- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated December 7, 2014 at 10:19 pm by
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I have a question about critiques that I guess fits here a lot better than in the critique boards themselves: How far exactly does the rule about not arguing with critiquers go?
I mean, I understand that it is unproductive, not to mention rude, to reply to critiques with something like “Shut the heck up, you clueless philistine”. Goes without saying, really. But the rule kind of comes across as “don´t talk back to critiquers except to say ´thank you´”.
Let´s say I get a critique that says about a certain section that it is not serving purpose A (such as showing how well a character is holding up under emotional pressure) very well, where that section was actually supposed to serve a different, distinct purpose B (such as showing how that character is on the verge of going to pieces emotionally).
Now, sure, “This means something completely different, you just don´t get it” is right out, no question.
But would it be acceptable if I responded with “Actually, I meant for the section to show not A but B; apparently I failed. Do you have any advice on how to do this?”?
Well, I think first off, is the critiquer a friend or someone from a group that you don’t actually know?
If it’s a friend, you can get rather in depth with questions etc.
If its someone you don’t know, I think just being as polite as possible back. Maybe even send the question through as a Personal message (if it’s through a board) rather than just posting it.
Most of the time for me, I take what I need from the crit and move on with a thank you.
One of the things about cries is that sometimes a critiquer can tell you where there is a problem but be completely wrong about what the problem is. It sounds like you’ve already identified this. My take would be if the critter wasn’t looking for that kind of thing to begin with, that’s probably the wrong person to give you advice on how to emphasize it. The best thing to do might be to look at the scene to see what might have led to the expectations the critter had and try to both downplay those and insert more subtext for what you were trying to accomplish. Sometimes, it’s as easy as removing one misleading sentence. Others, it can take tearing apart the scene and putting it back together.
Your answer is perfectly fine; it is not an argument. If the critiquer then came back and said you’re wrong, you would not want to continue the conversation.
Some new authors have a problem when they see something they disagree with and they want to take the person to task for it. All that does is make other people less likely to critique the work later.
Also, if one person says something and it doesn’t feel right, sometimes it’s a good idea to specifically ask others to look at the same section and see if they agree.
But the rest of your have given me useful advice, too, so: thanks again.- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.