Constructive Criticism

The term constructive criticism brings up all sorts of confusing thoughts for me. Even the name is both positive and negative. Making it so that I don’t know feel about it, and instead just leaving my brain all squishy.

The thing is, I have always wanted to be one of those people who could handle constructive criticism. It is, after all, designed to make you better, right?

criticism venn diagram Constructive Criticism

Oh, sure I always told everyone to rip my stuff up and I could take it… but I still knew it was going to hurt. I mean, that’s how everyone does it right?

Wrong. That’s just what I thought. The thing is… now I know that if people are willing to give me a crit on my work, it means they see actual promise in what I’m doing.

That’s right–the more people (who know what they’re talking about–this part is VERY important) pick through your stuff, tell you what needs work and what doesn’t… the closer you are to having it right.

Once I realized this, I started liking the criticism…

Who knew?

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Posted in: Writing

16 Responses to “Constructive Criticism”

Amy September 16th, 2010 at 11:35 am

As someone who aspires to be the kind of person who can actually handle constructive criticism, I very much appreciate this post.

:)
Amy´s last [type] ..Three Thoughts for the Creative Journey via The Parking Lot Confessional

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Jamie Reply:
September 16th, 2010 at 11:39 am

@Amy, haha perfect!

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Kelly Hashway September 16th, 2010 at 1:29 pm

Very true, Jamie. I like to allow myself a few seconds of freak out before I settle down and realize that taking constructive criticism will make me a better writer.

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Jamie Harrington September 16th, 2010 at 1:55 pm

@Kelly Hashway, haha I always read through it, close it… and then don’t look at it again for at least 24 hours…

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Lauren Elizabeth Morrill September 16th, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Every time I see “constructive criticism” I think of that episode of the Office where Michael asks for “constructive compliments.”

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jason September 16th, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Yeah, my last story you critted was so weighed down with stuff, I had pay extra to receive it in email!
jason´s last [type] ..Wordle

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Carolyn V September 16th, 2010 at 9:40 pm

I love my crit buddies critiques. They always think they are being hard, but they help in so many ways.

I love your picture of those who handle criticism, because it is so true!
Carolyn V´s last [type] ..Its Catching Like Fire

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@jmartinlibrary September 17th, 2010 at 9:47 am

And here’s another area for the Venn diagram: People who ACTUALLY LISTEN to criticism. I struggle with this one, too. People who can listen and adjust accordingly seem to be few and far between, right?
@jmartinlibrary´s last [type] ..Writing Voice- SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR

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Ishta Mercurio September 17th, 2010 at 11:29 am

Oh, yes – this Venn diagram is perfect! I have to put my feedback away for a day (or ten, or a hundred) before I can really take it in and internalize it and see my way through to a better manuscript. I hope that puts me in the middle of your diagram…
Ishta Mercurio´s last [type] ..Friday Favorites- PREMIERE SEASON!

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HeatherM September 17th, 2010 at 11:14 pm

I love constructive criticism. Anything that makes my writing stronger is welcome. I do find that I have to take notes when the criticism is being given, remind myself not to justify or argue, then give myself a day to absorb it.

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Medeia Sharif September 18th, 2010 at 9:27 pm

When I began getting critiques, I thought people were being nitpicky. Now I love all the notes I take, words I hear, and feedback written all over my hard copies.
Medeia Sharif´s last [type] ..Writing Lull- Contest Winners- and New Contests

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Cinnamon Skewes September 22nd, 2010 at 8:46 am

My original reaction to reading in from of a critque group was ‘AHHHHHHHHHHHH!’

Then, I realized that someone would have to read my work eventually and I would rather send out good stuff than crap. So, I got brave and read the second time I attended the workshop.
Was humbled a bit, but learned A LOT~
Do you ever read when you go? I missed last week and hope I didn’t miss you reading! I want to hear some YA out of that group.

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Jamie Harrington Reply:
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:07 am

@Cinnamon Skewes, I read a lot in group, but I have to be in a place in my writing to read… like if I’m on revision or something, I try not to read, because then I just get confused, but I read super raw stuff a LOT–I’ll probably be reading quite a bit in October. :)
Jamie Harrington´s last [type] ..It’s time for us to SPEAK

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In the Blogosphere: 9/20-10/15 « My Daytime Drama October 15th, 2010 at 10:35 am

[...] Here, YA author Jamie Harrington talks about constructive criticism.  Can you handle it? [...]

Lynn March 20th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

I read a great book by Dr. Randy Garner called Constructing Effective Criticism. It was great.

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With Transparency Comes Criticism | Katie's HyperLib Blog October 6th, 2012 at 11:25 pm

[...] is courtesy of Jamie Harrington at http://www.totallythebomb.com. She wrote up a short and sweet blog post on constructive criticism that you may want to check out This entry was posted in Uncategorized [...]

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