The Five People you will meet as a Beginning Writer

When I heard that there were actual university courses for English literature and Creative Writing, I nearly leapt out of my own skin. Five years later, what was once a personal hobby is now the basis of a bachelor’s degree, even if it didn’t land me an instant job. After a brief, eye-opening stint in retail last year, I decided to go back and pursue a Masters Degree exclusively in Creative Writing. While I am far from becoming a bestselling author, it has nonetheless left me with a feeling of being ‘experienced,’ (if not necessarily the reality!) and this year saw my first publication.

I have been conjuring up stories since I was five years old, and being around other aspiring writers has taught me that, even though all our experiences are different, there are a few key elements we have in common. With the advent of blogging and websites such as Fanstory and Deviantart, as well as various writers' forums online, getting your work noticed has never been easier. Many of us, myself included, started out posting to these places online, and got our first taste of other people's feedback. 

The good news is, you finally get to see what other people think of your writing.

The bad news is, it involves other people. Actual human beings. Things that most writerly types tend to be afraid of.

So as a heads up to any new writers who wish to post their work online, here are the five people you will meet, and here's how to deal with them.

1. The Critic

I wish!

If you post your work because you want people to tell you how great it is, don’t be a writer or any kind of artist. Critique is crucial for any kind of creative work – believe it or not, most writers are not born churning out literary masterpieces. By pointing out the flaws in your writing, a Critic can help you see where you need to improve, and how your work actually impacts people other than yourself.

It can be very disheartening to receive criticism, especially if you're a beginner and  you’ve worked hard on something. However, it is not a personal attack against you as a person, and it does not mean that your writing is necessarily ‘bad.’ All writers, both beginners and experienced, will always be improving their craft, and that’s the beauty of it. Indeed, I would argue that making mistakes - and subsequently learning from them - is crucial if one ever wants to grow as a writer.

Now, you don't always have to agree with your critics. Ultimately, it's your writing and you get to decide what to do with it. However, your critics are also your readers, and therefore it is important that you at least listen to them. If a number of different readers keep bringing up the same issues, the odds are that there is a problem with your work, and it's not just down to one person's subjective opinion.

Finally, not all critique is necessarily criticism. Good critics will often point out the strengths in one’s writing as much as the weaknesses, so it's not necessarily a negative experience.

So, all in all, meeting a Critic is actually a really good thing, and I urge all aspiring writers to seek them out. However, one must also be discerning, as your newfound Critic might also be...

2. The Asshole

I’ve talked about how the aim of the Critic is to help you improve. However, you will sometimes –mostly online - encounter people who are downright rude.

Rude people on the Internet? Yes dear reader, I too am shocked.
Image from here.

This can take two forms.

The first is someone who engages in personal attacks, or just vaguely says your work is bad without saying why. The second is someone who does honestly critique your work, but uses it as an excuse to mock you and put you down at the same time.

The first person can be safely ignored, or if their criticism is vague, you could politely ask for clarification. The second person is trickier. I suggest two things:

First, sift through the snark and try to understand anything useful they might be saying.

Secondly, write a really witty, concise response to this person, and then never send it.

Yes, sadly Assholes exist everywhere, and it is inevitable that you will encounter them, online or not. However, a discerning writer can mostly avoid them by seeking out workshops, writing groups and forums with a strict code of conduct. Some groups pride themselves on being 'shark tanks,' where critics will use a 'tough love' approach and will mercilessly rip into writers' work. Unless you have a thick skin, I would suggest avoiding these and finding people who are honest but also charitable in their criticisms.

So far, we've been looking at the subject of critique, and how important it is to writers of all abilities. However, the views of other people should not be the be all and end all of your writing, because some of your critics will be...

3. The Person with Different Tastes

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time three years ago, I wrote something for a workshop at university.

It was a story about cows.

My bovine experimental piece was very well received by both the tutor and the rest of the class. Feeling psyched up by all this praise, I decided to include it in my final assessment. The person marking it, however, did not like the piece at all, and questioned what on earth I was actually writing about/possibly smoking.

They just didn't understand how I was satirizing our society's idealization of certain subjects as opposed to their objective reality, via the use of cows.
Image from here.

The moral? Not everybody is going to like your writing, no matter how hard you try. Just as you have different tastes in books and movies, other people aren’t always going to ‘get’ what you’re writing. You must resist the urge to try and please everyone -  as one of my tutors once said, ‘you’re not writing by committee.’

Like the previous two people, it is also a case of finding the right support for your work. For example, if you're writing sci-fi, there's no point trying to impress a critic who is dead-set against the genre. That doesn't mean you should disregard everything they say, but ultimately, you are not writing for them, and the bulk of your feedback should come from people who already like and support the genre in which you are writing.

In short, it is important to find people who you think will like your work. However, you must be wary of Number Four...

4. The Person who thinks everything you write is Literary Gold

I have always been lucky concerning my mother. Even when I was a little girl, she would point out the lack of punctuation in my stapled-together storybooks, and offer to help correct them with me - an offer which this six-year-old auteur outright refused.

However, generally one must be discerning when giving your work to family members, friends and significant others, as they may be reacting to you rather than the writing itself. When posting online, you might make online friends who sincerely praise you and want to build up a friendship with you, and so they leave nice comments on all your pieces. While it might be good for the ego, such praise is not good for the soul.

'Wow Karen, your Dobby x Dumbledore slash fics are masterpieces of literary fiction!'
Image from here, with apologies to the original models, who I'm sure have great taste in HP fanfics.

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't show your work to people you know, or that praise and encouragement are a bad thing. If you do want to share your work with family and friends, show it to people who you can trust to be honest with you. As for online posts, try to seek out like-minded people who are committed to encouraging one another to improve. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the strengths of any given piece, but it is important that personal feelings and relationships do not jeopardize the quality of feedback.

This can go the other way, of course - you or someone else might criticize a story out of malice, and as a result can turn into a Number Two. The same rules apply - praise/critique the writing, not the person.

5. The Naysayer

There are people who say that getting your work published is hard. They say that as a writer, you must get used to putting up with rejection. They say that planning, writing and editing a novel, play or short story can be a difficult and time-consuming process. They say that it does not guarantee you a regular source of income.

And you know what? They're right. If you're serious about writing, it's important to know what you're up against, and such people have your best interests at heart.

The Naysayer is not like that. The Naysayer goes one step further, and says that because of all the above reasons, you shouldn't even bother. It's not worth your time. It won't make you any money. Nobody would be interested in what you have to say. It's too hard.

The Naysayer might be a co-worker, a well-meaning friend or family member. They might be a teacher or a boss. They might be society at large.

They might even be you.

It is said that artists and writers can be sometimes be their own fiercest critics. I have submitted stories to workshop that I thought were sub-par, only to be pleasantly surprised by the response. I've known artists who honestly think their images are terrible, unaware of their true abilities.

Whether such negativity is internal or from others, disregard it. It offers nothing in the way of constructive criticism, and only serves to tear you down and keep you from taking risks.

All art involves a degree of risk. All art involves receiving criticism. All art has the potential to be brilliant and moving, or hilariously awful.

For example, see actor/director/possible extra-terrestrial Tommy Wiseau and his disaster-piece, The Room (2003)
Image from IMDB

If you are still willing to take this risk, it is important that you have confidence in yourself. As mentioned previously, finding Critics who will both support and honestly criticise your work is paramount. There's no point trying to impress Naysayers who are unwilling to give you a chance.

If you yourself are a bit of a Naysayer, do not worry. You are not alone. The trick is to moderate that negative voice inside your head. When actually writing your first draft, do not berate yourself for making mistakes or worry about getting it right the first time - first drafts are first drafts for a reason. 

Once it gets to the editing stage, then you can become more critical of your work. But just like the criticism you might receive from other people, one must learn to discern between an actual constructive comment, or negativity just for the sake of negativity. Thoughts such as 'it's hopeless,' or 'I'll never be good enough' are not criticism, and they should be disregarded for the irrational, unhelpful rubbish they are.

So to sum it all up...

If there's a running theme throughout this post, it is this - find yourself good, supportive people who will encourage you to improve. Even though I've only got one, pokey little story published right now, I wouldn't have even made it this far without my tutors, my friends and fellow writers, my family's honesty and support, and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.

Finally, it is important to be confident in yourself, no matter what stage you are at. Be willing to take risks, but also be humble enough to listen to others' opinions, and to recognize where your writing needs improving. Never be afraid of making mistakes, but instead let them be an opportunity to learn as both a writer and a person.

To any writers, new or established, I wish you the best of luck in the coming year, and like and share if you enjoyed this. If you disagree or have your own advice to aspiring writers, please do leave a comment below. I hope to write more in 2019, so if you want more articles like this, subscribe!

The Critic (1994-2001) is (c) Film Roman

The Room (2003) is (c) Wiseau Films