Two Important Ways Authors/Artists Must Handle Criticism

I don't think there is an occupation out there more subjective than the livelihood of an artist. And as the saying goes, it's true that everyone's a critic.

I say this because I recently entered four of my novels' first five pages in a contest. I didn't do it to win. I know by now that my writing tends not to fit in the mold of the Christian publishing industry, and I'm at peace with that. It's why I'm planning to Indie publish instead. In fact, I may have had nearly perfect scores in two of them, except that there was one judge for each that couldn't see the vision.

But I didn't want to skip off to Createspace to format and publish my own books without at least hearing out the haters. Which is why I entered the stories in the contest, because inevitably, 12 judges' comments are going to bring a few weaknesses to light that I would do well to care for before I ask people to take my books seriously enough to pay for them.

As authors, we need to develop two things just as badly as we need to develop strong dialogue or compelling characters. 

1. We need the ability to accept constructive criticism.

Naturally, artistic personalities tend to be highly sensitive to criticism. After all, the very nature of art requires that we put our whole heart and being into creating something that resonates with the soul. We basically turn ourselves inside out and reveal all that might be lurking beneath the surface. This can elicit different responses from those that are watching us. Some are jealous of our ability to be transparent, and they try to belittle and scoff at our attempts. Others are focused on making us better than we are, and they go through, poking and prodding at our exposed souls to point out every weakness that will surely cause us to fail. Then there are some that are encouraging, helpful, kind and understanding about our situation. And inevitably, there's the criticism that is always over-enthusiastic, with nothing bad to say, but that rings as insincere with the discerning and intuitive mind of an artist. To me, the worst possible criticism I have faced as an artist is those who simply say nothing. It's easy to feel invisible in a world of silent critics.

As you can see, there's quite a bit of possibility to receive biased information from others. So how do we sort through it? How do we find the truth in a part of life that is so agonizingly subjective it can defeat us before we even start?

Here's what I'm learning. As I sorted through the twelve judges' reviews of the first five pages of these books, I saw patterns. After I looked past the obvious discrepancies like "This is very emotionally engaging" to the next judges' "The author needs to be more emotionally engaging" (Yes, that really was what they said), I saw that there were things all of them said. And it wasn't always bad. I heard from almost every judge, even the haters, two common themes: I needed to beware of the passive voice and use strong dialogue to pass along information (Easy to say, but one of the areas of writing that just takes a LOT of practice to get the hang of.) The other theme? "You're obviously meant to be writing/storytelling."

So I can come away from all the criticism rolling around in my brain being confident of those two things, if nothing else. 

2. We also need the ability to turn off the criticism that is biased or incorrect.

Here's where it gets a little dicey. You see, the more inexperienced the artist, the more vulnerable to self-doubt we can be. If you don't know any better, you might receive a boat-load of criticisms about your work and feel completely ineffective. A failure. Believe me, I've been there.

But if you're meant to keep creating, you will, and inevitably you start to get better. When you look back and see the mistakes you were making, you can see the criticism that was true. But a more experienced outlook will also reveal to you the hidden motives of criticism that are more murky and subjective. Usually, it has more to do with the criticizer than the artist.

What's the danger in "over-hearing" murky criticism? I'm going to say something I believe more passionately the longer I hone my craft. There is grave danger in allowing yourself to become "just like everyone else." There is an attitude in the publishing  industries that everyone must follow the same sort of rules and create the same stories. If you don't, you will be evicted from the pool of acceptable authors. But art is meant to make an idea stand out. It is meant to draw attention to itself. If your voice is just like everyone else's, no one will ever see the idea that is written on your soul. They'll easily forget you and your work.

For me, this meant abandoning my dream of sitting in my office writing stories that I happily sent off to the publisher and let them do everything else. It's not going to happen for me, simply because I'm unwilling to lose my own voice. But you know what? That's okay. The more I think about it, the more I learn and prepare, I realize there's a whole other aspect of publishing my stories that I would have missed if I let someone else do it. Cover images, design, back cover blurbs, even formatting is turning out to be kinda fun! I'm excited about this new chapter.

But let's not ever outgrow our ability to be taught. Be humble enough to learn something new, even if you achieve the highest level of success an author can manage in this world. The best artists never stop growing.

So get out your computer or your paper and pen (or your art supplies, or your music composition paper) and do some growing!

What do you think? What have your experiences in the publishing world (or on the fringes, or on the outside) taught you? Leave a comment and follow this blog if you found this post helpful. 

Healthy Habits? (Take the survey)

It's all about healthy today!

It started out as a practice ebook so I could make sure I had formatting and editing down before I publish my first Indie novel, a Christian historical romance, later in 2015. For the practice ebook, originally I wanted to share a few tips for others like me who have had a little trouble getting to a healthy place in life. I didn't want others like me, with metabolism and autoimmune disorders that have been hard to diagnose and treat, to feel like they are all alone, or that they are imagining their symptoms. It's been a hard road and I know there must be others like me out there, wondering what to try next, wondering if they're crazy, wondering if they'll ever have any answers.

But after doing some research and listening in on a few conversations, the focus of my ebook changed, and became something I've become rather passionate about. We do a lot of blame in our society. I did it, too. I thought I couldn't get healthy because doctors are too afraid of being sued, too uninformed on the things I suffer from, and too proud to learn new things or accept any ideas.

Like anything involving human nature, I'm probably right about a few doctors. But it took me finding an excellent, open-minded and super-smart doctor who really and truly cares for her patients to show me that the doctor is not really the root of the problem. We are guilty as patients as well. 

So as I continue to garner more information for this ebook that will be available on Amazon early next year, I would like your help. Please take this confidential survey and give your most honest answers so I can get an idea of the general attitude and practices of patients, and compare the results with the frustrations doctors may be experiencing. I believe if we start asking the right questions, we may be able to come up with some new ways of looking at the problem, and perhaps come to a new understanding of the solution that could help us find our way to a happier and healthier version of ourselves.

Thanks for your help! Take the survey HERE.

Do Not Despise Prophecies

In other words, don't be a prophecy hater.

I recently had a spiritual curve ball thrown at me. You know what those are like? If you don't, maybe you aren't spending enough time studying the Bible or you aren't open to the Spirit teaching you new things. Personally, I love spiritual curve balls. They are exhilaration in a life that can seem rote and agonizingly routine without them. I love that God likes teaching us new things. I love that our perspective can always change and that Bible verse we always thought meant one thing comes to mean something completely different.

If you're like the majority of believers that I walk with, that last sentence probably made you uncomfortable. We don't like our rules of belief being toyed with. We use the verse that warns against adding to God's Word to shut off people that try to give a new spin on an idea we thought we already had down.

But Beth Moore had my complete attention in her video study on 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NIV) when she tackled the taboo topic of prophecies. The verses simply say "Do not put out the Spirit's fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

It was one of the verses that, as a result of my upbringing, my brain kind of stumbled over, mumbling the words without considering them. Because, after all, there's no such thing as present-day prophecy. We already have the Bible. We don't need any new revelations. 

It occurs to me that many times when the church has largely decided that one thing isn't possible because another thing is true, that both things turn out to be truth. This is the paradox of a big, encompassing God who is too large for us to fit our minds neatly around is an exercise of faith - agreeing that he is something even though we don't understand how it could be.

The definition of prophecy according to Merriam Webster has several meanings: 

1. One who utters divinely inspired revelations.

2. One gifted with more than ordinary spiritual or moral insight. (Like an inspired poet.)

3. One who fortells future events.

4. An effective or leading spokesman for a cause, doctrine or group.

As you can see, there are a couple meanings that will make the most open-minded saint gulp back a protest. But is there anything in this definition that makes God put up his hands in alarm and expel a breath of worry?

Now let's think about the original meaning according to the Greek. The word used for "treat with contempt" or "despise" meant to downgrade or make less of something. The word for "prophecies" meant a proclamation of God's Word. It could be a new revelation, or simply restating what has already been revealed in a way that causes people to see it with a fresh perspective. There can be a supernatural element.

According to these words, God tells us not to write anything off. We should test anything with the sharp blade of Scripture, of course.

I think what makes people worry about prophecy is that it's not easily contained or understood. People just know and understand things about the world and about what the Bible says that others couldn't grasp on their own. It's like art. When we look at a painting, listen to music or read a story, we get a glimpse of almost ethereal knowledge of concepts and ideas put forth by "prophets."

This is personal. Some of us have been told our whole lives that our spiritual gift is invalid. (Fortunately, this type can't seem to help themselves and will go about seeing the world the way they were meant to regardless of the shame they receive from others.) But I was always a little confused, because discernment, knowledge, faith and teaching didn't encapsulate my calling. There was always something missing, and I had always been taught to dismiss prophecy.

As weird as it may sound to the more practical and logical in God's church, there are some of us who can see, feel, understand and grasp things others can't. That's okay. It's nothing to be afraid of. We won't "do somersaults in the aisle or sacrifice chickens on the altar" as Beth Moore put it.

You will find value in taking those gifted with prophecy seriously. And you will recognize these people by their fruit, as Matthew 7 instructs. Look around. Look for the one with tears flooding their face at a spoken idea or the words of a song, or even a beautiful poem or a sunset. They are the ones that never quite fit in, that always have their own way of putting things. They tend to be quiet because they know their ideas are new and different. They tend to be discouraged and dismayed by routine, tradition and cliche.

But they are here to help. To show you something God said in a new way. If they have a solid biblical base, just as any believer should have, they won't lead you astray, though they will frequently challenge your preconceived notions. And God gave you an out. He said to test everything. You have the permission to reject anything that doesn't line up with God's Word.

And so do those gifted with prophecy.