criticism – luke brown

You Have an Effect!

I keep a running list of post ideas: brief descriptions of possible things to write about every day. One of the more recent ones is “Remind yourself of all the people and places impacted by your presence.” I shall now try to decipher what that means. I’m pretty sure I was thinking about how hardContinue reading “You Have an Effect!”

Only Enthusiasm

There are people who are very intrigued by the work you’re putting out there. Sure, there may be some who have voiced disapproval, but if they can’t engage in honest conversation about how your work confuses or somehow hurts them then they don’t deserve your focus. Those you allow directly behind or beside you whileContinue reading “Only Enthusiasm”

Judging Flawed Thought Babies

I’ve been given a few scalding pieces of criticism that were clearly not fleshed out or well founded: off-the-cuff remarks meant to show evidence of my negative behaviour but on closer inspection couldn’t possibly hold water. That’s not to say I’m absolutely perfect (though I am), but people tend to shape the entire context andContinue reading “Judging Flawed Thought Babies”

The Great Gaps

Normalize having gaps in your knowledge. One of my many bad habits is to say things like “Yep, I know that” to pretty well any kind of criticism. When people point to areas in my work that’s confusing and needs clarification I tend to try to make it seem like I’m already handling it. I’mContinue reading “The Great Gaps”

Inevitable Dislike

I’m editing a play with the intention of mounting it again in the (hopefully not-too-distant) future. Every time I step away from it it takes me a long time to get back. When I lack focus like this I try to pinpoint the specific obstacles. For this one, as for many projects, I’m caught upContinue reading “Inevitable Dislike”

Speaking with Open Ears

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s inspirational tweets are written because he needs them. Of course there are others out there who need his encouragement, but he needs the words himself, so he writes them. I felt like an outsider growing up so I started turning to books. I found something magical in the words of authors: a placeContinue reading “Speaking with Open Ears”