Squawk Blocking

DAY 34

Word Count: 22,301

Sentence of the Day: As he suspected, Emily stood near the door, right where he'd left her, her gaze leveled at him like a well-aimed kidney punch--one that bruised even when he turned back to Moore.

CRITICISM

How do you feel when you read that word? Heart rate rev up a notch? Shoulder muscles tense? Get a visual of your mother, index finger aimed at your heart, a list of shortcomings spewing out her mouth?

There is no get-out-of-criticism free card in the game of writing. And believe me, once you've published something, everybody is a critic. So, how to deal with bad reviews and harsh off-the-cuff remarks that people sometimes make to your face?

Denial is an option, though not a very healthy one. Anger, withdrawal, curling into the fetal position, all viable alternatives but again...maybe not the most beneficial choices.

Personally, I like this quote from Seth Godin:

"If someone outside of your target group doesn't get the joke, don't worry. That's not why you made your art in the first place."

To effectively deal with the naysayers, you've got to be completely centered on what your message is and who your message is for.

Case in point, when I first laid eyes on the glaring red one star of an Amazon review for my debut novel, wow...talk about feeling like throwing up. I forced myself to read the thing, and lo and behold (sorry, been hanging out in the Christmas story), the horrid critique was all about my story being too 'Christian'. Well yippie-dippy-doo-dah! This reader, while not liking the theme, actually got the theme, so I did my job well.

The trick of taking criticism is to move beyond the initial face-slapping sting and unearth the truth nugget. There's always something to be learned--

Unless you're a teenager...in which case you know it all.