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Why Critique Won’t Make You A Better Writer
Critique is a good analytical tool. But becoming a better writer is more than just analyzing your flaws.
If you want to become a writer, most of the advice is the same: First you must write. And then you must also join a group of writers, or take a class, and get critique.
People think the best way to improve your writing is by people reading your work and finding its flaws. If you go to any of the critique websites on Reddit, where writers submit google docs of their works in progress, they’re all filled with comments by strangers dissecting the grammar, dialog, logic, tense, continuity, and language. For the popular docs, almost every line is peppered with notes on how each individual sentence could be improved. Sometimes with conflicting ideas.
But is that really the best way to improve our craft? An anemic sea of red liner notes, bringing the document to a chugging halt, covering the story in its reef of perceived flaws?
Creativity flows from the subconsciousness. And in order to access the full extent of our creative power we have to feel free to write without consideration to harsh judgment. When we first begin to write we’re unsure of ourselves, trying to gain footing, figuring out our voice and how words flow. Our words will be messy. Our characters are inconsistent. But much like…
