Friday, October 15, 2010

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Okay, so... I am a very blunt critiquer. I try to warn people ahead of time, don't ask me for my opinion unless you can take it. Ha! I mean what is the point in asking for criticism unless you want honest feedback.

So, when Becky and I finished a draft of our new story BW, of course, I wanted to hear what people really thought.

THE GOOD
M- I like the concept and you should keep playing with it.
J- I like the idea of the story (just nothing that you've done with it)
B- It's a good premise and it is worth pursuing

THE BAD
M- Too similar in style to How I Became a Pirate, voice is too old
J- There is no voice (Yikes! But doesn't that contradict M?)
B- The ending doesn't work for me

THE UGLY
J- I hate it. It's BORING. This story should be hilarious, but there was NOTHING funny in it. I would never want to read it a second time.

Ouch!

(Okay, in J's defense, she was talking to her own mom, so she shouldn't have to worry about tact.)

Ha.

I think I'll go crawl under a rock now.

14 comments:

Rebecca Gomez said...

Too funny, Corey. The good news is that all of it is fixable.

Unknown said...

Ha! Ain't that the truth. I have enjoyed perusing your blog!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Ouch! That is a bit harsh. And now...the revisions! :-)

Megan Frances Abrahams said...

I agree - always locate a nearby rock for convenient crawling after the bad and ugly parts of a critique.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I find that a honest critique is the most helpful. :) Sometimes it may take a while to absorb the suggestions, but it's all about improving your writing....

PS: You are a great critiquer! Good luck with your new ms.

storyqueen said...

This is post explains everything about the frustration of picture book writing! It starts with the idea, but just because you have THE IDEA, it doesn't mean the book is where you want it to be.

I end up playing and playing and playing with a concept until I get it right...and sometimes I don't!

Good Luck!

Shelley

Anonymous said...

I guess that makes me good and bad, but not ugly.

Anonymous said...

Ha! At least the ugly was coming from someone adorable!

Corey Schwartz said...

Ha! Tara, it wasn't my daughter... ti was Becky's! Jordan may be smart for a six-year-old, but she doesn't know what "voice" means in a manuscript:)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Corey, I dont know if you do awards, but I gave you one. :-)

Christie Wright Wild said...

Loved this! I have an award for you on my blog, too.

Ishta Mercurio said...

I understand completely. But as Sharon said, the all-positive critiques aren't really helpful!

Heather at My Coupon Coop said...

I think I'll take the liberty of critiquing this post:

Things that work: The title

Things that don't work: Nothing!

I know honest critiques are the best, but they shouldn't be cruel or soul-crushing. One thing I've learned is that you can submit a story to 10 different knowledgeable people, and receive 10 completely different critiques. What a joy to find some common pro's and cons!

Keep it up. You're a rockin' and we'll come a'knockin'!

P.S. I want to join your crit group lol

Kim said...

Ouch! There is nothing more brutal than the honesty of a child. Don't know if I'm tough enough to handle it. Maybe that's why my writing sits in a closed file.