About Critical Problems

Post 1297:

It’s good to listen to critical analysis of your work. From your friends. From people you like. From people you don’t like. From people you know and don’t like. It’s also important to read and listen to criticism of all types of fiction. Sources you tend to agree with. Sources you think are completely missing it.

That’s if you want to be a good storyteller. Even though hearing uncomfortable truths about possible flaws in your work sucks. Personally, I’d rather hear someone tell me I’m a crappy person than a crappy writer.

This is probably taking it too far. Maybe don’t do that.

The thing is, telling a story is extremely complicated. There are brilliant writers of every type. Some honest critics simply don’t like certain styles. That’s their right.

Try not to take negative criticism too hard. Just hard enough. And listen to different styles. Some people enjoy plot over characters. Some like character arcs and the mechanics aren’t that important. It’s a good idea to know the wide range of critics. This way you can write for a specific audience—or write for as wide an audience as possible.

It’s fun to read and listen to detailed story analysis, but I suggest you take it in doses. Finding flaws is good and you need to be open to it, but if all you see are flaws, you’re screwed. Frozen. Afraid of making mistakes. Creators take risks. No way around it. You either go out on a limb and get loved and hated, or you play it safe and get loved and hated. First one sounds better to me.

Cheers and see you after.