I blogged about critique last Thursday. Accepting critique is a funny thing; it's part humility and part confidence.
The humility is obvious. We all want to believe we will be the first author to cough up the perfect rough draft. Any time someone--no matter how much we trust them--points out flaws in our manuscript, it can be hard not to take it personally. However, we can't let our instinctive pride get in the way of our desire to have a better story.
That's where the confidence comes in. Looking over a long editorial letter can be disheartening. "You did well here, but maybe here you should try..." It's easy to overlook the positive comments and start to wonder if you really have what it takes to write a publishable novel.
When you receive critiques, you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that no matter what suggestions they may make, you are capable of implementing them. You must have enough confidence in your vision for your novel to know how to do that without compromising the story you want to tell.
It's not an easy line to walk, this balance between humility and confidence, but it's something all writers have to learn at some point, or we go a little mad.
Now, to make you smile, here's a video... with a surprise ending.
