When I was a kid, my mom bought sets of plain pink curtains for two of my sisters and me. She gave us colored markers and simple instructions: decorate these any way you want.
I was about five and not artistically inclined. She probably helped me figure how big the pictures should be, or how to draw something specific, or gave me ideas about what I might want on the curtains, since she knew my tastes. But she didn’t do it for me. It had to be my creation.
Good critique should help in the same way. It should help the writer enhance her vision, distill her voice, sharpen her wit. It should coax the writer’s taste and talent into story. But without that clear intent, it can degenerate into a write-like-me session, where the writer no longer command’s center stage on his own page.
All three sets of curtains could have looked like Mom made them. But because she kept her role as advisor, we kept artistic control.
The process of critique is like a garden consultant. I can’t tell someone what to plant. I might suggest beets, but if someone doesn’t like beets, the garden must remain strictly beet-free. Apply too heavy a hand and the writer’s voice is lost in the weeds of conflicting prose. The critiquer’s job is to help the writer gain beauty, balance, and yield out of every written thing.
Only the writer’s footprints should show.
William Shakespeare and Ernest Hemingway could have been great critique partners, as long as they respected the others style. Throw in Marcel Proust and Beatrix Potter there’s little over lap in style, voice, technique, or tempo. To meld these four distinct voices into any blended version is to lose four somethings of unique and immeasurable value.
I try to tread lightly when I offer an opinion, and I make sure someone asks me for one, first. I want to encourage the individual writer’s voice, and help that writer be heard. I can plant beets in my own damn garden.
Has anyone ever tried to make you sound like someone else? Who’s voice do you particularly enjoy?
p.s. Photo by Julia Manzerova
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The garden analogy here is brilliant. I find your philosophy on critique quite similar to the one we’re using on our forums! Love the article, it’s a fun read that makes salient points. Thanks for this.
I appreciate the kindness. All the best!