Coping With Criticism

(This post originally appeared on the CopyWrite blog. Join the April subscription drive today or subscribe here!)

I love it when a new set of eyeballs reads my script. But, like anyone, when that person offers criticism the ego takes a knock. After all, what do they know? They didn’t stay up all hours writing the damn thing!

Criticism is an essential part of any writing process, but more important is the ability to deal with this criticism effectively. Many times I’ve come across an amateur writer who dismisses criticism as a misunderstanding on the part of the reader. If the reader wasn’t completely won over by the script, they simply didn’t get it.

The amateur wants to debate the criticism, hopelessly attempting to turn the reader’s opinion around. “Don’t you see? In Act 2 Fred does this, so that’s why Jemima leaves home. It’s obvious. I’m not changing a thing!”

It may be obvious to you, but if the reader misses it, it isn’t the readers fault – it’s yours. No one knows the story in your head better than you. But the script is the tool by which you convey that story inside you to someone else. If they don’t experience what you hoped they would, your script hasn’t done the job.

The Reader Is Your Audience

When writing a script, a novel or an advertising slogan, you cannot dismiss any criticism. If your film were to be shown in a cinema, you won’t be able to address the audience afterwards and enlighten them to the bits they didn’t like. Similarly, attempting to persuade a reader that your script works, simply highlights that it doesn’t. If your script needs explanation to be understood or a pep talk to grasp the tone, or a lesson in script format to decipher, it has problems that you, not the reader, needs to address.

Recently, I received some criticism of my film script, Nightfall. The person offering the criticism was very tentative, wondering nervously whether I would be offended. Of course I wasn’t. The point he raised was that the script didn’t contain enough scares and wasn’t ‘street’ enough for a vampire film.

My first reaction was the urge to scream “It’s not a vampire horror movie!” But it’s not up to me to say. It’s up to the audience to decide what a film is or isn’t, after experiencing it. I can’t email every audience member after seeing the film to outline my real reasons for writing the film and what they should have experienced.

What is the Criticism Really Telling You?

Sometimes, the criticism may hint at the true problem without saying it outright. In this case, a little thought showed me what the criticism was really telling me.

The logline mentions that the script contains vampires. Therefore, some readers will have a clear genre or expectation in mind when they turn to page one. The problem is that my script is not a typical vampire slash and horror. The premise is actually a tragic love story where the vampires merely serve as a narrative device to create the dilemma.

In comparing the different reader feedbacks I’ve received over the years, those that didn’t know vampires were in the script read it for what it is – a tragic love story. And they provided feedback and appreciated it on that level. Others who were primed with the knowledge that vampires featured in some capacity sometimes felt caught out by a script that failed to offer the usual “Lost Boys” type theatrics.

Act on All Criticism

We will all receive a number of different and sometimes conflicting criticisms throughout the life of a script. How do you act on them all?

The important thing is to never dismiss a criticism, no matter how trivial or ridiculous it seems. Remember, the person making the criticism is still a typical audience member. You will never be able to please every audience member all the time, but by carefully considering every criticism you receive, you can build a picture of which issues should be a priority to you and which you may need to live with. Take into account your target audience. If readers from a similar demographic show a pattern in their criticism but you see them as a key audience for your film, you have a problem that needs to be addressed. If the demographic of the reader is less likely to be your target audience, you may decide to downplay the reaction if other readers are favourable.

By treating all criticism with this level of analysis and importance, you continue to write for your audience and not for yourself. After all, that is your goal.

After my criticism analysis, I have crucial information to help with my next draft. I need to recraft the logline to set up a more accurate tonal pitch for the film. I then need to look very carefully at the first Act to see how the tone is set and assess whether it is the right tone for what is to follow. It will never be “From Dusk Til Dawn”, but there is more than one way to create horror-film style tension without turning the love story into a slasher pic full of gothed up, leather coat wearing, long-haired vampires.

Whether the new draft can carefully straddle both genres is the challenge, but it is a challenge worth facing.