Thread: The value of online critique

I’d been going to title this simply ‘The value of critique’ and then realised that being online plays a large part in the manner in which the critique is given.

Recently I posted a short piece of nonsense in Writer’s Workshop and obtained a smattering of comments covering a variety of aspects of writing.

One person read the post and chose to communicate with me via email, to give me their slant on the piece. (Hey you, I didn’t say PM, I said email; this is not about you)

That person zeroed in on what they saw as a failing in my writing generally, and in effect said they would never read anything as un-entertaining as what I write.

I became extremely defensive about my writing.

Eventually I decided to start a thread here in Writing Discussions about that perceived failing, but made no mention of the post in Workshop.

Enter Foxee.

Just by chance, or perhaps it was mind-reading skill, she used extracts from that same piece in Workshop to show me that in her opinion there was nothing wrong with my writing. She said it was intriguing and she enjoyed reading it.

In my opinion, the email critic was only as brave as they were, telling me my writing was flawed, because they had the protection of being an online presence. I believe, had we been together in a real life workshop, that that criticism would have not occurred or would have been tempered in some way.

(And if it had occurred, I would have been able to punch that person in the nose. Perhaps.)

So, anyway. I learnt a lesson from all this. Opinions are only opinions.

And for what it’s worth, I now give you my opinion. If you’re confident about your writing, you should post it somewhere on this site for others to enjoy, but do not allow any negative comments about it to get you down. Narrow-mindedness is a sin.




Of course, if your writing sucks, none of the above applies.

Tis a good lesson to learn.

I agree, there are so many people on here who ask for advice on a piece, and when someone makes a comment that they think something should be changed (outside of grammatical stuff), they automatically change it without a blink, and repost it that way. Take opinions for what they are, meditate on them, and then bring them to your writing. Don't have a knee jerk reaction and change something because one person told you to.

I'd rather get someone's honest opinion, even if they are only being honest because anonymity emboldens them, than have someone give me a simpering, half-hearted review because they don't want to hurt my feelings. But, yeah, you gotta just hear 'em out and then either incorporate the crits into your writing or discard and move along. Everybody has different styles and the rules of writing that you hear repeated are often broken by the best.

I agree with all of you.

The anonymity of the internet allows for more honest critiques, but we can hope that those who critique can do so in a non-hurtful way. Of course, we don't always get what we hope for.

I think scathing critiques make us more likely to do what T.N. Kettman said--automatically change things without a blink--and that is detrimental to the process of learning how to write better as a whole.

Great post.

Originally Posted by Motley

I think scathing critiques make us more likely to do what T.N. Kettman said--automatically change things without a blink

T.N. Kettman might. Others might dig their heels in and argue.

One person's opinion is always only one person's opinion, of course that person, and therefore their opinion, may carry more authority than another, but it is still only an opinion, to be considered, then accepted or rejected as you wish.
What fascinates me about on line interactions is this aspect,

(And if it had occurred, I would have been able to punch that person in the nose. Perhaps.)

, Where will the inability to take physical action against our opponents lead? Will we evolve a whole new form of non-violent interaction? Because big black letters and swear words simply don't hack it as a replacement for flattening someone.

I do real life workshopping every week. A lot of other factors come into it in that environment.

We're all friends in my workshopping class, so we try to cushion every blow. But there can be blows. "This POV is not working", "Your tense is halting the drama," "What's the point of this scene other than the lame joke?" - I mean, stuff like that gets said all the time. Obviously a writer needs to listen to an extent, if everyone is saying the same thing... then it wouldn't serve them well, most the time anyway, to completely ignore everyone. However if it's just one person's opinion that doesn't sit well, and no one else agrees with them, forget it... Until some nasty reviewer comes back five years later when the thing is published and says the same thing. Then you can maybe start listening to your harshest critic.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

T.N. Kettman might. Others might dig their heels in and argue.

"Others"? That is a bit coy for you.

I am very hesitant to post work on this type of forums. I'll admit, I get defensive. Point out my MC has Mary Jane tendencies and you'll be shot with my death glare. So I'm scared of posting. However, I also think it has to do with the community you build. I don't think I could ask for critiques when I don't really know anything about the forum, what kind of people around, and giving it some time. I get most of my critiquing from a site where you pay for such help, and where it is moderated (a.k.a. you can report people for simply blasting your work).

In the end, you have to be comfortable because when we share writing, we're sharing a part of ourselves. Something we ought to remember when critiquing others. And it's necessary to remember that other perspectives always help, are rather interesting, can shed light onto things we missed and even give us new ideas - but in the end, they are just opinions. Our work is ours, and what matters is that we are pleased by it.