Most of use writers have our critics and that goes for those who write novels, documentaries, biographies, short stories, poetry, screen plays, news stories or simply articles either on or off line.

Recently my writing mentor, Dina Giolitto, who is an expert copywriter recently asked me about my critics after writing 3000 online articles over 3 grueling quarters, while averaging 285,000 words per month. She said;

“In reading your articles, one can ascertain you've acquired vast knowledge in the areas of mechanics, engineering, logistics, marketing, energy conservation, science and innovation, robotics... not to mention you keep up with current social and political trends. This makes you well able to articulate opinions based in fact. Yet, many readers have criticized you for "grammatical imperfection" in your articles. What is your response to their accusations?”

Indeed I have my critics like any other writer I suppose and many have accused me of not understanding all those subjects, yet being self-taught often means a lifetime of learning really and over time one does amass a wealth of knowledge of course. I suppose now after my crash course in learning to be a writer and of course I am no where near where I want to be; my response to any critic is “look at the score board!” Now then I do listen to their critiques and take an objective stance jumping into their point of view and perspective, really get inside their heads and ask myself;

1.) “Are those comments true?” If so, what can I do not improve,

2.) “Is the critic a legitimate commenter or is he a detractor?” In other words what are their true motives? Are they jealous? Are they one certain sector of the writing community who is on Prozac, Depressed, Insomniac, Alcoholic? Do they have a motive to destroy? Do they derive pleasure in creating controversy? Are they the type, which goes around the Internet looking for online forums to start a fight?

3.)“Is the critic accomplished in their own right?” Is the critic a superstar in their industry and really believes in their biting remarks, if so, it might be wise to study all their work and learn a new perspective and use that to propel meaningful thought or defend your case if in the end you have not changed you mind.

I believe that all authors who have gotten to a place in their careers where people are listening and reading what they have to say, should understand that there will be critics and detractors, so I offer my advice to deal with these folks. Think on it.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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