Dear Writers, when getting feedback: BEWARE!
A lot of real fucking pricks will tell you what THEY think you should be writing, but I’m here to tell you not to listen to them. Only trusted friends or colleagues, and I mean VERY TRUSTED friends should give you feedback when you’ve finished a peice of work. They’ll be the only people who understand what you’re trying to say in your story. HOWEVER … there are those who think they know absolutely everything about writing, without ever having picked up a pen.
How many times have you heard this little gem?
“There’s already way too many movies about dolphins like yours. I think you should write about zombies instead!”
I don’t WANT to write about zombies! I want to write about freaking DOLPHINS you idiot!
WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE. Don’t let other people tell you what to do with your life. As long as you’re telling a story from your own heart, and you’re being true to yourself, that’s all that matters. In a way, everything has been done. But I don’t like to believe there is no originality left in the world. There’d be no point in writing anything new if that was the case.
I once gave someone a short script I worked on, and instead of getting feedback, I got a lesson on what to do with my life. Know what I have to say to that? EFF YOU!
Speak from your own experiences. If you find that all you can think about is how much you love baige paper – write about baige paper. If you find that all you can think about are magic spells, and humans with special powers – write about that.
Don’t let someone else’s dreams dictate how you should be living your own life. There are friends who just want to take a piece out of you to feel better about themselves.
Don’t let them.
Honest critisism and feedback is hard to come by these days. Very rarely are people honest with how they feel. If you find someone who can honestly tell you what IS working in your script or what ISN’T – you’ve found a treasure.
If you find that arrogant prick who enjoys filling your head with his own ideas, RUN. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! These people really suck, and will destroy your confidence. They’re too lazy to amount to anything themselves, and feel by suggesting the things THEY think are awesome, they’ll somehow help you.
On the flipside, beware of those people who think the sun shines out of your ass. They’re probably either sucking up to you, or have such low self-esteem that they are too afraid to be honest with how they feel for fear of rejection.
You want a fine balance. Find someone who knows when you’ve gotten something RIGHT. Seek confidants that AFFIRM your talents and work to lift you up. Seek friends that give you tools to improve your craft. Not to augment your writing, or undermine it. Don’t let people with low self esteem place your work on a pedestal if it’s a peice of crap.
So what’s the bottom line?
People who are honest with themeselves, will be honest with your craft.
