Learning is an often painful process. You have to leave the comfortable and familiar behind in order to gain new experiences and that often means admitting mistakes and adopting new methods.

Generally speaking, we don't like doing either of those things.

It's much easier to trundle along in the same old tracks than it is to dig through the rut and forge a new path to tread. And it's so much easier to carry on doing things in a familiar and well-known way than it is to try to do it a different way.

Writing, or learning to write, is no different. We all go through the same learning curve, we all make the same mistakes and we all have to be willing to leave some things behind and cut other things out before we can grow as writers. For many of us, if not all of us, it's a process that never really ends. Learning continues with every new piece that's written. It's part of what makes writing so interesting...

...and so frustrating

I've been doing critique work for quite a while. I've lost count of the number of manuscripts for stories and novels that I've read, but one thing I can't lose count of is the similarity between the objections I get back from writers regarding critique comments made on their work.

The first five are here – along with why these objections don't hold up.

1. My Friend/Mum Thinks It's Good.

Great. Everyone needs all the encouragement they can get. Writing is hard work and how lovely it is to sweat over something then have someone read it and say, 'hey, that's really good. I like that.'

Honestly, it's a great feeling and everyone needs encouragement to carry on.

But... how much does your mum (or your friend) know about writing? If they, too, are writers or work in the publishing industry, you can believe them. If they don't, if they just read, or they just love you, or they just about anything else, then enjoy the praise they heap on you but don't let it go to your head.

Comments made by someone who knows a bit about writing are more likely to be a closer match to those a publisher would make than are comments made by mums and friends. If you have no intention of showing your work to a wider audience, and have no interest in getting your work published then it doesn't matter anyway.

But if publication is your goal, then listen to someone who may know a little more.

2. You Don't Understand What I'm Trying To Do
   

This is a very common complaint. As a writer you need to get to grips with the fact that when you're writing something it's up to you to make sure you've written it in such a way that your readers will understand what you're trying to do. You shouldn't have to explain your writing. If the reader doesn't understand, it's your fault, not theirs. You're not going to be able to stand beside every reader and tell them why you've done it that way, or written it this way. They're going to have to 'get it' on their own. And that's your job. Make things as clear as you possibly can, and if your intentions are still a bit cloudy to start with be prepared to work at it some more until the waters run clear.

3. That Bit's Too Important To Change. The Reader Will Have To Wait To Find Out Why

The trouble with this objection is, the reader won't wait. There are simply too many books and stories out there clamouring to be read for a reader to struggle along with a story that seems to have no point.

Stories, be they shorts or novels, have to appear to be going somewhere, and have to appear to have a purpose. To make sure both those elements are in your story you need to write about only what is relevant to the story. And if an early part of the story has a bearing on what happens later but appears pointless at the time, then you need to rewrite it to give it some relevance at the moment it happens.

4. I Want It To Be Open Ended

As far as it goes there is nothing wrong with leaving the ending of a story open. The open-ended technique fails, though, when there is no sense of closure at all. Readers generally don't want to be left hanging at the end of a story, so even open-ended stories need to hint at a direction the story might take. Once pointed in a certain direction readers will join the dots and put their own ending in place, but unless a directional hint is given the story is in danger of just petering out, as though the writer either lost interest or didn't know how to finish it.

Bearing that in mind, by all means go for open-ended tales if they're what you enjoy and want to write. But throw us readers a bone. Give us a few options for how it might have ended. You, the writer, need to supply the loose ends before we, the readers, have any chance of tying them up.

5. I Don't Believe In Rewriting

I'm never sure if this is pure arrogance or simple ignorance. I have never come across any working, published writer who didn't spend hours in rewriting, redrafting, tightening, rewording, polishing and editing. It's part of the job. If you don't believe in rewriting then you're either a brilliant writer or you're never going to be published.

Read Objections 6 to 10