The trouble with having someone savage, uhhm, I mean critique, your writing is that it can confirm your worst fears about your own abilities. If you're already feeling tentative about a piece you've written (and let's face it, what writer doesn't?) then having someone point out its faults or deficiencies can amplify to a shout the whiny little voice in the back of your mind that's already whispering, "this is rubbish".No matter how you look at it, having someone read your work and comment on it can create a vicious spiral of self-doubt. If you're ambivalent about the quality of your writing and someone says something positive about it, it's easy to brush it off and think, "Oh, he's just saying that to be nice." On the other hand, if the person's comments are negative, they will almost certainly fall on the fertile ground of your misgivings. The criticism, even if baseless, will spread its tentacles and slowly smother your belief in yourself, just as a greedy patch of weed chokes a plant reaching for the sun.
One might ask, why believe the negative comments but not the positive? And the answer is really quite simple. Actually, two answers. First, it isn't that you don't believe the positive, maybe you do. But the positive doesn't carry nearly the weight of the negative. And second, as someone who shall remain nameless once said... "The bad stuff is easier to believe."
2 comments:
Yes, the bad stuff is easier to believe at times. But that's because you're not as confident in your writing as you should be. ;)
Something else about the bad stuff. It's easier to write/say, when you don't actually have a clue and should keep your words to yourself.
You're asking the wrong question.
"Did you like it," is like asking "Do these pants make my ass look big." No matter which answer you get, you'll be unhappy.
Try asking other questions:
Does it work?
Is there a place where you lost interest?
Are there too many adverbs?
Was there a part you liked better than others?
Does this font make my ass look big?
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