Feedback Thoughts: Why Simon Cowell Is the Perfect Client

As vague and terrible as feedback can be on creative work, it's also vitally important for anyone who wants to get better at any creative or artistic skill.  It's also surprising how many people who know this are terrible at giving effective feedback.

The ad agency I work for has this notoriously high-maintenance client who I helped write social media copy for. The client gave feedback both on individual Twitter/Facebook posts and on the weekly work we had done as a whole. The workload was fairly heavy, but also unnecessarily frustrating due to the vague and unhelpful nature of the client's feedback. It was always, "more storytelling." Well, alright--challenging, considering the content we produced was constrained by literal character limits, but we took it seriously. I focused on finding stories and blog posts with themes similar to the client's branding, and wrote copy focusing on those common themes. What feedback did we receive the next week? "More storytelling." And the next week, and the next. I had no idea if they liked my work, or if the problem was more with the other writers and designers. It didn't help that it never came up during the approval process for individual posts, which only yielded comments like "let's shorten this," or "love this!" Whenever I wrote for this client, it was with a sense of dread, never knowing whether it was what they wanted. By the time the semester ended and I went on to different projects, it was a relief.


Maybe it's because of this experience that Grant Wiggins' piece on the 7 Key Characteristics of Better Learning Feedback was most informative for me. To summarize, helpful feedback is:

Pictured: dream client.

1. Goal-referenced: feedback exists for the sake of a goal. Ergo, if feedback doesn't take an ultimate goal into account--the "why?"--it's not effective feedback.
2. Transparent: feedback should involve concrete results related to the goal, like the hit or miss of a bat is obvious to a baseball batter.
3. Actionable: actionable in that the feedback is factual--not praise, blame, or value judgment
4. User-friendly: feedback should be understandable by the user, not overwhelming, highly technical, or generic.
5. Timely: the sooner, the better, though immediate feedback might not always be best--you wouldn't want your piano teacher critiquing you during a recital.
6. Ongoing: the more timely feedback there is, the better the end result will be in ongoing performances or other situations
7. Consistent: this one is big, especially in academic settings and those with more than one teacher or mentor. If feedback isn't consistent, it's hard to judge its accuracy or trustworthiness.

In my opinion, creative work can be very difficult to judge. In grade school, we were judged on effort, but post-college, no client would want to hire an advertising agency that tries hard but whose results aren't effective. This is why the above criteria are so appealing to me--they can be applied to creative feedback as well as other kinds.

Other helpful articles:
Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head, for how to receive feedback effectively--focusing on both the positive and the negative.
Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career, for how to train yourself to react to criticism effectively, and understand why we react the way we do.
The Difference Between Praise That Promotes Narcissism vs. Healthy Self-Esteem, for how to give feedback that promotes self-esteem, instead of inflating someone's ego.

Image: Simon Cowell. Web source.

Wikipedia Trail: From Callisto to Asclepius

The moon of Jupiter, Callisto, probably named for its celestial bod.

Callisto
Callisto was a nymph appearing in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. She was the daughter of Lycaon, legendary king of Arcadia. Callisto was a follower of Artemis until Zeus disguised himself to have sex with her. Artemis soon learned she was pregnant, however, and as punishment, Artemis turned her into a bear. Her son, Arcas, grew up without knowing his true parentage, but as fate would have it, he soon came face-to-face with his mother, the bear. He was poised to kill her when Zeus swept them both up into the sky, where they became the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Arcadia
A real place, but also a legendary place. As an ancient region, it was secluded and idyllic, home to herdsman living “unsophisticated yet happy lives.” This is why Arcadia came to refer to an idyllic paradise. Notable mythological Arcadians included Hermes, Atalanta, and Pan.

Pan
A non-Olympian Greek god of nature, shepherds and their flocks, and rustic music, which explains why he was said to live in the pastoral Arcadia. He is known for having the lower body and horns of a goat. His name became part of the modern lexicon in the word “panic,” as his shouts were said to cause mass terror. Pan is the only Greek god other than Asclepius who canonically died.

Asclepius
Asclepius was killed by Zeus for bringing a man back from the dead. A god (or demigod, depending) of healing and medicine, Asclepius was the son of Apollo and born from an ancient C-section. He became an incredibly proficient healer due to training by Chiron, surpassing both his mentor and his father (who was also a god of medicine). He was married to Epione, goddess of soothing pain, with whom he had five daughters, each representing a different facet of healing/health. Asclepius and his cult were famous for his temples, which functioned as early hospitals for those in need.

Image:
Callisto, photographed by NASA spacecraft. Web source.

Week 2 Storytelling: Persephone Captures Hades

Eros polished his sacred arrows as he lounged on his favorite Sicilian hillside, one of many that rolled out of the distant Hyblaean mountains. He watched over a group of young women who had snagged his sights as they played among the wildflowers. The heart of one particular girl, his godly eyes observed, had ripened nearly to bursting into loving bloom more colorful than the flowers that enthralled her. She was radiant and sun-kissed, her skin darkened by the sun and long tresses lightened by it.

“Mother,” he asked the sculpturesque figure lounging on the hillside beside him, “who is that maiden?”

With a glance at the meadows below, Aphrodite answered, “That is Persephone, the daughter of fruit-bearing Demeter, and of our most esteemed Zeus.” This last part was said with a note of sarcasm.

“She is unwed.”

“By her own volition. She desires to keep her virginity, as Athena and Artemis have.” Aphrodite sighed prettily, laying her gilded head back into the grass. “They all forsake me and my freely-given gift of love! It’s no wonder Zeus and the others mock me. My domain is shrinking.”

The gears in Eros’ head turned. As she was, Persephone lacked the experience necessary to bear the affections of the other gods--Eros would not recklessly turn his arrows in their direction. The love in Persephone's heart would wilt before it had a chance to flourish. But the girl herself was highborn and much more powerful than she looked—the daughter of the king of the gods and the goddess who commanded the earth itself to put forth its yearly harvest.

And so, Eros undid his quiver and nocked one of his thousand arrows. On bent knee, he let it fly, straight into Persephone’s heart.

In her surprise, the flowers Persephone had gathered fell from her arms and scattered. She searched her hands for spider-bites or briars, but found none. What was that jolt of pain?

At that moment, she heard the voice of her friend Cyane calling out to her from the glade at the edge of the meadow. Eros watched Persephone make her way into the tangle of trees, satisfied that his plan was working.

~

At the same moment, Hades was dismounting his chariot to let his horses drink from the glade's water. Cyane surfaced to greet him.

“What brings you to the overworld, Your Highness?” she asked.

“Impulse, mostly,” he said, patting one horse fondly. “I was just passing by on my way to Olympus, and I thought I heard someone call me.”

He heard Persephone approach before he had a chance to see her—and by then, it was too late.

Thick vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around his arms. His horses reared back in shock as their master was dragged deeper into the trees by a force unknown, until Persephone appeared. She walked with an even gait past the pond.

Cyane cried out, “Wait! What are you doing? You can't take him against his will. What has compelled you to do this?”

Persephone said, “Just impulse.”

~

Hypnos and Thanatos, sons of the night herself, stood before Zeus. Their great wings and worn robes were no less dark than the rage that clouded their faces.

Hypnos called, “Our king, Hades, no longer sits on his throne. My brother and I have searched through the skies and found him wandering through Cyane’s glade, trapped in a labyrinth of earth and flora. Your own daughter imprisons him there!”

From another corner of Zeus’ Olympian court, Aphrodite appeared, seafoam at the hem of her dress and a smirk on her features. “It was Eros’ work. Do you all understand? With my power, even a maiden has the power to hold the King of the Underworld captive.”

“What Eros did is not against the law,” Zeus said. “Hades can solve his own problems. If you truly wish to return him to the underworld, know this: Persephone’s power over him grows each time the food grown from the Earth touches his lips.”

~

Persephone watched over Hades as he wandered through the green maze she had constructed from thorns and loam. He was not alarmed so much as curious. These were colors and smells he had long forgotten while on his throne. Each turn through the maze gave him a variety of flora to marvel at. Eventually, he found his way to the center of the maze, where Persephone stood waiting. Her eyes were as curious as his.

“Where have I been brought?” Hades asked. “I hardly recognize these plants. They smell so appetizing, but look so strange.”

“They are my most loyal followers,” Persephone said. She plucked several sprigs from the surrounding foliage, each with a taste as strong and distinct as the last. Slyly, she offered him twelve pieces. He picked up the first, a leaf of mint, and chewed it delicately until he could taste the sap.

“It's good.”

And so, to Persephone’s delight, he continued tasting as many flavors as he could. He was on the sixth herb, watercress, when a sudden loud squawk interrupted them. Hades turned to see two black crows. With a shake of their feathers and another disgruntled squawk, the pair took to the air again.

Hades said, “I recognize those two--Thanatos and Hypnos. They’ll be needing me in the underworld.”

But the food he had tasted had already begun to affect him. He gazed at Persephone, forgetting the caws of the two crows circling overhead.

Zeus was pleased with his daughter’s cunning scheme; however, it was his responsibility to intervene. For each spice Hades had tasted, Zeus said, Persephone could keep him for a month. During the other months, Hades and Persephone would tend to their responsibilities.

This is why there are six months of cold weather followed by six months of warmth and abundance—though sometimes, springtime storms demonstrate Persephone's displeasure at being separated from her lover.

Author's note:

The main goal with this story was to tell a long story with short scenes. The original story involves Hades kidnapping Persephone against her will. This story changes the catalyst--instead of Hades' heart, Eros' arrow pierces Persephone's instead--and explores how the original tale would change with this reversal. I worked around a few fixed plot points from the original; the love arrow, Cyane's involvement, and Zeus' intervention are the main ones.

It was fun to come up with details that would make this story work. Persephone's traps fit her domain as a goddess of spring, so plenty of  vines, thorns, and other things that grow. Instead of a pomegranate, she feeds Hades spices. I also enjoyed giving Persephone more agency. Instead of being carried away and accidentally condemning herself to the underworld by eating the food there, she uses her powers to progress the story, and hopefully her association with Zeus and Demeter is made stronger. Since she represents spring, I think she should represent the more violent aspects of the season--wind, storms, floods--just as much as the well-known aspects, like abundant flora.

Hades is one of my favorite Greek gods, and this is one of his more famous myths. He's done some questionable things, but not nearly as many as his brothers Zeus or Poseidon. So, I wanted to write Hades as more laid-back and curious, since he doesn't often visit the overworld.

Edits, 2/18: Research and Learn, Author's note, Start Strong/End Strong

Sources:
Parts 2-4 from Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline
Wikipedia: Map of Sicily

Image:
Pixabay: Marble goddess statue

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses II, Part B

Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline, Books 5-7: Link

The most striking things about the stories of Procne and Medea are the sharply, sometimes brutally rendered details.

In particular, in Procne's story, the detail about Pelias seizing Philomela's hair and using it to tether her arms behind her back, and then severing her tongue. Then, "her tongue’s root was left quivering, while the rest of it lay on the dark soil, vibrating and trembling, and, as though it were the tail of a mutilated snake moving, it writhed, as if, in dying, it was searching for some sign of her."

It always genuinely surprises me when passages like this appear in old texts. Today, gore similar to this might be used for shock value. Is that what this was meant to accomplish? Was reinforcing some kind of moral lesson? Probably not, since this is a story that explains something in nature. I would guess that this description was included for the sake of detail and storytelling. There are similar descriptions that don't speak to senses, but emotional reactions:

"Without delay, she dragged Itys off, as a tigress does an un-weaned fawn, in the dark forests of the Ganges. As they reached a remote part of the great palace, Procne, with an unchanging expression, struck him with a knife, in the side close to the heart, while he stretched out his hands, knowing his fate at the last, crying out ‘Mother! Mother!’ and reaching out for her neck.  That one wound was probably enough to seal his fate, but Philomela opened his throat with the knife."

This passage isn't as vivid as the last one, but it does at least contribute to the plot in showing how far Procne's desire for revenge reaches.

For anyone rewriting this story, special attention would have to be paid to both of the above passages. How would someone handle Philomela's tongue being cut out? Could more emotional nuance be added, or is it assumed as is? Would it be better to omit them altogether?

Image: Philomena and Procne, by Elizabeth Jane Gardner. Web source.

Reading Notes: Ovid's Metamorphoses II, Part A

Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline, Books 5-7: Link

The thing that most strikes me about these passages is the extent to which they could be reversed. From end to beginning:


According to Theoi, Latona is known as a protector of the young, having given birth to Artemis and Apollo while evading the Juno's jealous rage. If that's true, why does she give in to the same rage when Niobe refuses to worship her? How about a story where Niobe's children, instead of being murdered, carry out an assault against the gods to protect their family? How about a story where mortals assemble an army for the right to worship what they want, or not worship at all?

Or a story where Minerva and Arachne's weaving contest ends in a tie--what would happen if Minerva and Arachne discovered they could cultivate mutual respect for each other? Minerva creates the spider not to jealously teach Arachne a lesson, but allows Arachne to keep her humanity and constructs the spider to honor the human woman whose ability matched Minerva's own?

Finally, (Greek names for simplicity,) Persephone and Hades. Cupid reverses his choice, and his arrow pierces Persephone's heart instead. She is driven to steal the King of the Underworld from his throne. She traps him with vines, thorns, things that grow from the earth. The pomegranate is replaced with something earthy, like a vegetable, grain, or spice. In this story, Persephone isn't a naive maiden who accidentally condemns herself to the underworld by eating seeds. Instead, she is a powerful goddess, more strongly associated with the power of spring: wind, storms, floods, abundant flora. Here, she shows her heritage as the daughter of the King of the Gods and the goddess of the harvest.

Elusinian Mysteries and the cults of Demeter and Persephone
Queen of the Underworld and the worship of Persephone
List of vegetables

Images:
Greek Goddess Persephone, by MJ Flowers. Web Source.
Pomegranate, taken by Poswiecie. Web source.