I've been meaning to respond to this post for ages, but I'm struggling to find the right words to articulate the thoughts I've been having. Mostly because there's a lot of things surrounding the issues you raise here that make me rather angry, and I don't want to come off sounding like a douche.
There is nothing wrong with saying "that's not to my personal taste," but saying "that's not writing," or "that doesn't belong here," is making a leap from your personal taste to an objective value judgment that really, nobody should be making.
I was wondering how you would respond to this - because I've basically received a fair number of comments on my idol entries that lean towards this, and I really have no idea how to respond. I'm also becoming more and more worried that I'm being over-sensitive to the issue, which means that I sound like a bit of a dick when I'm replying, even though I really don't mean to.
My degree is in Drama and Creative Writing; my Masters is in Playwriting - I am completely used to giving and receiving "concrit" so it's not that I "can't take it" - I can, and I always appreciate thoughtful feedback, but... No one I work with would sit there and say "Well, that's not writing" - nor, actually, would they say "this is not to my personal taste" because it is accepted that taste differs - no one really needs the kick in the teeth of being told that this is the case. What we tend to do do is pick out sections that we feel work well, and why this might be, as well as sections that do not work as well, and why this might be. This way, we improve both our own craft and the craft of the person whose work we are looking at. We treat all our work in the same way as we would when dissecting a published play, or a piece of theatre that we have seen.
On my most recent idol piece, "The Curious Case of the Elephant in the Garden" I received one comment that perplexed me quite a lot. My reaction was pretty much "..." because I felt as though I was being judged for the fact that I tell stories using multimedia. The use of multimedia (certainly in my work) means that every element of the presentation is as essential to the whole as the other elements. In fact, I have received very little criticism that addresses this balance. I'm getting more and more frustrated by the fact that people are saying "but the WRITING doesn't carry the whole story" because the writing isn't supposed to. The whole thing, combined with the imagination of the reader, is supposed to carry the story. This isn't a fiction competition - I wouldn't have entered a fiction competition. Every time someone says to me, "but what about the writing?" I kind of want to hit them, because I feel as though they've missed the point.
I'm sorry to rant in your journal - I just ... I'm so very confused. I've had some wonderfully interesting and enlightening discussions as part of LJidol, but all I can think of is the few people who have basically said "that's not a valid way to play the competition." Truth be told, it's bothering me. Who are they to tell me that it's not writing? It's frustrating, because I LIKE responding to criticism, and debating about my work, but I've seen very few people leaving open-ended criticism, and I'm perplexed as to why this is - I'd be more than happy to answer questions along the lines of "why did you chose to do (whatever)?" but no one is asking those questions. I feel as though I'm getting either "I like it" (obviously good thing, not complaining here) or "this isn't writing" and there's a whole middle ground of criticism that I'm craving, that people aren't willing to give. I put so much effort into constructing every entry, I want to receive constructive criticism that reflects the entry as a whole.
no subject
There is nothing wrong with saying "that's not to my personal taste," but saying "that's not writing," or "that doesn't belong here," is making a leap from your personal taste to an objective value judgment that really, nobody should be making.
I was wondering how you would respond to this - because I've basically received a fair number of comments on my idol entries that lean towards this, and I really have no idea how to respond. I'm also becoming more and more worried that I'm being over-sensitive to the issue, which means that I sound like a bit of a dick when I'm replying, even though I really don't mean to.
My degree is in Drama and Creative Writing; my Masters is in Playwriting - I am completely used to giving and receiving "concrit" so it's not that I "can't take it" - I can, and I always appreciate thoughtful feedback, but... No one I work with would sit there and say "Well, that's not writing" - nor, actually, would they say "this is not to my personal taste" because it is accepted that taste differs - no one really needs the kick in the teeth of being told that this is the case.
What we tend to do do is pick out sections that we feel work well, and why this might be, as well as sections that do not work as well, and why this might be. This way, we improve both our own craft and the craft of the person whose work we are looking at. We treat all our work in the same way as we would when dissecting a published play, or a piece of theatre that we have seen.
On my most recent idol piece, "The Curious Case of the Elephant in the Garden" I received one comment that perplexed me quite a lot. My reaction was pretty much "..." because I felt as though I was being judged for the fact that I tell stories using multimedia. The use of multimedia (certainly in my work) means that every element of the presentation is as essential to the whole as the other elements. In fact, I have received very little criticism that addresses this balance. I'm getting more and more frustrated by the fact that people are saying "but the WRITING doesn't carry the whole story" because the writing isn't supposed to. The whole thing, combined with the imagination of the reader, is supposed to carry the story. This isn't a fiction competition - I wouldn't have entered a fiction competition. Every time someone says to me, "but what about the writing?" I kind of want to hit them, because I feel as though they've missed the point.
I'm sorry to rant in your journal - I just ... I'm so very confused. I've had some wonderfully interesting and enlightening discussions as part of LJidol, but all I can think of is the few people who have basically said "that's not a valid way to play the competition." Truth be told, it's bothering me. Who are they to tell me that it's not writing? It's frustrating, because I LIKE responding to criticism, and debating about my work, but I've seen very few people leaving open-ended criticism, and I'm perplexed as to why this is - I'd be more than happy to answer questions along the lines of "why did you chose to do (whatever)?" but no one is asking those questions. I feel as though I'm getting either "I like it" (obviously good thing, not complaining here) or "this isn't writing" and there's a whole middle ground of criticism that I'm craving, that people aren't willing to give. I put so much effort into constructing every entry, I want to receive constructive criticism that reflects the entry as a whole.
Or maybe I'm just a jerk :/