Criticism....

I see no shortage of people on the internet that don’t deal well with criticism. I believe this is for a variety of reasons, but I thought I would write a short guide on not only how to deal with criticism in a healthy manner, but also how to properly offer it to others. Comments are especially encouraged on this blog entry, for reasons I’m about to go into.

I’m writing this with a focus on writing stories of all kinds, but it really can apply to everything. Anytime someone creates a product, paints a picture, edits a video, or even presents a speech, they are judged. Viciously. Ruthlessly. Without consideration on how hard they worked, how many hours they worked, or how far they have honed their craft to get to that point. The initial judgment is almost always based solely by the final product, and then objectively compared to what else is available in the same category.

This rightfully terrifies most people. What if people don’t like what they made? What if they thought they had created something meaningful, yet everyone else just see it as a shallow attempt at a cash grab? What if the plot you thought was airtight has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese? People who don’t know you have no reason to be polite. They also have no reason to consider your actual background and motivations; there are millions of people making content just like you, and the general public can’t be expected to run background checks on your body of work if they take one glance and already don’t like what they see. Like it or not, the sheer volume of available content means books will be judged by their covers not out of malice or apathy, but out of necessity.

So where does this leave us? With an honest view of reality. Now that we know what to expect, we can plan around it. First step is to do the very best job we can at whatever we are working on. I would hope for most people this goes without saying, but for completeness I still consider it the first step. For a story, we need to structure the plot, consider the motivations and abilities of all characters, build a believable series of events, keep the conflict in focus and pace appropriately, and endlessly proofread the finished draft. Then, you need feedback.

Depending on the scope of the project, this either means immediately releasing for public consumption or getting a small group of beta readers. In both scenarios, the end result is a list of critiques. Brace yourself, as this will cut deep if they are worth anything. Even when presented in the nicest and most constructive way, I still have a knee jerk reaction to defend against criticisms and make excuses on why my original draft was correct. Unless there is a general consensus among other critics that a provided critique is invalid, they are almost always valid in some way. If a reader got the wrong idea about a character, then the character was probably not presented properly. If they don’t understand the plot, it is probably overcomplicated and muddled with unnecessary events and unclear theming. Take a moment, breath, and really consider the critique seriously so you can fix it, either in the original draft or the next thing you write.

It is worth noting that this criticism will be endless. There will always be something to improve, but this isn’t as depressing as it looks on the surface. You are human, finite and prone to mistakes. That’s okay. So are your critics. A mistake is only a true mistake if you fail to learn from it. For writing novels specifically, a phenomenon exists where the author reads their own work differently than other people. I do not know of a way around this effect. The author will read what they mean, with the added understanding of all their plans for the story. The general reader is coming in blind, and needs to be properly informed by nothing more than the words on the page. There is no faster way to find these disconnects between vision and reality than by having someone else check the reality without having the same access to your vision.

The wrong way to respond is to lash out. Even assuming they are just a troll, though many times people will simply assume anyone with the smallest amount of sarcasm is a troll, they still might incidentally offer some insight. Additionally, you don’t want to feed the trolls, which is all lashing out will accomplish if the person truly is a troll. Just having someone challenge you on your draft can help you look at it differently, and help with building more intricate plots that still work well in the future. Even when someone else is less than polite, returning rudeness with politeness goes a long way in deescalating exchanges. Talk with your critics, and they might even offer solutions. That is the complete package; you now have everything you need to improve.

But what about the other direction? You stumble across someones latest crown jewel of content, and you have mixed feelings about it. Maybe you genuinely want the person to do better in the future, or you simply want to point out that their content was sub par in some way because you feel very strongly about it. Either way, there are several things to consider.

First, I consider it best practice to lead with something, anything, that you liked about it. This isn’t to brown nose, but it is to let them know you are coming with criticism in good faith. That you don’t think their content was a complete waste of time. If you do think it was a complete waste of time, then start by stating what credentials you have to say that- experience with the subject matter, extensive knowledge, or the fact that you make the same kind of content. If you also don’t have any special ties to the type of content, then at this point you are probably best off not leaving any criticism. Even if what you say is valid, they likely won’t listen to you the same way they would listen to a fan or expert.

After that, assuming you are still leaving a critique, the most important part is to be honest. Whether or not you are rude or polite, waxing eloquent with full paragraphs or leaving a blunt one liner, you need to say what you think. Everything else is secondary, and in the end you can’t control how the creator receives the information. All you can do is provide it. The second most important part is to fact check your criticism before posting it. Prepare for ridicule if you post a criticism on a video before you finished watching it, only to find out they addressed it later in the video. Read through the response you are leaving multiple times to correct typos and verify you are saying what you actually think clearly and effectively. Third, follow up with responses and have a conversation when the other party is willing. Conversations are mutually beneficial, as becoming a better critic sharpens your critical thinking and attention to detail, both of which are incredibly useful.

But maybe everyone reading this has one simple question: Why? Why bother sifting through the haters and trolls to find those nuggets of wisdom when the process can be so difficult and emotionally draining?

Because this is the only way to improve. Growth is only experienced in true adversity. Criticism is exponentially more valuable than compliments, as it makes you better rather than just inflating your ego. If your goal is true excellence, to become the very best version of yourself, critics are your most important allies, and equally, you want those you truly respect to improve by helping them see their mistakes. The only reason criticism would be unnecessary for someone is if they don’t care about becoming better, and only want to remain in their comfort zone.

Wish You Success
@destinyworld