Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Critiquing Quote

Found this on a list of writing rules, and it just struck me as perfect advice for anyone with beta readers, critique partners, writing buddies, or anyone who has decided to let their parent/sibling/BFF read their writing for the very first time.

From Neil Gaiman, naturally, because he is brilliant:

Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.


Words to revise by!
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6 comments:

  1. Miranda HardyFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:24 PM

    I like this quote!!!

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  2. Ghenet MyrthilFebruary 1, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    That's good (and true)!

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  3. Angelica R. JacksonFebruary 1, 2012 at 5:40 PM

    That's so true--if I try to follow CP's advice exactly, it gets edited into flatness. But if I try to identify the spirit behind their comment, what was lacking, I can come up with my own take on how to fix it. And the latter method ends up being better for the book!

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  4. author...February 2, 2012 at 4:30 PM

    vedy nice! I always feel like it's a fine line to review other people's work. you don't want to step into the territory of i know what you need to do here, but i can get pretty passionate about changes i can see improving it. ultimately, what the heck do i know?

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2012 at 6:22 PM

    I've heard that quote before, but I didn't know it was Neil Gaiman's! It's definitely one to live by.

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  6. FaithFebruary 6, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    I hadn't heard this quote before, but it's something I've always believed, so it's great to see it! It's so true. A feeling is more reliable. Stephen King has some great things to say about critiquing, too. My favorite was that if you really like something, but someone says they don't, you don't have to change it unless 7 out of 10 people disagree with you.

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