For authors struggling to perfect their craft, feedback is an indispensable tool in the writing and publishing process. But where that feedback comes from really matters. The thoughts and opinions of the reviewers can affect how good or useful that criticism is. When a reviewer’s entire personality revolves around one aspect, like politics, religion, or identity, it can be more harmful than helpful. If you only get feedback that’s focused on that one thing, it can trap you in a box.
People who identify primarily as one thing often have a narrow, even dogmatic view of themselves that can cloud their judgment when giving balanced feedback. I think the way I see the world is mostly influenced by my own beliefs and experiences. That can sometimes make me biased when I’m trying to evaluate a piece of writing. Someone who is really into all that gender stuff, for instance, might look at a piece of work and judge it mostly based on whether it agrees or disagrees with their own opinions. They might not even consider the story, character development, or overall quality of the writing. Such feedback can distort an author’s perception of the strengths and weaknesses of their writing, concentrating too much on whether it is ideologically on-message as opposed to its craft, pacing, and quality storytelling.
Lately the author of this post has noticed this when beta-reader feedback highlights a certain section of a manuscript as potentially “problematic” or, in some way, crossing a line by a particular member of an identity. Feedback like this should, most of the time, be immediately thrown in the garbage. This is different from a reviewer who may ask something like, more generally, of something, “Is this excessive? Is this unnecessary?” Pay attention to the language someone uses. Fighting against the over-reliance on excessive gore is something to be considered. When a reviewer identifies an opinion, or even something that is historical fact, as something that must be erased, it is a red flag that they see everything through the lens of ideology.
Always, ask yourself: Would this person ever choose to read this book? This is very analogous to recent controversies around a number of video games and movies. The loudest voices bitching about some aspect of representation are never going to play the game or see the movie and aren’t the target market. They are nothing of note to the success of the item being complained about, and only build the alienation of fans eager for it.
Additionally, the feedback of those focused on a single identity can be too homogeneous to produce a well-rounded, universally appealing manuscript. Readers are the best lens for revealing your work’s multiple angles and telling you what goods the story can deliver — both best and worst — via Beta Reading. Feedback from people with a limited perspective only supports the identity-based groupthink in media instead of encouraging authors to think critically and creatively about their work.
In this regard, the problem of trigger warnings must also be addressed. Trigger warnings are alerts found at the beginning of a book, chapter, or scene notifying readers of potentially distressing or triggering content. Trigger warnings seek to spare readers potential psychological harm. Well, here’s the thing about trigger warnings: they can be pretty complicated and controversial. On one hand, they use all this fancy psychological language to sound official and important. But on the other hand, some people think they’re not really necessary and ruin the reader’s experience. It’s tough to come up with a clear-cut argument about whether or not we should use trigger warnings in literature.
I believe trigger warnings should only be used for clear cases of explicit sexual content or graphic violence.
Trigger warnings often infringe upon an author’s creative freedom and restrict the reader’s engagement with challenging material. Some literature might be complex and difficult, yes. Trigger warnings may motivate writers to sanitize their work, make it less authentic, and eliminate writing about certain subjects. Trigger warnings can influence a reader’s expectations before they engage with the content, diminishing the impact of the story.
Trigger warnings must, by their very nature, reference an event or an activity that is subjective and cannot be compared to what others may find triggering, making it almost impossible to apply trigger warnings consistently. What’s concerning to one person might just be no big deal to someone else, and if we try to cater to every potential sensitivity, our story ends up being too cautious and wishy-washy. This not only messes up the whole thing but also puts a lot of pressure on writers to predict and deal with all the different things that might upset the readers.
Another really important thing to consider is that when we read, we sometimes come across stuff that’s tough or maybe even gets us feeling a bit uncomfortable. But, honestly, that’s just part of the whole reading experience. It’s all about different types of books and stories that sometimes deal with heavy stuff. It enables readers to grapple with and navigate complex feelings, cultivate empathy, and an appreciation for alternative perspectives and experiences. By shielding readers from difficult material with trigger warnings, they may be missing these critical opportunities for personal growth and contemplation.
Writers need to find that sweet spot of making their stuff safe and appealing to the readers publishers are after, while also staying true to their artistic vision even if it goes against what’s hot in the market. In the end, books should be able to show all types of human beings, not only part of them.
Authors should make it a point to distance themselves from echo chambers created by their audience. It’s very important for them to ask for feedback from a whole bunch of different people who are open-minded, even if they’re not totally neutral. These individuals should be able to provide perspectives that go beyond their own personal biases and prejudices. Be it ever so good, art is limited by the finger pointing at it. This broadens the audience appeal, enabling authors to build more rich and well-formed narratives. Literature exists to entertain, challenge, provoke, and inspire. It should not be compromised by extreme identity issues or trigger warnings.
