Mary, this is, as usual, great advice for you, offered so generously. Thanks. It brings up a question for me, or shall I say, I noticed that....I thought about peer reviews in my design profession. While I appreciate the consideration and gentleness of a careful critique, I also crave the knowledgable, hard edged, to the point comments o…
Mary, this is, as usual, great advice for you, offered so generously. Thanks. It brings up a question for me, or shall I say, I noticed that....I thought about peer reviews in my design profession. While I appreciate the consideration and gentleness of a careful critique, I also crave the knowledgable, hard edged, to the point comments of an another pro. "The entrance to the building is too constricted" vs. "Have you thought about whether you might have sort of wanted the entrance to, you know, be a little bigger or more inviting?" Just curious here what you and others think. I am always in favor of compassion and empathy, but I'm also a bit tired of the how sensitive everyone has become to any sort of discomfort. I think the fear of triggering has dumbed down a lot of useful, incisive critique. Again, not arguing in favor of being an asshole, just lamenting the loss of hard stones that can sharpen a blade to a razor's edge.
Kurt, I definitely give stronger critiques to certain writers who want that level of input, and who won't be hurt by it or angry at me. (Still, I do always ask what they're looking for when they ask me to read--and i stick to answering that.) Personally, I depend on several people to be brutally honest with me--people who are writers themselves, with opinions that I trust. Workshops are another matter entirely. It may be the first time a person ever shared their work. So you have to err on the side of gentleness. You have to "meet them where they are." I don't attend workshops anymore. I'm not a believer in sharing work in progress. Only finished drafts--and then only with my usual readers. And I'm not a fan of the model itself. I don't think I've ever had a piece improve after it's been workshopped by a group! That being said, many people get a lot out of them.
Makes perfect sense. The workshop is a tentative environment. The close friends and like minded pros things is different. It's fastball, while workshops are maybe softball?
Well, the workshop method definitely works for a lot of people. I'm sure the extremely talented students in George's workshops at Syracuse learn a ton. But they have the good fortune of being part of a cohort that includes some of the country's best emerging writers. Not to mention incredible instructors. So it really comes down to the workshop itself. Unless you're in a great program, attending a workshop is often kind of a crapshoot and can end up harming your writing and/or your motivation. So I've found my own methods to get feedback. Not sure if that's fastball vs softball, but I hope you get my point.
Mary, this is, as usual, great advice for you, offered so generously. Thanks. It brings up a question for me, or shall I say, I noticed that....I thought about peer reviews in my design profession. While I appreciate the consideration and gentleness of a careful critique, I also crave the knowledgable, hard edged, to the point comments of an another pro. "The entrance to the building is too constricted" vs. "Have you thought about whether you might have sort of wanted the entrance to, you know, be a little bigger or more inviting?" Just curious here what you and others think. I am always in favor of compassion and empathy, but I'm also a bit tired of the how sensitive everyone has become to any sort of discomfort. I think the fear of triggering has dumbed down a lot of useful, incisive critique. Again, not arguing in favor of being an asshole, just lamenting the loss of hard stones that can sharpen a blade to a razor's edge.
Kurt, I definitely give stronger critiques to certain writers who want that level of input, and who won't be hurt by it or angry at me. (Still, I do always ask what they're looking for when they ask me to read--and i stick to answering that.) Personally, I depend on several people to be brutally honest with me--people who are writers themselves, with opinions that I trust. Workshops are another matter entirely. It may be the first time a person ever shared their work. So you have to err on the side of gentleness. You have to "meet them where they are." I don't attend workshops anymore. I'm not a believer in sharing work in progress. Only finished drafts--and then only with my usual readers. And I'm not a fan of the model itself. I don't think I've ever had a piece improve after it's been workshopped by a group! That being said, many people get a lot out of them.
Makes perfect sense. The workshop is a tentative environment. The close friends and like minded pros things is different. It's fastball, while workshops are maybe softball?
Well, the workshop method definitely works for a lot of people. I'm sure the extremely talented students in George's workshops at Syracuse learn a ton. But they have the good fortune of being part of a cohort that includes some of the country's best emerging writers. Not to mention incredible instructors. So it really comes down to the workshop itself. Unless you're in a great program, attending a workshop is often kind of a crapshoot and can end up harming your writing and/or your motivation. So I've found my own methods to get feedback. Not sure if that's fastball vs softball, but I hope you get my point.
All great points. Thanks!