You may have heard a variation of the phrase two
people equals three
opinions.
This phrase purports the notion that each pair of eyes sees
a variation of an image, each pair of ears registers sounds as variations on a
theme, and each person’s mind colors the same set of facts with a different hue.
I am reminded of this miracle every week, when my online picture
book critique group gives feedback to a
single manuscript. We share a group email thread so everyone can read others’
take.
I am usually the first or second to respond, and I give it
all I’ve got. But when others’ feedback comes in I’m astounded at the points I
missed, the typo I didn’t mark (less about that, because I’m Ms. Typo myself)
and the essential fixes I never saw a need for when I read.
Conventional wisdom is to revise if more than one person
highlights the same flaw. To be sure, there are matters most of us will note
even as the offered fixes vary.
But it’s the singular opinions that strike me every time.
Once pointed out, they pulsate in neon as so obvious I wonder how I missed such
in my feedback.
Which is my way of appreciating the dynamic and usefulness of
a good group.
©Image by Diane Kress Hower
http://pensandbrushes.weebly.com/
