I watched the movie Resurrecting the Champ with my son last night. There was a quote at the beginning (that was also repeated at the end) that caught my attention. The quote compared a prize fighter’s talent being on display in the ring to a writer’s talent being on display when a writer’s work is published.
That caught my attention because I have been asked to review several other grant writers’ work recently and I am often struck by how difficult it is for writers to gracefully accept critiques of their work. Beginning writers, especially, find it hard to accept criticism. Those of us who have been earning a living with our writing for years or decades have developed a thicker skin, but it’s still not very easy.
Having your talent on display and open for criticism is never easy. Grant writing can be especially brutal. Even though you may get a gold star when your grant is funded, being rejected feels like a severe judgement on your talent as a writer, even though the rejection may have had nothing to do with your writing and everything to do with the content of the program you were writing about.
My message for today is this – Be kind when you are critiquing someone’s writing. Tell the truth, but speak it with love. It’s not easy having your talent on display.