When you put yourself out there as a writer, you’re opening yourself up to criticism and judgement. The way you present yourself – your work – to the world will either impress or repel them. Either way, it’s a risk you’re taking. For some, your passion for writing may even be contagious. You can’t beat reading an interesting story and being able to relate to the characters. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes the critic is right and you’ve done the impossible and succeeded beyond all expectations. But more often than not, the person expressing the most critical opinion is also the one who doesn’t understand. Or at least, doesn’t want to understand.
The Preach Trap
Whether you prefer to call it the “preach trap” or “praise trap”, there’s probably a name for it. The fact is, when you put yourself out there as a creative writer, you’re opening yourself to the possibility of criticism. It’s an unavoidable fact of life as a creative person. However, you can use this criticism to your advantage. Instead of letting the heat get to you and making you defensive, you can learn from these opinions and use them to improve your work. In order to do that, you need to understand what’s going on and how you can avoid falling into the trap. That’s what this article is about. Hopefully, it will help you get a clearer picture of where you’re going and what you’re doing. Let’s dive in.
The Preacher And His Sheep
A common criticism that creative writers receive is that they’re overly critical and don’t appreciate the good work that others are doing. While it’s true that you should be able to see the positive side of things, it’s also important to recognize the fact that not every piece of work is going to be perfect. In fact, most of it is going to be awful. But that’s the point. The good thing about this stage of your growth as a creative writer is that you’re learning from the mistakes you make and becoming a better person as a result. It’s all about growth and experience. Not many people are willing to stick around in order to help you along the way. But the ones who are are the ones you need to appreciate and respect. You’re starting to build a community of people who love and support your work. It’s people like these who are going to help you find the flaws in your writing so that you can improve upon it. Without these people, you’d never be able to grow as a writer. So in the end, the ones you need to look out for are the ones who are going to give you constructive criticism. The ones who are going to help you become a better writer.
The Difference In Constructive And Destructive Criticism
These are two very different things. To say that someone is expressing constructive criticism is to say that they’re willing to help you improve your work and help you become a better writer. Even if they don’t like something about your story, they’ll still be able to point out the positives that they see. It’s all about what they can find, rather than what they want to find. With destructive criticism, there’s no helping it. It’s something you’re going to have to learn to live with. Someone is either going to like your story or they’re not. It’s not going to be possible for you to make them see things your way. Sometimes, this is exactly what you need. You’re not going to like every person who expresses an opinion about your work, but you’ll be able to find the positives. Even when your work is poor, there will still be things that you can learn from it. However, when you get a constant stream of bad criticism, it can start to eat away at you. Especially when you’re not used to receiving any kind of criticism at all. It starts to feel like an attack. Instead of helping you, it’s making you feel worse. So try to avoid these people and any situation that might turn into one. Be open to getting help but don’t let others make you feel bad about something that you worked hard on. Above all else, don’t let the praise outweigh the criticism. It will only serve to make you believe that they’ve been fooled all along and are in fact, criticizing you for your efforts. This will never, ever do any good. There’s plenty of both kinds of criticism out there. You just need to learn to recognize the good from the bad.
How To Give And Get Honest Criticism
There are ways to give and get honest criticism. You should be able to discuss things with the person who gave you the advice or the criticism without feeling attacked or defensive. As a writer, you should always be looking for ways to improve your work. Getting criticism from someone who is actually expressing an opinion instead of just giving you lip service is always a good thing. Even if they don’t like something about your story, you can at least understand where they’re coming from. This allows you to be open to discussing ways you can make your work better. Instead of simply ignoring their opinion or defending your own work, you can learn from their feedback. The key is to be open to what they have to say and not be so focused on your own opinions that you don’t even consider what they’re saying. This will help you achieve your highest potential as a writer.
Avoid The Preach Trap
Even when you’re starting out, it’s easy to get distracted by all the praise you receive. Especially from people who have never really had an opinion about your work. These are the people you need to watch out for because, generally, they don’t have anything good to say. The key is to keep your head in the game and avoid looking at the positive comments and let your work do the talking. When someone has something good to say about your work, it’s probably because they’ve actually read it and understood what you were trying to say. The fact that they liked what you did makes them an ideal critic for the purposes of your improvement. If they’re not willing to point out the errors in your story, then there’s probably not much point in even having them around. Being a writer is a lonely job. You’re going to have to learn to rely on yourself and your inner circle of friends and family. People who have never really bothered to get to know you and your work are generally not worth your time and energy. Watch out for those who try to convince you that your story is perfect and don’t have a thing to say. A good critic will always have something positive to point out even when your story is poor. So don’t get too attached to the praise or ignore the bad. There’s always going to be something you can learn from it.
Avoid Giving Too Much Attention To One Criticism
Giving too much attention to one piece of criticism is not a good idea. Instead, you need to look out for the whole pattern of opinions. If someone is constantly criticizing your work, then it’s time to take a step back and see if there’s something else going on. There could be a number of reasons why someone is criticizing your work. Sometimes, it’s because they feel that what you did was pointless or that it didn’t make sense. Other times, it’s because they feel that what you did was bad and shouldn’t have been done. Instead of trying to figure out what’s going on, it’s usually better to just ignore them and continue on your path to improvement. In time, you’ll figure out whether or not what they had to say was worth paying attention to. In general, it’s a good idea to avoid getting too attached to one particular criticism. Instead, look at the big picture and see if anything else is bothering you.
Learn From The Best
One of the best things you can do for your writing is to learn from the best. This means that you go out and find people who have more experience than you do and either listen to what they have to say or ask them questions about what you’re doing. The best thing is that you can do this while you’re still in school. There are plenty of teachers and professors who are willing to help you improve as a writer. Instead of just accepting what they have to say, ask them for specific examples of good and bad writing. Sometimes, this is all it takes in order to find the source of your problem. Instead of randomly guessing at what you should change, learning from others who are more experienced can help point out the specific things that you need to work on. In some situations, this can also help you find a solution to your problems. Even when it doesn’t seem to be doing much, getting advice from people who are better than you are can help.