Why we all need feedback and why we should embrace it…

I love feedback and with the time I´ve gotten more receptive of it. Many years ago, it would have been different. I would have taken it too harsh and felt discouraged. I think that´s sign of growing up and I embrace this idea.

Since I began writing this year, I’ve felt insecure about my writing. The plot, the characters, the stories, have always been abundant in my head, but my problem was translating them into paper. Having never had writing classes and having a different native language than English, there were times where I questioned myself “What am I getting myself into?”

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Due to all in these insecurities, I’ve always looked forward for feedback, and expected the worst. However, some people have given me excellent feedback and I thank them deeply for that (even though I still feel they were condescending with me). You see, I’m actually my toughest reviewer, but isn’t´that the idea? If I were to believe that I write very well and that my writing doesn’t need improve, it would be a tragedy, I would be a mediocre writer.

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Being able to realize that there´s always room for improvement is awesome; I mean the “realization” part. The fact that you´re not that blinded and that you can find your own mistakes, it’s rewarding. And believe me, there must be a bunch of people out there who still get sensitive with feedback, BS! This is not a career for being sensitive, it´s a career for those who accept all sorts of criticism, absorb them, and continue forward! The more you detect your mistakes, the more you’ll be able to improve and learn.

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Thanks for all the harsh reviewers out there. That´s what writers really need and I´m hoping to get as many as possible. That´s the only way up!

And you, how do you handle feedback? Do you let it get to you when it´s too harsh? I would love to hear what you think! Come on express yourselves in the comments section, if you want to complain against harsh reviewers do it! this is your chance 🙂

Responses

I started to kill my darlings and it feels so liberating… | The diaries of the happy loner

November 6, 2014

[…] to learn to write properly; but I believe that with practice and huge receptivity for criticism (read my previous post), I can actually improve a […]

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Jacob

November 4, 2014

I can totally relate. I’ve let a few friends read my manuscript as well as contracted a content editor. Although difficult to have one’s bubble burst, it’s extremely useful. As authors of a book, blog or whatever, we have to be open to sincere criticism. It can most definitely make our writing better for it. Thank you for your post.
http://www.bizofyou.com/feedback

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1. Carla Doria M.
  
  November 4, 2014
  
  Thank you very much for reading my post and following my blog.
  
  Yes, I agree, we have to come out of our writer’s bubble. Sometimes we’re so focused in our unique voice of writing, or style, etc. that we don’t realize we’re writing prose that is boring for our readers. Now for example with all the feedback I started to receive, I look back to some stories that I wrote in the past and I say to myself,Oh my God that’s awful, what was I thinking, do I call that writing? I guess it’s because I’m learning and improving. 😉
  Cheers!
  
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teachezwell

November 3, 2014

Feedback is an integral part of teaching as well. What I’ve seen so far is great! Where did you learn such excellent English?

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1. Carla Doria M.
  
  November 3, 2014
  
  I know, many people don’t know how to handle feedback but it’s essential to listen to it .
  Thanks for your lovely comment! It actually encourages me a lot to continue in this path to becoming a writer. I learned at an English institute here in my country and then spent almost like a whole year in the UK, but mostly I learned from reading books in English. I still remember the first times where I would try to read in English and look almost every word in the dictionary, it took me ages to finish a paragraph 🙂 but I still feel that there’s so much for me to learn in this language. Luckily in this process of writing my first novel, I’m learning so much… and hopefully one day I wil manage to get something publishable 🙂
  Thanks a lot for reading my blog post!
  
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  1. teachezwell
    
    November 3, 2014
    
    Wow. You have a gifted brain! I could never learn a language that way.
    
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    1. Carla Doria M.
      
      November 4, 2014
      
      More than brain I will call it stubbornness 😉 once something gets in my mind, it’s very hard to drag me away from it.
      
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