Recently, I got a crit on a story that I wrote about Spanish conquistadors. The reader said that my villain was a stereotype, a fact I naturally disagreed with, but then he went on to say that my characterisation wasn’t believable because Spanish conquistadors were all decended from nobility and they all had a moral code, …etc.
In effect, he was using a steretype to prove that my stereotype wasn’t believable.
Somewhere, Lady Irony snorted coffee through her nose.
I have a nervous tic that compels me to point out hypocrisy wherever I see it. I enjoy it. I’m damn good at it. Logic is my kung-fu. However, when you do this in response to a criticism, it looks like you’re getting defensive. This is the part of the story where the protagonist experiences character growth. You see, the comment was made in a pretty public forum attended by people I respect. Therefore, in order to not accidentally come across as defensive, I kept my mouth shut. I thanked him for him comments, and moved on.
Sure, I could have gotten some kind of cerebral thrill from being what David Pitchford once called an “intellectual bully”. But instead, I behaved like a professional. And you know what? It felt pretty good. Who knows? Maybe I might make a career of this thing.
17 Comments(+Add)
Hey Jordan, editors are human, too. Their decisions are just as susceptible to being swayed by personal opinions and perceptions as those of everyone else.
I’ve seen some criticisms that I simply could not agree with. I’ve had editors reject a piece due to flaws that seemed apparently non-existent to another, equally skilled and experienced editor down the line.
I think the criticism of cliche has, in and of itself, become something of a cliche. Not that cliches don’t exist, but that “this is cliche” has become something of an editorial catch-phrase when something just doesn’t work for that particular editor.
Don’t sweat it. Different editors and different publishers perceive works differently. It happens.
Oops, you were talking “stereotype” instead of “cliche”, but the point remains the same.
i guess I should add “critters are human, too”.
One more point, and then I’ll shut my own mouth, so to speak. Sometimes you do have to keep you mouth shut and move on, although your gut instinct may be to contest the criticism. At times, it’s simply not worth fighting over.
I lied, I do have one other point.
Like me, you may get to the point where you simply no longer have the time for such debates and discussions. Being busy has a way of changing your priorities (as well as making you skim over people’s journal entries so you miss certain details).
Constructive criticism can certainly be helpful, but if you feel that a particular bit of criticism isn’t very constructive, debating the point may simply be a waste of time.
Conquistadores were all descended from nobility? In what alternate universe.
Oh, let me put it in Spanish. Que puta mierda es esa?
Most conquistadores were regular people. Fortune seekers. They were also a rowdy bunch. Look at Pizarro. Read some of Cortes.
And they were all noble people with a moral code? Excuse me while I barf a little. That would be like saying all the British people who colonized Africa were nice and moral. Or the French in the Caribbean. And they never did anything naughty to the natives. Because there were moral, God-fearing people.
Btw, I think you did the right thing by not replying. Criticism of a story is best internalized.
My sincere congrats on holding your tongue and temper, Jordan. It’s something I have to consciously make myself do sometimes.
Richard has it right, too – often it is not worth my already very limited time to address an ignorant comment. I will, however, take the time to note where that comment came from and henceforth appropriately value that source’s further words.
You did the right thing. You did pretty much the only thing. Twits are twits. It would be difficult to know if they said anything that was useful.
I once listened to a room full of people tell me what I needed to study about fairies when it was clear to me that 80% of the room had almost no background in fantasy literature or fairies. But hey, they knew who was currently a hot writer that wrote about fairies and I obviously needed to copy that person.
And I kept my mouth shut and thanked them.
None of them had hit what was really wrong with the story I submitted. Someone else was able to tell me that. They all knew something was wrong and they were trying to help me. But they were all dead wrong about what it was. I had made basic storytelling mistakes, not mistakes about fairies.
Just a thought. But yes, Lady Irony snorted coffee out of her nose. No doubt about it. You have my complete sympathy.
Oz
Hi Richard, the guy wasn’t an editor, just another writer. I find that crits by writers are of uneven value. If they, themselves, are good, they’re probably right. But I’ve gotten some poor advice from writers who didn’t know what they were doing.
Thanks Silvia, I certainly agree that conquistadors were conquerors first and gentlemen a distant, distance fortieth.
But yeah, pointing that out might have released some endorphins in the ol’ brainstem, but it probably wouldn’t have impressed the editors.
Jason,
Sometimes, if I see someone making an ignorant comment, I’ll seek out some of their writing. Usually, it’s piss poor, but sometimes it’s great. That’s when I give their comment a second look.
Hi Oz,
It just goes to show you that you can’t please everyone all the time. I’ve seen writers do contortions to try and address every last crit on their work.
I think judging which crits are worthwhile and which are tripe is a real skill worth developing!
Addressing every comment made is suicide for a story. It creates a story written by committee.
But yes, I think when you use a workshop, developing the skill to sift wheat from chaff is what you’re doing. And you do have to remember that most other writers giving you an opinion are telling you how THEY would write your story.
The real trick is identifying the rare person who is trying to see how YOU want to write the story and offering advice to help you get there.
I actually found one of those and it’s like night and day to other critiques.
Oz
Or worse, they’ll telling you how to write your story according to a set of rules they only poorly understand
But being an intellectual bully is so much fun!
On the other hand, my first (and as yet only) poem got published after I did a key edit in response to a particularly bitchy and harsh criticism in a public forum.
Yeah. I’m not above rewriting when I see the need. I had a story at Baen’s Bar go through like 7 rewrites, and every one made it a better story.