How do you take negative feedback from a story and have you ever agreed with negative feedback?
Of course not, but sometimes I'd love to.
Any feedback is good feedback, I feel. Like so many others writers have said before, if anyone cares enough about my work to get in touch with me about it, that's a win, whether they praise it or criticize it.
Have I ever agreed with it? Occasionally, but not to the extend of the one making the criticism. For example, when I was writing Gene Simmons Dominatrix (no apostrophe, I know, not my call), several reviewers lamented the T&A factor of the book taking such a forefront. Well, I would have preferred less of that as well as a writer, freeing me to delve into character and plot, but those were the parameters I was given to write. If someone is paying you to write a sonnet, be a professional and don't try to write an epic narrative of rhyming couplets. Luckily, as the book progressed, we were able to move beyond that stereotype bad girl image of the book and really hit the stuff the writer in my wanted to focus on. But had I started it that way, well, for one thing, I wouldn't have kept the job. So it's a matter of doing your job regardless of both the positive and negative feedback.
If I were to pick a book off the shelf with the title Gene Simmons Dominatrix I would expect T&A, leather and whips. If I did not get that, you would have received some negative feedback from me.
ReplyDeleteI recently picked up a book, I'll paraphrase the title, "Hero vs Supernatural Villain." What was in the book was tons of dialog between the hero and their significant other. There was plenty of character development and very little of the Supernatural Villain. The author received some negative feedback from me. I felt that I was not given what the title promised.
I agree with Sean Taylor, plot and character development are great if you have the space and time. But I am just a reader with limited time and funds to spend and if you promise me Gene Simmons Dominatrix, you better give me Gene Simmons Dominatrix.
We talked about that in this week's Table Talk, Sean, coincidentally enough, asked by Mark. You can see our answers at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/2012/01/table-talk-reader-questions-30.html
ReplyDeleteBobby
www.bobbynash.com
Yep, it was your Table Talk column that inspired me, Bobby. And Mark, I knew I was writing a T&A book, but was equally tasked with making it a compelling story that went beyond a reader's expectations, and that's always a trick (and fun) proposition.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Mark and Bobby.
It sort of depends on the negative feedback and where in the process it's coming.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten negative feedback in my writers' group. Since these are people I've been working with in the group for years, I have to pay attention. In that case (since the work is still "in process"), I have to figure out why they are reacting the way they are. If they're not getting to the point I was trying to make, I need to reshape something that will get them there.
On the other hand, it isn't always "The group is right." I once brought in the first act of a two act play, and the act ends with my "romantic couple" at odds with each other (an issue to be resolved in Act 2, of course). On person said she didn't like the young woman any more, because she wasn't supportive of the young man. My reaction was, "Hello? It's the cliffhanger before the intermission! She's not a Perfect Miss - though it has seemed so up to now. She's human and she's afraid." I didn't say that out loud, of course. But the point is, the group wasn't quite in tune with the medium (it's primarily a screenwriting group, so the different rhythm of stage apparently didn't register).
When someone critisizes a finished work though, there isn't much you can do. Some people might try and make character assassinations out of their dislike of a work -- but if you accept that the work isn't you, it is possible to withstand those.
Negaitve response is never fun to get. We always want to think our work is golden. But it will happen, so any creator needs to learn how to deal with it and not be crushed by it.
Great point, Sarah. We've got to know the situation and keep some perspective on anything negative.
DeleteSo agree, Sarah.
ReplyDelete