Sharing creative writing with friends, mentors, editors, and writing groups is an act of extreme vulnerability. It's hard sometimes to separate criticism of the work from criticism of ourselves, since it's our thinking and perspective on the page.
In this session, we'll discuss the role of feedback at various stages in a manuscript's journey, and cover some artist-centered strategies that don't demoralize the writer, but help make the writing less wobbly and more emotionally impactful. We'll go through the various types of feedback and ask: what sorts of comments and line edits truly help? What should you tune in and out? Who should we listen to? How is your writing influenced by your fear of criticism? How do you find a writing community? And once you're published, how should you respond to ratings and reviews?
CHRISTINA CLANCY is the author of The Second Home, Shoulder Season, and The Snowbirds (out Feb. 4, 2025). Her stories and essays have appeared in The Sun Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Lit Hub, The Minnesota Review, Hobart, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She lives in Madison.
