my first intense criticism

My first intense criticism devastated me.  I couldn't look at the words that this angry, self-indulgent, overly-critical man had written about my work.  I cringed. My eyes became misty. And I almost began to doubt my abilities as a writer. Then I forced myself to look. And one-by-one the corrections were made and the issues were addressed. By the time I finished my editing, that man was applauding me.



For the new writers who are exposing themselves to some of the harshest critics out there, I'd like to say this to you.  Take every word said or written to you or about you as a way to make yourself better.  Don't look at it any other way than that.  Criticism can sometimes hurt our feelings because we want to believe that our work is the greatest or, at least, one of the greatest and we never want to hear that this could be better or that could be better.  To us it probably is the greatest, but I challenge you to take their words, good or bad, and turn each and every one into a piece of clay that you patch onto yourself to make yourself into that powerhouse you believe yourself to be.  And word-by-word, piece by piece, you can transform yourself into that writer of writers.



If you are told that your piece is confusing, get rid of the confusion. If you are told that your timeline is wrong, or this or that does not make sense. Fix the timeline and make sure your work makes sense.  Your characters don't seem real, they say.  My characters aren't real.  They are a piece of my imagination and sometimes you don't have to change them, but you do have to make sure you are right in the stand that you take, as well as, making sure the characters do seem real.  Everyone has his/her opinion,  and they can't all like your work.  But make it as real as you need to or can. 



My point here is that criticism is here to help us grow, learn by experience, make us angry, make us feel--something.  You need to feel when you write. You don't only feel when you put pen to paper, you feel when you edit.  Don't be afraid of what others might say about your work. Revel in what they say. Enjoy the fact that there is a discussion about something that you have created. You will always have critics.  If we didn't we would all have the same color car, the same amount of children, the same length of hair and the same dreary old lives. Don't ever be afraid to be different or not liked, that's what makes us unique.