Using Constructive Criticism in Writing

Receiving Feedback is Valuable but What Should a Writer do Next?

May 13, 2009 Stephanie Williams

If a writer wants to progress in the highly competitive publishing industry they must learn to take criticism and direction.

Receiving feedback on writing is extremely valuable for any writer. It can show someone where the major flaws are in plot, language, character structure and various other threads. A writer is extremely close to their work and therefore may not see glaring errors clearly so asking for criticism is vital.

By attending critique groups, posting work to on-line forums or simply passing it round friends can provide a writer with their own personal test audience. Every film goes through this ritual and even a blockbuster like Australia changed its ending based on test audience feedback.

Make Sure You Listen

The most important thing a writer can do when faced with constructive criticism is listen to it. It is extremely easy to dismiss good advice and a lot harder to actually use it to help improve. Take on board everything that an outside source says about a piece of work. An unbiased viewpoint can sometimes change an entire story arc for the better.

Writers are often lost in their own little worlds of creativity, sometimes sat staring at a computer screen and losing hours of a day to writing. When they have the printed manuscript in front of them they are loathe to make any changes because it represents closure and it is important to believe that all the lost time has been worth it. It still can be!

The Editing Process

Most writers will edit a single piece of work up to five times – maybe even more. Some novels can take years of a writers life to perfect but that time is absolutely vital if the end result is going to stand the arduous process of submission to publishers.

A publisher will see every tiny flaw in a submission and will look for any excuse to turn it away. What is important is that those flaws have all been ironed out in advance.

The technique sometimes called the “Silent Editing Process” or SEP is when a writer chooses to edit their own manuscript with no outside assistance. This can be a good method of finding any typos, grammatical errors or glaringly obvious contradictions. The other technique known as the “Group Editing Process” is a much more thorough method because it provides the writer with outside opinion which can highlight weaknesses within a manuscript.

Common Mistakes

Two of the most common mistakes when writing a novel are:

1. Contradiction in terms of characters, places and details – a writer can sometimes unwittingly change the colour of a character’s eyes; hair or even their occupation. A reader would quickly pick up on this before the publisher did!
2. Weaknesses of chapter – in a number of early manuscripts there are weaker chapters. The majority of the novel may be excellent but there are usually a couple of places where the writer has lost focus or simply rushed through. A reader will immediately be able to locate these on a first read as they will break the imaginative thread and bring the reader hurtling back into reality.

Make the Most of What You Have

There are hundreds of writers trying to catch their first break. Many of them may be forced to keep trying for the foreseeable future. What is important is that a writer’s work stands out for all the right reasons and doesn’t end up being rejected for a simple rookie mistake!

Take advantage of any avenues that open up to get feedback and criticism. However bitter the pill is to swallow now, it is the right time to swallow it and benefit from what it has to offer.

The copyright of the article Using Constructive Criticism in Writing in Writing Fiction is owned by Stephanie Williams. Permission to republish Using Constructive Criticism in Writing in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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