the I don't normally read this... line in my own critiques. I decided that even if the piece submitted was a genre I hated or never read, I'd still do my best to offer some constructive advice. Sure, I might not know much about space operas, for example, but I know about characterisation and worldbuilding and grammar and plotting, so I can still give feedback on those things, right? And hey, who knows, I might decide that this particular space opera has made me want to read some more. *shrug*
And yet, last night, I heard myself weakly saying those very words to another member of my critique group. Now, I want to be clear - I did my best to offer her constructive feedback. I pointed out what I felt were the weak areas and also (I hope!) the strengths. We had a bit of a to-do in the middle of my critique over a certain description that I found silly, but apart from that, it was pretty civilised. So why the hell did I finish my critique by offering up this lame-ass excuse?
Well, actually, I'd been worrying about this piece all day. I'd read the piece and knew it didn't work for me, I didn't feel any emotional connection to it, and I was really very worried about what I was going to say when my turn came to give feedback. And after listening to another member of the group rip the piece to shreds, I felt even worse about my less-than-glowing feedback. After all, other people in the group did like it and were keen to see more, which just goes to show how subjective writing is anyway. So I felt the need to offer up some caveat, some piece of reassurance that yeah, I struggled with it, but no, that doesn't mean everyone else will feel the same. Possibly I was trying to justify my own negative feelings to myself, but I also wanted the author to keep trying and not get knocked back by the negative critiques, but take heart from the positive ones.
Writing is a lonely and scary business at times. If you want to have a crack at doing it professionally, even more so. There's a lot of doubt, rejection, waiting, and pain involved. If you're successful, there's still a lot of doubt, rejection, waiting, and pain involved, and you can add a load of pressure and anxiety into that mix too. That's why I believe anyone who wants to write should be encouraged. Anyone who wants to improve should be helped. We're all in this together, guys.
For what it's worth, my other cardinal rules are 1) If someone else has already made your point, there's no need for you to rehash it in excrutiating detail again and 2) Never say I just rewrote this line for you... You're more than welcome to tell me a line didn't scan or flow for you, but please don't rewrite it for me in your style. I just find that rude.
Anybody else got any crucial rules for writers' groups?
