On Criticism
What is criticism? How should we engage in criticism? How should we take criticism? These three questions are fundamental in improving your own craft or aiding someone else in improving their craft. When I say craft, I mean something that encompasses all activities that a person may work on whether a job or hobby. As a writer my primary point of view in discussing criticism will be from an artistic point of view. Sadly, the idea of criticism is typically taken nowadays as a negative activity where one person belittles another’s work. This is an understandable view of criticism because that form of criticism is extremely common. Though people being unable to take any form of negativity within criticism is also common. One must exercise discretion when giving or receiving criticism. I will address in three sections each of the questions I initially brought up.
While in the opening paragraph I have mentioned what criticism is not, which is a belittling of another’s work the question arises what is it then? What is criticism? I will be honest the answer is simple, criticism is dissection of someone’s craft. To engage in criticism does not require one to be proficient in what they are criticizing, though that is beneficial, you instead should be able to convey the good and the bad about what they are doing with the intent to see the other person improve.
So how do we engage in criticism?
The first rule is stop and consider whether this person wants your criticism? Because some people just want you to see what they have created and be happy for them, if that is all they want then you should tell them something honest but positive about their work. If on the other hand, they give you or show you what they have done and want criticism then you move on to the next rule.
In the second rule you should criticize by telling them what you liked, then what you did not like and then by what you were confused by. Starting with what you like is crucial because if you come out of the gates discussing the negative, they are likely to tune you out or skim your notes. But, starting with what you like will work to bolster confidence as well as tell them what not to change. Notice I did not use terms like “tell them what is good and bad in their work”, this is because oftentimes art is subjective and while statements of objectivity can be made regarding punctuation or grammar most elements of art will have a level of subjectivity. Though there may be other fields of criticism where objective statements may be warranted like woodworking where if the chair cannot hold your weight, then objectively the chair is incapable of doing its most important function. Also, by stressing that your criticism is based in personal taste will help the person receiving the criticism to feel more willing to examine each point of criticism and only take and apply the ones that they agree with.
The third rule is to ensure that all your criticism is aimed at making what the other person wants to create the best version of what they want to make. Do not give suggestions that will make them form something more like what you want. If someone wants your criticism on a horror story but you do not like horror so keep suggesting thematic elements from romance be added and you keep talking about how you do not like the scary elements then your suggestions are not improving the story, they are instead being a hinderance to improvement.
How do we take criticism ourselves? The primary rule of taking criticism is understanding you cannot please everyone. This means you are allowed to ignore suggested changes to your work especially if the suggested changes go against your intent with your work. As I mentioned in the third rule people will try to get you to change what you are making into something they want instead of focusing on how I can help this person make the best version of what they want. Because of this it is ok to ignore suggestions after taking them into consideration. The way I typically decide whether to agree with a suggested change or not is to see whether I agree with the criticism, if I do, then I will change my work. People will not follow the rule of what they like, what they do not like, and what they are confused by when criticizing your work. So, you will have to give them a measure of grace. Although, I would encourage you to kindly ask whoever will be criticizing your work to use those three criteria.
In conclusion criticism is simply analyzing someone’s craft, telling them what you like, do not like, and are confused by, and it is ok to not take some criticism into account. In the end the goal is to exercise your craft to the best you can do and to help others do the same. I encourage you to practice criticism when reading books, essays, watching movies and shows even when looking at paintings and listening to music, or any other numerous items that you see or enjoy throughout your day, so, when you go to help someone you will be able to give insightful and truly beneficial observations that improve and build up the other person and their work.