Thread: After Constructive Criticism

Is it best to revise your work after you've had some criticism, or is it best to move on to the next piece with the advice you were given in mind? This is in reference to work that you don't plan on sending to a publisher. The problem is that there always seems that something can be improved on, and if you keep taking in everyone's advice and constructive criticism, you'll be continuously revising work, and never moving on. (My current situation.)

This is part of the editing process. After you finish the first draft you should read it, edit it and make any changes that you feel are neccesary.

Is it best to revise your work after you've had some criticism, or is it best to move on to the next piece with the advice you were given in mind?

This is a question that only you can answer.

Keep in mind that if you're not happy with it after you've edited it then you should move onto the next piece if you can't improve it any more. The learning process is all about trail and error and you will have a lot of errors before you can get a perfect piece finished.

Why are you posting a final draft on a writing website? Generally you post either the 3rd or 4th drafts, then revise for the final drafts. At least that's how I do it. Your way might be different. But generally final implies no more revision, no es verdad?

cacafire - Remember why I no longer post in the Poetry forum. I got into tremendous difficulties because I posted a poem that I had no intention of editing further, and rather than making the changes people wanted me to make I explained my reasons for writing it the way I did. Everyone took offence at my 'making excuses for my mistakes' so I don't go back there anymore. The poem was not written for publication, though in a fit of pique I did send it off to a regional magazine where it was published.

Did you know that one of the largest Spanish treasure ships of long ago was named 'Cacafuego'? It was sunk by English ships off the coast of Chile.

Edit - I did explain at the time that I keep all critical remarks for future reference, but that only seemed to enrage those who wanted the changes made in the posted version.

Nobody has to accept critique or revise their work according to comments. The trick is to weigh it up and decide if you think it's acceptable. It is also a good idea to thank those who have taken time to critique the work, if you agree with the review or not.

Garza's account of events in the poetry forum isn't quite accurate either. The idea of the creative forums is to workshop and that means that people post to get critique. If someone is happy with a work as it is and doesn't have any intention of working further on it then people will obviously question why the said work is posted in a workshop area. If someone has taken time to read a work and offer criticism, believing that is what the work is posted for, then at least thanking them for the time goes down much better than stating that there was really no intention to workshop the piece.

It was my mistake for not recognising the forum as a workshop area for works in progress. I thought it was for finished work and that the only comments would be 'it's okay' or 'it's not okey'. I was not looking for and not expecting suggestions for change and was working across the grain, not understanding the reason for the irritation I was causing.

Anyroad that's history.

Edit - But that raises a question about a piece I was about to post in Non-Fiction. I've been working for several days on my personal notes about what I saw, heard, and felt while I was in the north. While it is not for publication, it would very definitely be inn final form if posted. Is there a place for such a piece here?

I'm thinking, best thing I just file it away.

Originally Posted by garza

While it is not for publication, it would very definitely be inn final form if posted. Is there a place for such a piece here?

I'm thinking, best thing I just file it away.

Maybe an individual's forum blog is the place for this? Aren't a few people doing that already? One place I used to post, had what they called a vanity board, but I think those blogs might work much better.

So what you are saying is that anything posted here is supposed to be a work in progress. Actually I was hoping to get comments on the piece from this group, with the understanding that it's in its final edited form. I'll either file it away or sell it.

What I like to do, banana bro, is insert the changes or recommendations that I think are worthwhile, and see if they materially improve it. If they do, then its a successful edit. If not, it's easy enough to change back.

Originally Posted by Baron

The idea of the creative forums is to workshop and that means that people post to get critique.

Which are the creative forums? More importantly, is Fiction the forum for posting works of prose that the author considers to be finished?

And while this next is to me of academic interest only, where should a poet post a piece considered by its author to be finished?

Should there be some guidelines somewhere about all this? And if not, why not?

I think the fact that there are guidelines for critiquing on all of the creativity forums us a fair indication of the purpose of the boards. If someone doesn't want to put up their work for critique then posting as a blog is probably the best solution. They could also post on the fiction board with a disclaimer to the effect that they're not looking for critique.

I looked at Guidelines under FAQ and couldn't see anything. Perhaps you might explain where these guidelines are to be found.

Baron - You say a person could post on the fiction board with a disclaimer, but the oil spill ain't fiction. Would the same hold true for non-fiction? I spent a week and a half making personal notes separate from the material I had contracted to write. I grew up on the Gulf Coast and know those waters and more important I know the people who are most affected. I thought a compilation of those notes might be of some interest.

You say there are 'guidelines for critiquing on all of the creativity forums'. Which are creative forums, and which are not?

I don't blog. My point in wanting to post here was to get some comment from this group of people. I've read enough of their ideas to know how to weigh such comment, and when you understand the source such comment is always valuable even when the piece is already published.

So please, can you spell out exactly what the rules are?

The reason I don't blog is the sheer, utter, absolute, indefensible ugliness of the word.

Originally Posted by garza

The reason I don't blog is the sheer, utter, absolute, indefensible ugliness of the word.

Originally Posted by lin
Every total moron on the planet has a blog.

The Backward Ox - Given the level of silence, I'm assuming we will not get any answers to our questions. Therefore to be on the safe side and avoid the blunder I made with poetry we must also assume that all the forums are workshop forums and that no finished work is to be posted.

Baron - The mistake I made in poetry was an honest mistake. I thought that the points raised by others were similar to the discussions we used to have in class, both in high school and later right through graduate school, in which an essay was submitted and the writer was expected to defend his writing to the critics, the others in the class, explaining why he had chosen to express something the way he did. The discussions could get quite heated, but the outcome was beneficial for all as different ideas about how the essay should have been written were discussed, taken note of, and made part of a student's reference file. I yet have class notes of that sort from 50 years ago.

The essays would already have been graded so no one was ever expected to change a single word. That's why I reacted the way I did, thinking the floor was open for debate about whether I had properly constructed the poem, and thinking that I was expected to defend, and defend vigorously, that which I had written and not at all realising that there was any expectation that any editing of the piece might take place.

That understanding came later, and only now do I fully realise my error.

The bottom line is that no finished work should be posted here, and that those offering critiques expect that the writer will at least consider making the suggested changes. That needs to be stated fully and plainly somewhere in the posting guidelines.

ppsage - You say, in regard to my personal notes made during my recent trip to the Gulf Coast, that, quote, 'Maybe an individual's forum blog is the place for this?' unquote. I don't even blog myself, why should I put the compilation of my notes, which I spent some time preparing, in 'an individual's blog'? And which individual did you have in mind?