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Sunday, June 5, 2011

A Letter To A Writer Who Doesn’t Want To Hear It | The Jose Vilson

A Letter To A Writer Who Doesn’t Want To Hear It | The Jose Vilson

A Letter To A Writer Who Doesn’t Want To Hear It

Dear burgeoning writer,

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but we need to talk. It’s the same talk my editors had to have with me after my first few submissions, and one that I never had to have again afterwards. You see, for writers that care, the act of writing is a personal craft, and I can’t deny how hard it is to get your writing critiqued because it is a piece of you. Whether it’s a personal poem or an objective article, you put in all this time into your piece, hoping that you’ll get the same exact feedback that all your friends do:

“Oh, you’re such a great writer!”

“That was awesome. I’m really excited that you wrote this piece.”

“Your performance of the piece was stunning. I feel it right here [points to heart or temple].”

So, when you came to me asking me to give you feedback, I was under the impression that you wanted me to