In haste, because I'm just about to dash off to teach my creative writing class -- to give feedback to the group on all the work they have been doing during the last month. I'm in buoyant mood, having just had feedback on my own work. My agent's response has been critical and constructive, patient and insightful. She is tireless in her efforts to make me write to the best of my ability.
People can be very defensive about reactions to what they have written and it is such a mistake. Although it is understandable to be protective about your work and you are right not to want to lose sight of your original vision, helpful comments can be like gold dust: they can reinvigorate you, stretch your capabilities and take you to creative heights that you might not otherwise have reached. In fact, they are better than gold dust - it's all in the word : feedback, as in food, as in nourishment. So if somebody takes the time to read your work and then think about it and make suggestions, listen very carefully to what they have to say, absorb it and if you can, act upon it. It's like medicine -- it may be hard to swallow, but you will be better for it.
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