Accepting & Rejecting Advice

[T.Allen.Smith]

The following is an anecdote of writer Ingrid Thoft's experience in handling critique advice.

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor...buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

Thoughts?

 

[wordwalker]

Sounds like an intense example of the basic rule of critiques: listen to everyone, but judge how it would affect what you really want to write. You have the right to just not take the book in the direction someone wants, even if that would have made it more conventionally appealing. Besides, even to please an agent, the changes you most hate to make may be the ones you couldn't pull off anyway.

(I always consider a critique a poll with a sample of 1. Some fraction of my potential readers would react that way, some wouldn't; that helps me keep things in perspective.)

 

[Guy]

Besides, even to please an agent, the changes you most hate to make may be the ones you couldn't pull off anyway.

This. If you don't like what you're writing, no one else will, and you won't be able to disguise your dislike.

 

[buyjupiter]

If enough people find the same issue in the same spot in your writing, I'd take that as a good sign that something needs to change there. Although, what constitutes enough people is entirely up to how many people critique the writing in the first place.

I recently had something go through a critique process and had about 25 people read it. I got a fairly...mixed...response to the story. But I had enough people mention the same thing about one part of the story that I had to go back and examine it. I still think it is a strong part of the story, and the only part that I actually have some first hand knowledge of. I won't be changing it, but I at least have trimmed out some of the surrounding issues with that part of the rising action.

As for the other parts that people didn't get/like, I pretty much said screw it. I looked over the advice, saw that as the story was currently written it wasn't hitting the mark I aimed for, so I set up a new target and rewrote the thing. Which made most of the advice moot at that point.

The parts I wouldn't change were what made the story mine. They were my bits of humor, my bits of poetry/philosophical musings, and random bits of weird imagery. If I cut them out, or rewrote them, the story would no longer have been mine.

I suppose, in brief, pay more attention to the things that are said about writing techniques (i.e. characterization, rising action, resolution), and less to the stuff that is a matter of personal preference like voice/style.

 

[BWFoster78]

T.Allen,

Nice post. I think the author put it nicely when he said to examine whether the advice helped the story or just made it different. That's an excellent, and succinct, way to put it.

Most of us possess the ability to examine a piece of advice and make the determination as to whether or not it helps the story. Sometimes, it takes a bit of effort on our part to do so, but the evaluation is definitely worth it.

 

[Feo Takahari]

I don't cling much to the ideas I use, since they mostly come from other people anyway. I'll happily swap a stolen idea out for a suggested one if I think it makes the story more entertaining. I make two exceptions:

1): When I don't think my reader is representative. For instance, I sometimes have a reader who doesn't get metaphors at all.

2): When I'm not comfortable with the message the change would send. For instance, if a story contains abuse of some kind, I never make changes that soften or excuse it. (This really does come up sometimes!)

This is different from much of the above in that I don't try to preserve any mannerisms or habits as being "mine." If they hurt the story, out they go!

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

T.Allen, Nice post. I think the author put it nicely when he said to examine whether the advice helped the story or just made it different. That's an excellent, and succinct, way to put it. Most of us possess the ability to examine a piece of advice and make the determination as to whether or not it helps the story. Sometimes, it takes a bit of effort on our part to do so, but the evaluation is definitely worth it.

Yeah. I also liked the following:

"It may be hard to hear, but you can do it, and you need to do it if you want to survive in publishing. Once the sting has lessened, review the feedback with your work's best interest in mind, not your ego's. If the advice enhances your work, accept it as the gift it is."

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I'd agree with most of it, but the thing that concerns me with writers and dealing with critiques is that it's a growth thing. Younger writers I think tend to take critiques more to heart and are more willing to change - whether for good or ill is another matter. It takes experience to judge whether a critique is fair or not and whether to adapt the work accordingly.

For example I just got a one star (A genuine one not a drive by for once) from a guy who thought my MC shouldn't feel guilt for killing an enemy in a particularly brutal way. (Arrows, fire, burning to death screaming - that sort of thing.) A few years ago that critique would have levelled me and I would have been thinking about reaching for my keyboard and questioning every word I wrote. Now with the benefit of those years I can say hey look, this is my MC and I didn't want him to be a sociopath or a stereotypical western gunfighter who just shoots, kills and walks away. He did what he had to do, but it's not unreasonable to feel guilt, shame, remorse etc. In fact it's human and I wanted him to be that.

That I think is a hard lesson for younger writers to accept. That sometimes critics can have genuinely different opinions to yours and can hold them sincerely and voice them stridently and you can still hold to your guns if you believe your version is true to your vision.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[The Dark One]

Whenever this topic comes up I always say the following:

If the reader has 'got' what you're trying to do...take their advice really seriously. If they don't get it, politely ignore.

 

[C Hollis]

I think this is a great example of how we should approach all input.

Though she ultimately rejected the first Agent's advice, she gave it due diligence.
When Agent number two offered up their two bits, she gave it due diligence, and made changes.

In my opinion, the only approach where you can go wrong with advice is by rejecting or accepting without giving it proper consideration.

 

[wordwalker]

Lord, grant me the serenity to Accept the Tracked Changes I should accept; the courage to Reject the Changes I should not; the wisdom to know the difference.

--word processor's prayer