"Insecure Writer's Support Group" is a monthly meme host by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers held on the first Wednesday of every month.
For this month's IWSG blog post, I don't really have a lot of writerly problems to share. I'm just getting the 3rd draft of my novella WIP, Pink Knight, taken care of, and hopefully will finish it by the beginning of next week. It certainly is challenging, as it should be, but not discouraging. I haven't received any feedback from anyone just yet, but I will soon, so I may be headed in that direction shortly.
Yikes! Receiving critiques is really scarey, so I just hope I'll be able to handle it well. I know I don't have to let it discourage me, and I won't, but I still hate that shock you feel when you see someone really picking apart your story with reckless abandon. Of course, if they didn't do this, I'd be worse off, so it's a good thing. Like going to the dentist, or getting a shot. Ugh. I hate both, but we all know these are necessary evils to endure because they are good for us.
All I hope for is that I will have tough enough skin to take it and roll with the punches.
How about you? Do you get nervous before you receive feedback from your beta readers and critique partners?
It's never easy to see someone pick apart the stories that mean so much to us, so I know where you're coming from. Best of luck getting through that painful, but ultimately beneficial, process!
ReplyDelete@L.G.: Thanks so much! It's good to know I'm not overly-sensitive compared to most authors about this issue. I always think I am.
DeleteIt's always so scary to send anything you've put your heart and soul into out into the world. But as you said, in the end it'll make it all the better. If you're a bit shocked afterwards than you're a normal person. Even if it's not bad criticism it still knocks you about a little. But I swear you'll end up seeing that it's all helpful. Maybe not at first but even months later when you're finally ready to revise the story after setting it down, you'll look back and feel relief that someone else has given you constructive feedback. Just remember to take what's useful and discard the small stuff. At the end of the day it's still your book. Besides, I think you have such a strong sense of what works and what doesn't that I can't believe PK will be anything but spectacular.
ReplyDelete@Lan: You have the BEST attitude about getting feedback, Lan! I really wish I was like you in this regard. I need to learn to roll with it.
DeleteEven if I do have a good sense of what works and what doesn't in storytelling, I'm sure I'm more blind about my own work. There has to be quite a few things I'm not seeing in PK at this point, but I hope you guys (my CPs) will spot them!
I think we all get a little tingle of nerves when we first let someone pick at the little project that we've been pouring ourselves into. I think that's easily one of the toughest parts of what we do. Whether you're a novelist, a short fiction writer, a freelancer, or even just a blogger, at some point your work will be poked and prodded by someone else, often a complete stranger. It's one of those things you just have to come to terms with, and it's why thick skin is so important for us!
ReplyDeleteBut at the end of the day, it's also the best way to improve. Sometimes it's tough to see your own flaws when you've been mired in a project for a long time and all the lines have become blurry. Good luck!
@James: Yes, getting feedback is one of the toughest things to deal with and I need a tougher hide, that's for sure. I need to be corrected, just like everyone else, or I won't write my best. Thanks for you comment! ;)
DeleteIt really is different being on the receiving end of a crit or a review, I can tell you that! But, like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Sometimes, I've even found that getting a crit can be a relief, esp when my crit buddy identifies that *thing* I intuitively knew was wrong, but couldn't identify on my own. And then sometimes it's exciting, like when a crit buddy gives you a great idea you never in a million years would have come up with on your own. Then you are off and running and everything is awesome because you know your book is improving! :) Okay, sorry for the long ramble, can't wait to be a beta reader for PK next week!
ReplyDelete@Camille: I need to get used to it, that's for sure! I hope I can develop that thicker skin quickly. And, you're right, sometimes the feedback is just what you need to put you on track and it may be very welcome, rather than vexing.
DeleteI hope you can spot what I'm getting wrong in PK when you read it! :)
If you've read my post today, then you know I don't worry! It will be all right. They will help you make the story even better.
ReplyDelete@Alex: OMG, if I got your kind of feedback, what could possibly hurt me? LOL. Totally funny. Thanks for the comment and you're right. It always helps in the end.
DeleteI pick critiques over going to the dentist any time! The only frustrating thing is when the betas/critiquers all have different ideas of what's not working. That can be confusing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! :-)
@Lexa: Hmm... I wonder which one I think is worse. Yeah, conflicting feedback sounds like it would make things hard. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteIt's always a bit stressful getting critiques back but after my heart rate lowers, I'm able to to focus on the rewrites and the story is so much stronger afterwards. Looks like you're making great headway on Pink Knight! :D
ReplyDelete@Elise: I hope I'll be able to handle getting feedback when I get it! It can only make the story stronger. You're so right!
DeleteI haven't gotten to the point in my writing where I have sought much critiques. When I was writing Twilight fanfic I had a few beta readers. Sometimes I thought their suggested changes helped the story and sometimes it didn't. I still want to write original fic, but at the moment I'm writing a massive Harry Potter fanfic. It's still at the beginning stages, but it's the first story that I've had in my head that is probably novel length with a clear beginning and end. Usually, whether for original fic or fanfic, I have trouble getting the whole story plotted out in my head and this one has just mapped itself out perfectly. I'm having a fabulous time. I'm hoping to start posting it on Fanfiction.net early next year if I have enough time to write (I'm also studying for the Montana bar exam - eeek!)
ReplyDelete@Alison: Yes, writing long fiction is difficult to map out, no matter if it's fan fic or original. That's always a struggle for me and to make the entire story come together in a fitting and compelling way. This is hard work, so praise be to those who can manage to do it and do it well!
DeleteGood luck with your HP fan fic and with your studies for the bar exam! :D