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.
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About Creative Resources & Research
- Grant Goddess
- Woodland, CA, United States
- Creative Resources and Research is a consulting firm specializing in grant writing, grant seeking, program evaluation and professional development training. We have worked with hundreds of clients including public and private schools, school districts, universities, non-profit organizations, and social service agencies throughout California, securing over $155 million from federal, state and private foundation funding sources over the past decade. Our primary grant writers and program evaluators have over 50 years of combined experience in the education and social services fields. At CRR we prefer a personal approach to the clients we work with; by developing long term relationships, we are better suited to match client’s needs with available funding sources. We provide a variety of services to help assist you, including grant writing, evaluation consulting, professional development opportunities, and workshops.
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