Nervous and excited about joining a writing group or class? You should be. Unlike math or the hard sciences, where there is only the right and the wrong answer, writing is personal. Science and math rests on reason and facts. When we write, we pour some parts of ourselves in the experience. Our deepest thoughts spill out in words, open for all to view….and criticize. We leave our soft underbellies exposed.

I have been a member of a number of writing groups and attended several writing classes over the years. Why we subject ourselves to criticism is obvious. We want to do write better. But deep down when we present our work, the project that we have been writing for several weeks, months, and maybe years, what we are looking for confirmation that our writing is good, that we really do have talent.

Feedback, especially constructive feedback, is both beneficial and stifling to the creative process. Critiquing brings a new vantage point, new ideas, and can sustain motivation. If the criticism is harsh and insensitive, it can be extremely devastating to a new writer. It can squelch the writer’s chance of developing his or her writing, because we carry the wound for the rest of our lives. Time dulls the sting of the insult, but we are acutely aware of the unkind feedback and sometimes one can detect it in behavior. When things hapen of the is a subjective process and one has to understand from whom the criticism comes. What is the person’s agenda or experience? Are the comments have a ring of truth to them? Are the comments accompanied by actual suggestions to remedy the problem? Or does the person doing the critique in the process of satisfying some complex ego flaw?

But just maybe the critic is giving an honest opinion. This is what we all strive for when we sign on to these classes.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you have never been to a writing group or writing class:

• First, if you are the sensitive type…easily wounded if you do not get a standing ovation, then you are probably not ready for your work to be reviewed by a group. For the most part, every member of the group thinks they are helping you become a better writer. The truth is that only you can help you become a better writer. Be open to criticism.
• Do not take it personally — unless someone says you have an ugly dog.
• Do not try to explain your point of view unless it is requested. This position makes you defensive and you start to not listen carefully to what the person is trying to tell you, even though the criticism may be awkwardly expressed. When you have to explain what your story is about or what it means, then you obviously haven’t written the passage well enough. Your words should be self explanatory.
• Even if your work ranks up there with Mario Puzo, you need to realize that your plot, your writing style, or whatever is not going to appeal to everyone. You don’t need to please everyone.
• Take the suggestions and use what makes sense. Thank them for their feedback and don’t let them see you sticking your tongue out at them.

A bad class or group is a total time waster. Yes, not all writing groups or classes are created equal. A writing group that has members with strong egos can crush your creative spirit. Strong, ambitious and vociferous writers often force their opinons, because being heard is like stroking their own self worth. Just remember advice can be taken or rejected.

A good group is homogenous. This means that everyone at the meeting shares the same interest. If the group is songwriting, then everyone should be into the creating music or writing lyrics. If the group is about poetry, then you would not find a lyricist in the group unless the lyricist also wrote poems. There is too much ground to cover when your group has varied agendas. No one wants to talk about someone else’s genre and neither will you particularly be interested in listening reading it.

I welcome you to share your thoughts on this topic. In the next post I will compare the writing class vs. the writer’s group, line by line. Stay tuned.

Tags: constructive feedback, feedback, new ideas, pros and cons of writing class, pros and cons of writing group, writing group vs. writing group

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 10:57 pm and is filed under Thoughts about Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.