Don't Fence Me In by Mary Dutta

When I think of writing critiques, I think of Butch.

Butch is the contractor who has done all the work on my house for the past few years. A while ago, I asked him to give me an estimate on replacing the aging fence around our backyard. He took a long look and asked: Do you need a fence?

And you know what? It turns out I don’t. I don’t have a dog. I don’t have young children. I don’t have anything to hide from the neighbors. So, I had Butch remove the fence and now my yard looks much better.

The point of this story, apart from the importance of an honest contractor, is the importance of considering someone else’s perspective. For writers, that can be especially true, particularly when a work is in progress. Authors can access those outside perspectives from a variety of sources, like critique groups, manuscript swaps, and beta readers.

The value of eliciting others’ perspectives was made clear to me in the first critique group I joined. A fellow writer was developing a character she meant as a love interest for her protagonist, but everyone else in the group thought he was creepy. That response gave her pause, and a chance to improve her manuscript. Other insights helped members strengthen unconvincing motivations and correct wonky timelines. My own writing has definitely improved when trusted readers have pointed out issues I was blind to as the author.

A critique relationship can last for years, or be a one-time thing. It can morph over time. I’ve been in and out of a few different groups. I still ask a friend from my very first writing class for feedback on my stories. That class was a long time ago now, but her insights are always fresh.

It’s not that writers should yield to every reader’s (sometimes conflicting) opinions. But we should remain open to examining our works from perspectives other than our own, and to working on perfecting the perspective we’re trying to share.

If we erect fences around our writing, treating it as something precious that needs to be protected from constructive criticism, it may never become the best version it could be. Better to throw open the gates to other viewpoints and embrace the opportunity to improve.

And if you’re ever looking to tear down a literal fence, I’ve got just the guy.