Recommended Screenwriters
Protect Yourself from Bad Feedback
- October 21, 2010
- Posted by: HalCroasmun
- Category: Articles
Writers are always asking for feedback. The assumption is that it is always helpful. In many cases, it is. But there are those cases you should watch out for.
Want to hear a horror story?
Frances, a writer in one of my classes, told me about an experience in her first screenwriting class.
"It was over 12 years ago. Two writers, in the name of given feedback, viciously destroyed any hope I had of being a screenwriter. They ridiculed my idea, made fun of my characters, and ripped every line of my two-page scene apart. They seemed to get a morbid sense of enjoyment out of my pain.
The teacher in this small class tried to stop them three times, then finally just said "Let's move on." I didn't write another word for two years."
Yes, I know that is an extreme story. But things like this do happen. I've met at least 50 writers with a similar story.
Even more important, most damaging feedback isn't spotted until after it has already done its damage. Many times, we think someone is being helpful when they are cutting at the core of your self-esteem or belief in your dream.
Keep in mind, I'm not talking about feedback that shocks because it is so good or even feedback that hurts, but makes a major improvement in your writing. There are other types of feedback that are often disguised as helpful, but have the effect of murdering your story or causing even worse disasters.
BTW, some people who give damaging feedback know they're doing it and others really think they are helping. Either way, as a writer who is going to live your life hearing people's comments about your work, you need to learn to protect yourself from damaging feedback.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM BAD FEEDBACK
Protecting your story is important, but there are more important things to protect. "Like what?" you ask.
Like your most important assets:
– protect your self esteem and confidence.
– protect your creativity.
– protect your dream.
Just keep watching your emotional and mental state as you get feedback. If it empowers you and has you feel stronger, that is great. But if you walk out feeling hopeless or believing that you aren't creative, chances are you need to be careful.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Feedback is only 1 of 33 ways people can learn. Many screenwriters act like feedback is the only way to learn. It is not. In fact, you are better off with no feedback than feedback that damages you.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO WATCH FOR?
There are a number of types of problem feedback and not all of them damage you psychologically. Here's a few that you should watch out for.
1. Feedback that is abusive.
Anytime someone starts attacking you personally, they are no longer being helpful. If they say "This character could be stronger and better developed," that may be good feedback. But if they start questioning your creative ability or whether you can make it in this business, exit the conversation.
BTW, early on, you can't tell who will make it or not. The person in a class who does the absolute worst may be the one who keeps writing and improving until they become an A-list writer. It is amazing what 5 years of consistent effort and learning will do.
Abusive behavior can show up like a person demanding that you write the script their way. If they're not the producer on the project, they don't have the right to demand you write anything. You are the boss of your project.
Of course, if someone is yelling, calling you names, and insulting your ancestors, choose someone else to get feedback from.
2. Feedback that keeps you mediocre.
This can show up a variety of ways. It could be someone putting you down in a nice way, over and over again. "At least one of your characters is interesting." A steady diet of this kind of abuse will undermine your confidence.
Or it could be someone who keeps telling you that your writing is great so there's no need to improve it, when you really need to.
If you have a feedback partner whose writing is clearly better than yours and they aren't giving you tips on how to improve yours, chances are they are withholding in order to maintain their superiority. They are keeping you down. So get out and get up!
3. Feedback that wastes your time.
Remember that if you tell someone what you want feedback on and they focus on things that aren't helping you, it is a waste of time.
This could happen in two situations. Either they aren't at the skill level to provide the quality of feedback you need or they aren't willing to provide it.
4. Feedback that distracts.
While this seems small, it can be just as devastating as the others. If someone keeps sending you off on tangents or demanding that you focus on things that won't make a difference, they are wasting your creativity.
You're working on your opening and they start telling you that you need to change all of your character names. So you explain why you choose those names and they start questioning your ending. Two hours later, you've defended every part of your script and haven't done one thing on your opening.
5. Feedback that provides "different, but not better."
This is the most common of all feedback problems. Feedback should improve your story, not just change it. I was in one class years ago where they got in a ten minute discussion about whether the couple in the story should break up in a McDonalds or a Burger King. The Burger King was different than the McDonalds, but didn't improve the story in any way.
Put that same breakup at the wedding rehearsal and you have a more emotional scene. Put it in the middle of a church service and you have a more unique scene. Put it on national TV and you have a lot at stake. In order for an idea to be better, it needs to fulfill a purpose that is important to the story.
If you honor "different, but not better," you'll be inundated with useless ideas and your story will suffer because of it.
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WHAT TO DO?
Watch for feedback that doesn't work. Try to correct it and if that doesn't work, find someone else to get feedback from. Knowing these five feedback problems will help you identify and avoid them…
…and that will protect your most valuable creative assets.
While good feedback can help you see problems with your script and how to improve upon it, it is just as important to have the skill set to improve your script – without the skills, you can't address the issues. Our ProSeries Class teaches all of the skills necessary to write a hollywood-ready script – take a look at it here.
Good feedback can help you improve your script, but having a good skill set is just as important. Without the skills necessary to make a great script, feedback can help you know what to improve, but not give you the tools to do it. Our "ProSeries Screenwriting Class" trains all of the skills necessary to write an amazing script – check it out.