Is it just me, or is it sometimes difficult to really hear what others are saying?A critique partner might say, "I like your beginning, but this scene isn't believable."
We hear, "Your writing stinks. I had to hold my nose while reading your manuscript."
Another reader might say, "Your characters are likable, but I think you need to flesh them out a little more."
We hear, "You are SO not a writer. A real writer would have nailed the characters in draft one."
A writer friend might say, "Good luck with your revisions."
We hear, "Yeah, good luck with that pile of scrap paper."
When our writer friends sandwich the good comments around the not-so-good, it's easy to focus only on the parts that don't work. It would help if we also remember to appreciate what we did right.
No manuscript is perfect on the first draft, but I have to believe that most are loaded with nuggets of good stuff. We just have to sort it all out.
How about you? Do you tend to focus on the negative comments instead of the positive?
photo credit: flickr