tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post3665401077119712248..comments2023-06-12T17:08:36.320+01:00Comments on How Publishing <i>Really</i> Works: On Writers And WritingJane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-52119549338672580512009-03-08T11:22:00.000+00:002009-03-08T11:22:00.000+00:00I usually come out from under my rock again eventu...I usually come out from under my rock again eventually....<BR/><BR/>:)nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-21141183383588691292009-03-06T22:27:00.000+00:002009-03-06T22:27:00.000+00:00Of course I can't accept criticism, it's always wr...Of course I can't accept criticism, it's always wrong.R.R.Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17834582008567973188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-47323600020345818032009-03-05T22:00:00.000+00:002009-03-05T22:00:00.000+00:00Odd, I just posted a comment over at Cynthia Harri...Odd, I just posted a comment over at Cynthia Harrison's <A HREF="http://www.cynthiaharrison.com/" REL="nofollow">A Writer's Diary</A> on this topic. (She teaches undergrad creative writing and has some interesting observations.)<BR/><BR/>When I was getting my BA with a Creative Writing concentration, professors pounded our workshops with peer critiques, and a substantial portion of our grades, since it's difficult to quantify creative work in a way a GPA understands, came from <I>actually taking others' criticisms seriously</I> and reflecting those considerations in our revisions. You wouldn't think this would be difficult to enforce, but the only way instructors can get some students to even self-edit is to fail them if they don't.<BR/><BR/>Of course many people aren't surrounded by academics, or even other writers, so they don't have that community of supportive, but blunt, readers who want your work to <I>be better</I> more than they want you to <I>feel better</I> about your work. (Especially if, at the editorial level, they have a vested interest in its improvement.) Usually the people who have been told all along that a piece is Nothing Short of Amazing, Mom/Dad/Honey/Distant Relative are the ones who have the hardest time taking external critiques. And why shouldn't they be? It's hardly their fault, at least initially.<BR/><BR/>But difficult things are what separate writers from people who like to write. To borrow from my other comment: I received advice once that the thing to which you have the strongest aversion is often the last stronghold of the internal/external forces bent on preventing your doing something wonderful.petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15428061646372184492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-10160037520425363932009-03-05T19:28:00.000+00:002009-03-05T19:28:00.000+00:00Jane,As someone who spent 4 years in undergraduate...Jane,<BR/><BR/>As someone who spent 4 years in undergraduate fiction workshops followed by 2 years in screenwriting workshops, I couldn't agree more with this. Great post.<BR/><BR/>A lot of it is the culture of a workshop or writer's group, though. I found that as long as I always wrote lots of notes on the physical copy and framed my views as just a single opinion and -- maybe most importantly -- offered a few suggestions, that people would be a lot more receptive and would actually be more willing to honestly critique my work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-16137177011826165462009-03-04T21:42:00.000+00:002009-03-04T21:42:00.000+00:00How interestingHow interestingPaula RChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05550276147711384895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-4289302218437897562009-03-04T19:40:00.000+00:002009-03-04T19:40:00.000+00:00Buffy, I wouldn't dare say anything harsh about yo...Buffy, I wouldn't dare say anything harsh about your writing--you might stop commenting here and I certainly wouldn't want that!<BR/><BR/>Derek, that's a fabulous link: I shall read more of Ms Gropen's blog, she's very interesting.<BR/><BR/>And Donna, it sounds like you need the deluxe edition of the Writer's Keyboard, which hands out electric shocks when you type greengrocer-apostrophes and superfluous adjectives. They're very effective, and I hear that there's a prototype in the works which provides whip-crack sound-effects, and dispenses coffee and gin.Jane Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-69310229622170377412009-03-03T20:00:00.000+00:002009-03-03T20:00:00.000+00:00I find Sally Zigmond's advice very helpful. No one...I find Sally Zigmond's advice very helpful. No one is harsher on my writing than me; keyboards should come with their own flagellation device!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-83044095428895717632009-03-03T19:57:00.000+00:002009-03-03T19:57:00.000+00:00We all know that some writers—especially novice wr...<I>We all know that some writers—especially novice writers—find it difficult to accept criticism</I><BR/><BR/>Along the same lines is Marion Gropen's blog post "Things Newbies Say"<BR/><BR/>http://gropenassoc.com/blog/?p=49Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07161696211557610509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-581338678348538512009-03-03T18:49:00.000+00:002009-03-03T18:49:00.000+00:00Ah, yes, the thing I've never been able to do: acc...Ah, yes, the thing I've never been able to do: accept criticism wholeheartedly. Although I try.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-59002623137392631202009-03-03T10:37:00.000+00:002009-03-03T10:37:00.000+00:00Sally's good, isn't she, Tom? She edited a litera...Sally's good, isn't she, Tom? She edited a literary magazine for years: it shows.Jane Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-85495842251573829542009-03-03T10:24:00.000+00:002009-03-03T10:24:00.000+00:00Sally's "Don't listen to friends or family, unless...Sally's "Don't listen to friends or family, unless they're published writers" is priceless advice.TOM VOWLERhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00436338454781485164noreply@blogger.com