Member-only story
Three Life Lessons Getting Feedback on My Writing Taught Me
And how they made me a better person
When I first started writing seriously, about a decade ago, I was sure my writing was brilliant. Certainly, a Pulitzer prize was in my future.
Then I started getting feedback on my stuff. And it was horrifying.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
“Get to the point.”
“This is incorrect.”
“This is poorly written.”
I couldn’t believe that these people (regardless of their experience) had the audacity to criticize or question my glorious prose. I pushed back. I ignored much of the feedback because, I had no doubt, my critics didn’t know what they were doing.
But the criticism and critique kept coming. And Coming. For years.
I kept seeing the same feedback and getting questioned on the same types of issues. I got so frustrated that I became numb to the feedback and mostly stopped listening altogether.
I kept writing what I wanted, how I wanted.
Dawning Realization
But when the stratosphereic success I expected never came, I began to worry.
