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Sharing a Longer Work-in-Progress

December 11, 2013 3comments Revision & Editing Tips , , Permalink 2

Isaac Watching the Planes Taking Off at Castle Island

Have you ever written a solid chunk of a work-in-progress and you wanted a second opinion to reconfirm you’re on the “right track”?

During this crucial time, you might be looking for a general reaction, constructive criticism, or unabashed praise.

However, for longer works-in-progress, I highly recommend that you hold off on showing it to readers for several reasons:

1. If your reader gives you a lukewarm reaction, it may destroy your enthusiasm to finish it.

2. If your reader gives you poignant constructive criticism, it may force you to rethink your vision for your work-in-progress–possibly destroying your enthusiasm to finish it.

3. If your reader gives you unabashed praise, you may suspect that your reader is only pitying you, and it may force you to rethink your vision for your work-in-progress–possibly destroying your enthusiasm for it.

In general, when writing, be confident with the story you are telling. You know why you’re writing it. There’s something there. Hold onto that something. Hold onto that feeling, that sense of wonder and possibility. Don’t let other people’s voices distract you from what needs to be done: writing.

Get it done. Then show it to your readers. Their feedback will be much more helpful at that stage of your writing process.

Write your heart out.

 

Photo credit: Chris Devers / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Be Careful With Whom You Allow to Read Your Work

October 9, 2013 1 General Advice , , , , Permalink 0

Henry Varnum Poor- The Orchardist and His Family (Summer Afternoon)Years ago, a member of my extended family asked to read one of my stories, and so I gave her one.

When we spoke next, to sum it all up, she pointed out connections my story made to my personal life.

For example, she explained how–like one of the characters in my story–my mom had purchased an item from a television infomercial. She also was quick to point out a typo I’d made.

At the time, I had just begun to take writing seriously, but even then, this conversation didn’t sit well with me. I had no idea my mom had purchased such an item, for one thing. It felt as if this person was trying to pick apart and rationalize a story I had crafted out of imagination, out of a creative trance, out of “the zone.” Her statements functioned under the assumption that the process of writing fiction was strictly limited to a writer’s personal life experiences.

Ann Beattie addresses this in Frederick Busch’s Letters to a Fiction Writer. (If you’ve never read this book, I’ve previously blogged about it here.) She writes:

People want to think what you do is not magical. That it is not far removed from the kind of thinking, and imagining, they themselves experience.

To compound the problem, this was someone who had her own aspirations with writing a novel; she just “didn’t have the time.”

Beattie also addresses this:

People who do not write will tell you that they haven’t gotten around to it yet because they know they can do it. They just need to get the kids in school, hire a lawn service and spend weekends writing, recycle their notebook into useable material, make a concerted effort to remember their dreams. It can be done tomorrow. Any time.

As writers, we need to be careful with whom we allow to read our work-in-progress.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like all writers need two kinds of readers: one set of readers who will continually praise anything we write and another set of readers who will give us raw, intelligent feedback with how to improve our stories.

Not all of our friends and family members will fall under either of these two categories. It’s dangerous to assume otherwise, regardless of all of their good intentions.

Why or why not? Please leave me a comment below.

And as always, write your heart out.

 

Photo credit: deflam / Foter / CC BY

Workshop Etiquette 101

August 7, 2013 0 General Advice , , Permalink 0

Dangerous SurfingIn fiction workshops, writers prepare stories for the rest of their classmates to critique. Faculty facilitate round-table discussions over these stories. And by the end of the course, the hope is that all writers will leave the class with a greater understanding of their individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as a greater understanding of the writing process itself.

If you’ve ever attended a writing workshop, you know there are some things you just shouldn’t do. Like surfers, writers attending a workshop should adhere to a specific code of behavior.

The following are suggestions for you to get the most out of attending any writing workshop.

When workshopping someone else’s story:

  1. Never assume that the writer’s narrator or characters are, in fact, the writer.
  2. Before giving feedback, read the story at hand straight through without making any prescriptive commentary. Read it just to understand what the writer was intending to do. Then, and only then, should you prepare feedback for the writer.
  3. It’s OK to praise someone for a particular moment, scene, or entire story. This is not The X Factor. Don’t be Simon Cowell.
  4. Do not dominate the conversation with your own comments.
  5. Wait for your peers to finish sharing their opinions before you launch into yours. It’s rude to cut people off (unless, of course, they won’t shut up).
  6. Lastly, it’s OK to sit quietly, listening to everyone else–especially if you have nothing helpful to share.

When preparing a story to be workshopped:

  1. Proofread your shi. Unnecessary, repetitive grammar and punctuation errors will never ingratiate you with your peers.
  2. Only workshop a story when it is nearly finished. The feedback you receive will be much more specific and helpful. If you bring in work that is incomplete, you could receive comments as generic as, “Finish it.” And you knew you’d have to do that before bringing your story to class anyway. Also, hearing too much prescriptive feedback could potentially destroy the energy you will need to finish the story.

Finally, when your story is being workshopped:

  1. Take notes of any helpful feedback and suggestions. Your peers may not have written these down for you.
  2. When receiving feedback, don’t get defensive and explain reasons why everyone misunderstood your genius.
  3. Take all of the comments and notes home with you, and don’t read them right away. Give yourself enough time and space to approach them objectively. This way, you will be able to remove yourself from any emotional excitement or frustration you may have experienced. When your mind is clear, you will be able to see what is best for your story.
  4. Remember that it is your story. You don’t have to listen to anyone if you don’t want to.
  5. If you received a couple smart suggestions for improvement, you got your money’s worth.

 

If you adhere to these rules, you will be primed to make the most of any creative writing workshop you attend. And with any luck, you will forge long-lasting friendships with other writers who share your appreciation and dedication for the craft.

Thanks for reading. Please leave me a comment below if you have any of your own rules for workshops that you’d like to share.

As always, I hope you have a productive week. Write your heart out!

 

Photo credit: Lefty91 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

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