Hello WriteByNighters!
This week's super-fun topic: Criticism!
About a year ago I emailed a new short story of mine to a writer friend and wrote, "You'll really enjoy this one!"
He... did not enjoy it. Not even a little. The first two lines of his response went, "I put a bunch of notes in this, but finally just kind of stopped. I DON'T LIKE THIS STORY."
Hey, at least I can't accuse him of not being honest.
And at least it happened in private. In-person negative criticism can be particularly brutal, because not only are you receiving it in real time, but you're looking right at the person delivering it. And if you're in a group setting, you also know that all eyes are on you to gauge your response.
Almost any act of creation opens the creator up to criticism. We write, we publish; readers read, readers respond. Some of them respond harshly.
**Spoiler alert**
I haven't learned how. I'm just opening it up for discussion. Call it group therapy.
What is the harshest (external) criticism of your writing you've ever received, in public and/or in private?
What was your external reaction, and what was your internal response? How did you move on from it? Does it still bother you?
