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Three years ago my writing group peer reviewed my best scene... it was brutal
It was at the public library downtown, a Tuesday night. I brought this scene I spent like two months on, thought it was gold. First guy says, "Your dialogue sounds like a Hallmark card." Then another person chimes in, "I don't get why the character would even care about the lamp." By the end I felt like I'd been through a structure fire and lost. I rewrote that thing six times based on their notes and it still got rejected by three lit mags. Has anyone else gotten feedback that made you question if you can write at all?
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mary_kelly9d ago
You mentioned "question if you can write at all" and that's exactly where I think the trap is. Workshop feedback is just one person's opinion on a Tuesday night, not the final word on your ability. I've seen people walk away from good work because they let a loud voice in the room convince them it was trash. Sometimes a scene just needs a different reader, not six rewrites to fit someone else's taste.
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