Advice and Criticism

There is a fine line that writers walk. We must write for ourselves. However, what do you do when your editors look at you and want massive rewrites on the story you have just spent hours on, bled over, and lost sleep over?

When do we take the advice and (constructive) criticism and when do we say – “This is my story, and this is how it will stay?” It’s hard to hear someone tear apart your “baby.”

In July 2019, one of my editors sent me a review of novel I was working on. It left me in tears, ready to shelve the story and never look back. I licked my wounds for three days. Then I decided I wasn’t going to take the easy way out.

I sat down and did the most massive rewrites I have ever done on a novel before. BUT – I sifted through the criticism given and changed what I believed would make it a stronger story. There were comments given that would have changed the entire tone of the story and what I was trying to convey – those I gently set aside in order keep my story mine, and no one else’s.

So, here’s a little advice:

1. Find someone you trust to read your work. Someone who will analyze your work for good storytelling (if you are a fiction writer), not on the basis of whether or not they like the story. Something may not be an editor’s cup of tea, so to speak, but they can still tell if it is good storytelling or not and be objective.
2. If more than one person is coming back saying the same thing – having the same constructive comments – then listen. As hard as it may be, listen. If multiple people are saying the same thing, there is a reason.
3. If there is only one person who has made a criticism and you aren’t sure about it, make the decision to either take their advice to heart or discard it. You have that right. It is your story, not theirs.
4. My rule of thumb: if the constructive criticism changes the core of what you are trying to do, if it changes the story you are trying to tell, it is probably okay to disregard the comment and move on.