Being precious is the last thing a writer wants, but not all advice is worth taking...
Purposeful writing makes compelling stories. A new take on an existing genre can influence entire generations of new writers. But for every masterpiece that changes the rules, there are plenty of works that aren’t strong enough to pull it off. Writers unable or unwilling to acknowledge the flaws within their work are set to have a hard time breaking into their industry. But there are also many instances where an innovative piece is entirely misunderstood at the time of its creation. So how is anyone ever able to tell the difference?
First things first: Take a moment
A lot of time, effort and personality goes into even the most functional writing for us enthusiasts. It can be extremely hard to not take it personally. When someone says they find something in your work unconvincing, it feels (however irrationally) that they were unconvinced by you. Not in a character or plot twist, but in your deeply personal motivations for creating the piece. That hurts. Who are they anyway? They don’t know how long you took crafting this or what you went through to write it!
That is most likely true, but it’s not helpful. For starters it will seem as though you haven’t taken their thoughts seriously and no one can forgive that level of disrespect. It will probably put them off giving you feedback in the future, which is not what you want. Good feedback can come from anywhere, after all.
Patterns only exist in large numbers
However absurd the suggestion may seem, your best course of action is always to give yourself a moment. Consider what the person has said even if it seems entirely contrary to your immediate reaction. You can still answer in the negative, but that extra moment’s space will make all the difference. Why? Because everyone that gives you feedback is only looking to make the piece better with you. If you outright reject their input it makes people question your motives. Did you want their opinion or did you want them to just shower you with praise regardless of honesty?
Given enough space many critics will openly admit that their opinion is all they have. Even though your work made them react a certain way, you’re still the main authority on the manuscript. You can take their advice or not, but feedback is most useful when it comes in volume. Patterns only exist in large numbers. So the last thing you want to do is reduce your total by forgetting why they’re listening to you in the first place. With everyone’s growing list of distractions these days, even having people’s attention is a sign you’re doing something right.
Any writer worth their salt would welcome a healthy debate about their work, even if they have to respectfully disagree.
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