Everyone Is A Critic
Everyone Is A Critic
If you follow your creative wiles, dip into them, allow them to lead you here and there, and you enjoy the ride, I raise my glass to you in a communal celebration! However, for those of you who quiver in your boots at the thought of cracking open the door to your imagination, terrified of the unequivocal joy that could fill your soul, as well as critical comments by everyone whether they know you or not, then I join in your company and cower next to you in the dark. When we are brave enough to turn our backs on our fear of judgment, and share our work with others, we lay ourselves open on an examination table, and those who view our work stand over us, scalpels in hand. Perhaps it’s better that the bright lights in the autopsy room blind us to who is around, holding the sharp instruments, carelessly, sometimes, in their hands. Will we feel every comment? Will the ego raise it’s head with the tell-tale, “I told you so”? Most importantly, will we buy into it, change ourselves and our work to please others?
Somewhere, there must be a line to walk between asking for feedback, deciding if it fits and using it, or deciding that it doesn’t, and leaving it behind. That line fades when we ask for heartfelt thoughts, and we’re given something we weren’t expecting. Inside each of us, that part that is expressed through creativity, is hoping for validation. Did I do a good job? Does someone like what I did? Can they use it? Enjoy it? Does it bring them as much joy to view it as it did me when I created it?
Sometimes a movie has received 5 stars, and I don’t see why. The opposite is also true, I like a movie and the critics don’t. The same goes for books. There are several popular authors who are quite prolific and have their own style. If the reader likes the way a particular author writes, then they think the author is a great writer. What if your goal was to become a Pulitzer Prize winner in writing or poetry? Would you change your style, your voice, your message to that of past winners? Would you seek a degree in writing or another art form that would “prove” your credibility?
It takes a tremendous amount of courage to ask another human being to look at our work and give us their honest opinion. We secretly hope they like it, gush about how great it is. It requires a bit more of an iron stomach to take words that aren’t so sweet, suggestions that perhaps ask the impossible: change your view, alter your style, write from here not from there. If we ask for the words, we have to sit with them, whether bitter or sweet.
If we think too much about (negative) feedback, it might halt the ink that flows onto the paper. When someone criticizes our creative endeavors, we’re given the opportunity to ask ourselves, why do we write (paint, sculpt, cook, photograph)? Then we remind ourselves that not everyone will like what we do. Next, we ask ourselves if we have the courage to share any of our other work. Finally, we remember that the ideas for our creativity come through us, are colored by our experiences, and deep down, we have the conviction that our work is worth sharing. Everyone is a critic, and we’re often the harshest judge of our own artistic offerings.
Michele Venne published her first novel in 2008, which was followed by another five novels and two collections of poetry. All of her books include an introductory “Dear Reader” letter and concludes with “Questions to Ponder”, as she encourages readers to contemplate their opinions and beliefs of societal ills. Michele lives near Cave Creek, Arizona, and devotes herself to the joys of riding her horses, tutoring, writing, and yoga. http://www.myjoyenterprises.com
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Category: Fiction
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