Work to YES (Part 2)

Take Charge of your Feedback

We’ve been talking about getting your work out. Inevitably, with getting your work out, you will get critiques back. I have a love/hate relationship with critiques. While I really want the feedback, I initially feel the sting of imperfection. So, to make it easier, this is what I’ve learned to do:

Step one.

Read through all the feedback. Twice. Then close the document and sleep on it. You don’t want to rush into a revision right after getting feedback. You’ll need a clear head to weigh through the comments and suggestions and decide what you need to do. Remind yourself that you asked/paid for this advice. Your critiquer’s job is to find as many problems/potential problems as she can and, even more importantly, to open your eyes to your own story.

Step two.

Compile all the positive comments. If you have multiple critiques, put the good comments together into one document, print it out and keep it in your writer’s notebook or with your current project’s papers. You will be happy to have some good news to look back on when you get to some of the more difficult areas.

Step three.

Start with the easy stuff. (a) See what questions or comments you can cross off because you don’t have to make any changes. For example: I write historical fiction. Often, in my critiques, I get questions on slang or other period facts. In my drafts I’ve started footnoting these facts so I will remember that I’ve already done the research and don’t have to look them up again. (b) Grammar and mechanics. Take care of all those missing commas, run-on sentences, etc. But don’t do it blindly. If you can make mistakes, so can your critiquer.

Step four.

Now it’s time to get into the meat of the critique. If you are coming off of a contest where a score sheet was used, all the better, because you can use this sheet as your game plan. Often, it is divided into sections like plot, characters, etc, so you can work on each section at a time. If not, you can work your way comment by comment, or make up your own categories to follow.

Take your time going through the critique. Don’t make a change just because someone said you should. First, ask yourself what you were trying to convey. How did the critiquer understand or not understand it?

According to Stephen King, in On Writing, the editor is always right. So if your critiquer stumbled on something in your text, take it seriously. You may not make the change that is suggested, but maybe the one that is implied. For example, if the comment is: “I can’t see this character doing this.” Maybe instead of deleting that action, you have to make a change earlier in the text to make this character more believable.

Step five.

File the critique. You may want to look back on these notes during another revision. If your critiquer pointed out some common habits, on your next book you can do a preemptive strike on those. Oh, better idea. Start a new document listing your common habits. Your own pre-critique style sheet.

Happy rewriting everyone!