How our words can inspire or dishearten someone’s creativity.

I’ve been running a writers group in Hollywood (with just over 70 members) and thought I’d share some of my personal observations for anyone thinking of starting their own creative gathering.

Everyone Means Well.

Critiquing a member’s project is an integral part of any writers’ group.

We always begin with a member volunteering their work for critique. The group is then given time to read, digest, and form a bit of helpful, constructive feedback.

We are blessed to have a very thoughtful, creative group of individuals at our gatherings, but even with good intentions, several issues have presented themselves.

Facing the Jury.

I’ll first begin by focusing on the person submitting their project for review.

It’s tough. I mean, it’s really, really tough.

Why?

Because they’re taking something they’ve spent countless hours crafting and then subjecting themselves to a barrage of opinions.

It’s not unlike sitting as a defendant in front of a jury.

All eyes are on you, and you can’t escape the sense that you are being judged.

Well, mostly because, let’s face it… you are.

It’s brutal, even though you know deep down inside that everyone wants what’s best for you; they want to support you, and they want you to succeed.

Yet when facing the mob you’re often (understandably) terrified.

The first thing to consider when submitting yourself to this process is, what you want from your peers.

Do you have questions you want answered? What are they?

How can you form your questions so as to not “lead the witness?”

This is crucial as it helps you frame the conversation.

Setting Expectations.

Jumping into the arena in the hopes of receiving endless praise is not likely to happen (as I’ll explain below.)

Which means you have to prepare yourself mentally for what’s about to go down.

Your baby is about to get examined with a critical eye and (in your view), mercilessly torn apart.

So while the criticism you’re about to receive might be helpful, it may not be what you’re looking for… unless you make specific requests at the time of submitting your work.

“Did everyone understand the main character’s motivations?”

“Was the opening scene interesting? Was it compelling?”

“Did everyone feel there was enough at stake?”

These questions help focus your peers and guide them toward your own needs, but again, you will also hear unsolicited opinions as part of this process.

Prepare Yourself.

First, everyone has an opinion. Don’t be swayed by one person, and instead look for patterns, look for consistent criticism.

Did one person have an issue with a line of dialogue or a plot point?

That’s all fine, but was there a consensus?

It’s all about recognizing consistent issues. Not individual opinions.

Another point often overlooked is genre.

Is your story a sci-fi, crime-drama, or dark comedy?

Not everyone in the group will have similar interests, and while that’s obvious it’s often forgotten.

Someone who doesn’t like Sci-fi may not give you the best feedback for your sci-fi screenplay as far as plot, but they may have great insight regarding structure.

And if there’s one thing I’ve noticed in years of meetings, it’s this simple observation…

Silence is bad.

If no one has feedback, questions, or opinions, it’s most likely because they don’t care.

So take any criticism as a painful form of caring.

If they’re engaged, if they’re asking questions, if they’re giving feedback…

They care.

The bottom line…

Prepare for critique, not praise.

Praise is nice, but critique is helpful.

Look for patterns and consistent criticism.

The Critic.

So what about the people critiquing someone’s work?

Jumping into their shoes is helpful as well.

They’ve been given something to read with the simple guideline, “What do you think?”

If I read a script, short story, etc…, and I’ve enjoyed 95% of it. I can probably sum up my praise in under a minute.

“Great concept.”

“Really interesting.”

“I liked it a lot.”

…Done.

But, my critique of the other 5% could be a long conversation, and if I’m not careful it could come across like I didn’t like the project this person poured their heart into for hours upon hours on end, when in fact my critique is not proportional.

That can be disheartening.

In fact, the advice to tweak that 5% can cause the author to become unmotivated to continue working on it, or worse, want to throw in the towel for good.

It’s said that it takes 5 positive statements to make up for 1 negative.

Imagine sitting in front of your peers and hearing an endless onslaught of…

“I liked it, but…”

As stated, most of your peers understand that there’s no real value in simply stating, “That was great.”

Everyone is genuinely trying to help, which often results in a lot of criticism, without much praise.

So WE (the people critiquing someone’s hard work) need to be constantly vigilant that our words can directly result in the opposite effect we are trying to achieve.

“I think you have a really interesting story to tell, I just didn’t understand < x >” can go a long way to soften the blow of receiving a barrage of criticism.

Support their vision.

The bottom line…

Help them bring clarity to their story… not turn it into your own.

Remember the 5:1 ratio of positive to negative comments.

Inspire them.

Group Hug.

It takes a lot for someone to put themselves out there as the dartboard for everyone to take shots at, especially when it’s a story they’ve worked so hard towards and poured so much of their heart and soul into bringing to life.

In the end, it’s their story and not ours.

With this in mind, our feedback should be on helping them better convey their vision rather than changing it to fit our own.

And as far as opinions… we’ve all got them.

It’s all subjective, and it took me a long time to realize that what’s good for one person is not necessarily good for another, and often it’s for the most obscure reasons that we simply have no control over.

“I don’t like time travel movies.”

“I’m not interested in period pieces.”

“I’d rather watch slapstick comedies.”

It’s all subjective.

It’s what makes us each unique, which then results in very unique perspectives.

Additionally, a story that’s for everyone is ultimately for no one.

And trying to please everyone is impossible.

Learning to be comfortable with that is the key.

And understanding that you (as the critic) might not be the right audience is essential in delivering your criticism.

Criticism of structure, focus, and clarity can be incredibly valuable.

Again, it’s their story.

Not yours.

And for the author, writing a story is bringing life to something from nothing.

We’re criticizing their child.

Our words can be inspiring or disheartening.

They can motivate the author to rush home for a rewrite or cause paralyzing, personal heartbreak.

It’s an incredible responsibility they are placing into our hands when they offer themselves up for critique.

5:1

Words matter.