Revision: The Harsh – But Necessary – Literary Task Master

Posted February 6th, 2012 / By Tom Chu in Misc

You know when you write something and you are really proud of it? That feeling of accomplishment and certainty that others will be just as impressed fills you up. But then come the comments, and for a blogger those come from people all over the world. Some will be honest, some will be encouraging, but many will be critical or even cruel.

It is easy to just ignore those and put on a “They don’t get me!” face. While those that are obviously being mean just for the sake of doing so are best ignored, the ones with constructive criticism have to be appreciated for what they are…even if they are harsh. It is those comments that will help you with the revision that is a necessary (if annoying) part of being a writer.

Of course, you might have to do that before ever putting your blog post online. I like to have someone I trust and respect go over my posts before I publish — someone who will catch mistakes, issues and give an honest look into how the whole thing reads. This Literary Ball-Buster is one of my best friends. Under her careful consideration I have seen a massive improvement in my work.

It was her that pointed out that my approach to taking feedback and revising was similar to the five basic Stages of Grief. Using this somewhat dramatic interpretation, I thought I would share with you what we writers commonly go through. Who knows, maybe it will help you as you grapple with your own constructive comments and revise once again.

Stage One – Denial

Hiding behind ego and confidence is often one of the greatest protections for anyone in an art or literary career. With bloggers it goes a step further. It is just so easy to look at a comment that is negative to put it off to ‘trolling’, or someone who is being catty for no reason. After all, we see examples of pedantic and pointless antagonism on websites all the time.

But using the “It doesn’t bother me” or “It’s their own loss” line is actually more hurtful than helpful. It is the first stage: denial. Until we get past it and accept that we wrote something someone didn’t like, we can’t grow. But it is one stage that will never go away, no matter how much rejection and criticism you face.

Stage Two – Anger

This is one I know well, especially from my early days. I am ashamed to admit that with my first blog job I got into more than one argument with a commenter. Often I was able to hold my own, and I never went with the expletive-filled ranting that was going on in my head. But the fact is, I should never have engaged them that way and instead listened.

Now, I still get angry. However, I take a deep breath and sometimes leave my computer to consider if it is something I have to address in revision, or if it is something I can ignore. But I never personally attack a commenter, no matter how much I would sometimes like to tell them in ALLCAPS to go screw themselves.

Step Three – Bargaining

My friend I mentioned above catches me on this all the time. I have a tendency to start trying to bargain on what I will cut and what I will keep. She will tell me the intro is too wordy and that I need to rewrite the second example with something less aggressive. I will try to agree to do one but not the other. She will give me a verbal slap on the wrist and I will agree to do both, because if I knew better I wouldn’t need her in the first place.

Aggravating, but as necessary as all of the rest.

Stage Four – Depression

No one will ever want to read my blog. I will continue to write sub-par, unfunny drivel and it will make no difference. I should go back to my day job ghostwriting content where it is safe.

Sound familiar? Welcome to the stage of depression. This one is hard to get past, because you will lose your motivation as it sinks in. We are our own worse critics and enemies, and so it can be east to give in. But if you force yourself forward and realize that it is only insecurity talking, you will get through it.

Stage Five – Acceptance

Eventually you will accept that revisions just have to be done. Rewriting is frustrating and sometimes painful. But when you step back and see that no one gets it right the first try you will be less angst-ridden about the process next time.

Even if you have to write the post four times in a row, or even go through old posts to fix them one by one, you will end up with better content. That is work worth putting the work in for, is it not?

Post photo: cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo

Tom Chu is the SEO manager at PsPrint, a company specializing in online printing. PsPrint offers an array of free tools, for example it lets you make your own business cards online. Follow PsPrint on Twitter and Facebook