New and struggling writers, in my experience, tend to undervalue the critiquing process. Not in the context of the way they receive criticism. Most writers seem eager to find out what others have to say about their work. Where they almost all lose beneficial experience is in the act of ripping apart the works of others. There is so much to learn about your own writing in the dissection of others.

I agree that it is a largely thankless task. A good number of writers have a very hard time separating themselves from their work. They can't distinguish criticisms of their writing with personal attacks. A frequent face, enough to become familiar, is the (near) first time writer. Screenwriting sees this guy far too often. They have no grasp of the medium and it's conventions they just have a story they need to get down. Even if they have basic form the end result is largely unpolished or flat out uninteresting.

The more one reads of the material out there the more you begin to realize that the good material is sparse. It's a lot of slugging through sludge. So what's the point?

When working on your own material there is never a true separation. Even if I stop working on something and come back to it a year later I still have quite a bit of information in my head that isn't in my script. Character bios, history, things that happen prior to and after the script, and things that happen in between scenes that just aren't noted. I know so much more about my material than will ever show in the script itself. For that reason alone I can't honestly critique my own work the way that someone else would. I can ask all kinds of questions and use a bunch of different techniques to try and determine what is missing and what isn't required. That's not the same as someone reading it cold.

If I can't properly critique my own work the only way that skill is going to get better, which is of wild benefit to my editing skills, is critique others work. I suggest all writers read as much as they can and try to interact with it. Questions it relentlessly. Try and figure out that issues that seem wrong, out of place, or unresolved to you. Be merciless with spelling, grammar, and form. Be the most brutal critic you can be with the works of others. Even if the writer rejects your critiques you've still gathered some valuable experience that will help sharpen the critical skills you bring to your own work. Ideally you'll also given some worthwhile notes to another writer to help them along as well.

The idea is to break out of being a passive observer and become an active participant. Take part in and be a part of the material. That includes commercial works as well. Read a script for a movie and rip it to shreds on the basis of the script and not the resulting movie. Your writing will improve for it.

david shute - Nov 26, 2008 at 12:33 PM