Oye vay.
After a year of less than inspired writing, I sent out my first act of a script I'm working on to a writer's group that I am in. I thought myself untouchable.
Lo, I needed a good @$$ kicking.
The first review was negative and harsh. Didn't even bother to read the logline or the following 13 pages. Just gave up. Okay fine. Try to find the silver lining. Next review, lots of notes, lots of bad things. Okay....Third review, page by page breakdown of what was liked and not liked with (I felt) more reactions leading to disliking.
So in a panic, I removed the pages thinking "I write $#!^. I gotta hide this now!" Later reflections would prove that my bigger fear was not that I was the worst writer ever, but that I had sent the same pages out to a "very difficult to get into Writing Program" and to see notes this harsh told me I probably had no chance of getting into said fellowship.
One person then wrote minutes later not to give up and that everyone was just trying to help. He was right for sure and I was in the wrong for removing the pages.
So, why did I panic?
1) I wasn't ready to take criticism on a project I thought was done, but knew in my heart it wasn't.
Alas, this was a huge mistake. I was quite gung-ho, ready to go, ready to submit, but the draft itself wasn't done. Now I had re-read these pages so many times in the last few months that I suppose I was shocked to find so many things that weren't clicking with other people. Things that had made perfect sense to me and to me made the movie look excellent were not apart of the same initial vision others had when they read the script! I thought my writing was more universal in vision than it actually was. This is good as now I have a lot of good ideas how to look back and change things.
2) I wasn't ready for how other people envision my vision.
One note I've seen repeated (paraphrasing) was "I didn't get this" or "I couldn't picture that." In my head and in my mind, I couldn't picture things any other way then what was on the page. Foolishness! I was going for more metaphorical descriptions (mostly bad idea) then just blatantly saying what was there. Now I have a better idea of universality in writing.
3) I wasn't ready for criticism PERIOD.
2012 was one of the worst years I've had in recent memory full of depression, self-loathing and NOT WRITING. I hadn't had anyone peer review my scripts in what had been about 2 years (minus one reader's notes one year ago) and I had forgotten what it was like to receive criticism. People are inherently good and not out to get others. To see through the initial complaints and to say "what are they REALLY trying to tell me" is the best way to approach criticism. Not running away and trying to hide work.
I think as writer's we are naturally very very VERY protective of our writing. It's as if I'm saying "this is my heart and this is my soul. This is a part of me I don't share with the world. Come. Take a dump on it." This isn't the right way to approach it, but
4) I took it far too personally.
And why shouldn't I? I wrote it Blog Damnit and I put so many hours of my free time and sick days and vacation days and time I could've spent playing Grandia into this! Why are people so mean!? Why does it hurrrrttt...?
shut up.
Good gravy you sound like a teenage girl! Toughen up young Padawan, for it only gets harder from here. Great works should be taken to the litmus test and they SHOULD be up for being critiqued.
And if the film was made as the script is, good gravy the Rotten Tomatoes that would've been thrown...
So that's just some thoughts for the day.
TL;DR (Too long; Didn't read) Don't be afraid to take criticism from others as more often than not, they just want to help you make the best damn script possible. Don't take it personal, look for what they're REALLY trying to be critical about and use the negative (if there is any) to FUEL you to write more.
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