Writing 101: Choose Your Critics Wisely | Jacqueline Woodson

source: Big Think    2016年8月10日
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson talks us through her writing and editing process, and gives useful steps for how to handle criticism. Woodson's latest book is "Another Brooklyn" (http://goo.gl/0DMHUs).
Read more at BigThink.com: http://bigthink.com/videos/jacqueline...

Transcript - In terms of a criticism here's how I deal with it, and this is having written 32 books. The first time I ask people to read my work I say tell me only what you love about it. And they say I love a Jeremiah; I love that you've centered this book in Bushwick, whatever it is. And then I get all excited. I go back and write more. And then the next time I say ask me three questions. And then the three questions are why does he get killed? Why do they fall in love? Why does he end up in the witness protection program, whatever the questions they have that makes me go back and realize I haven't explained stuff enough and write more. It really is fragile when you first put your words out into the world and for someone to jump on them and start critiquing or criticizing them right off the bat can be devastating.
So even for me at this stage it has to be incremental and always starting with praise, lots and lots of praise and then getting to the nitty-gritty. And so I think it's important to show your work to people you trust and love. And I think it's important to read your work out loud, to hear it and hear where it feels safe and unsafe. Even with my editor when I get my manuscript back from her I go through the whole manuscript and I read all the places where she's like wow I love this; brilliant; awesome. And all of those praises kind of get me ready for her to ask the bigger questions. And it's important that the criticism be constructive because otherwise it's destructive. You want to just throw the book away and so the criticism should be kind of critiquing that asked questions, ask bigger questions, why does this happen; I'm curious about where this is going; at the end of this piece of dialogue what were you intending for the reader to get it, so that kind of thing so it doesn't make you feel so vulnerable. Read Full Transcript Here:http://goo.gl/3RxZH9.