What My Animals Have Taught Me About Writing

     My horses don't write, nor do they read. They do often get to listen to me plotting, questioning, and revising out loud while riding, grooming or doing barn chores. They don't comment on any of that either. 
     One way I support my horses is by teaching riding lessons. Like any sport or activity, participants improve by having a teacher, mentor, coach, trainer or fellow athlete critique their performance.
     Among writers, the word 'critique', even to those of us that know better, evokes the image of being told what is wrong and what needs improvement.   I know from taking riding lessons that I progress better with encouragement than criticism.  Therefore, that is how I teach my students - and my horses.
     Of course, no one can improve in what they do with only encouragement. Problems need to be addressed and corrected, new practices and methods have to have to be tried, what isn't right needs to be changed.
     But if a rider's leg position is great and someone only tells them that their upper body is out of balance, concentrating only on keeping their back straight might make the rider not keep their heels down as well, or forget to keep their hands even, etc. When giving lessons, I always remind and encourage students about what they are doing right before mentioning what needs improvement. "Your hands are exactly where they need to be. You need to stretch up taller in the saddle, but keep your hands where you have them because they are just right", sounds better to me than, "You're not looking up and your lower leg is loose and you need to hold your fingers tighter on the reins! Will you ever learn to sit back properly...?"
      Consider how we teach animals. Horses and dogs in training would get sour very quickly if they were only corrected for mistakes and never praised for acomplishments. Most animals will do as much or  more to earn praise than to avoid punishment.
     Something my two critique buddies do very well - that I am SO grateful for - is to always comment on things they love about my work. They will point out where and how characterization needs improvement, but praise how good the dialogue is. This encourages me to fix the issue with my characters AND encourages me to keep writing effective dialogue. 
     We need to always keep this in mind when critiquing others work.  Hearing nothing but criticism, however neccessary or gently delivered, is disheartening to anyone. Make sure others know where their strengths are so they keep them strong.
     Writers need this. We are very anxious about having our work shared with others only to have the flaws made clear to us.  Knowing we can expect praise as well lessens the sting.
     In most things, letting people (and animals) know what they are doing right is as important as telling them what needs to be done better.

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