So yesterday was all about encouragement. As in, never allow negative critiques to squash your dreams. Press on. Ne'er say die. That sort of thing.
Today, I offer a different sort of encouragement. The kind that comes from...baring myself.
Here it is: Post #176 is mine.
*grand pause while you peek*
Did you notice all the "not hookeds" under my excerpt?
And yeah, I wrinkle my nose whenever I read one. But then I get over it.
Sure, I can justify. Can't we all? It's a first draft. It's a "book two", so both characters are already well known by the audience.
And yes, of COURSE there are buckets of water along the perimeter of the bonfire. The dorm matron would never allow a bonfire without taking precautions!
But, yanno, that's exactly the sort of thing WE SHOULD NEVER DO in response to critique.
Never justify.
Never explain.
Never whine.
Now, if a critter asks SPECIFICALLY for you to clarify something, then by all means, knock yourself out. Otherwise, be quiet.
Be very, very quiet.
I know a loud voice in your head is SCREAMING to express what your critters have obviously missed. I am gently advising you to silence that voice. Read the critiques, learn to smile at misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Because you know what? The same thing is going to happen with agents when they request your partial or full. Trust me. I know.
I recently received a rejection on a requested partial. A SUPER nice rejection, by the way--personal, kind, filled with all sorts of feedback. (Disclaimer: This is not the norm!) But in the end? I scratched my head at some of the things this agent said about my work. It was so...off. The reality was that she simply didn't "get" my novel. It didn't resonate. No sparks. And that's okay.
How do I know it was a "this isn't resonating" versus a "your writing sucks"? Because of my collective other experiences with this work. It's important to weigh things not only against our own judgment, but against any patterns we see forming in responses from others. For example: are 90% of the agents saying they don't like your protagonist's voice? You've got a problem! Has only ONE agent out of ten said she doesn't like your protagonist's voice? Most likely not a problem for you; only for the agent. That's when you know to let it go, walk away smiling.
So, am I going to ignore all the comments on my excerpt that say, "Nope, not hooked"? No. I will weigh everything. But since this is from a first draft, I'm going to weigh everything with an extra large grain of salt. Because...well, it's a first draft, right? 'Nuff said.
And yes, I threw mine in as a last minute thing. After all those posts? One more didn't seem like it would kill me. I don't get to "play" much around here, after all.
So there you have it. Authoress dealing with not hooking some of her beloved readers. I'm so over it. And I still love you.
Miss Snark's First Victim
How awesome that you shared which one is your piece! It's funny because I read it when it first posted, but didn't comment because there were already so many. Normally, I look for the ones with less feedback.
ReplyDeleteI like your advice about knowing when it's the manuscript or the agent.
Thank you so much for this post and yesterday's. You just don't know how timely it is for so many of us--or maybe you do, and that's why you bared yourself.
ReplyDeleteYou blog is such a wonderful resource for critique and encouragement...thanks agian.
Thanks for sharing this! It's very true that you really have to weigh all the feedback that comes in. It's so hard to know whether the writer is just being blind to problems, or the critiquer is just not in sync with the work. However, I think if people are willing to even consider that there are problems in their work (a lot of writers aren't) it's a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWhen I critique, I never, EVER look at other comments first. I do not want their opinion to color or influence mine.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at the number of people who post, 'Oh, yeah, just like everyone else, I liked it, didn't like it, think it should be shoveled deep.'
If I filtered my initial thoughts through others, it would not result in a true individual opinion.
Very good points! We can't go back and explain our works to every single reader, so we have to make sure what we put on the page is as clear as possible. Even then, not everyone may "get it."
ReplyDeleteLove you right back, Authoress.
ReplyDeleteYou are so real and so right. I belong to two writing workshops - 12 people in total. No matter what they say, I smile, nod a few times....and always, always thank them regardless what the little voice screams out.
Good advice about on how to recieve criticism, and you're definitely right. You can't please everyone, but you can't ignore what everyone's saying, either. Although, it's always hard for me when people say, "I don't like this sentence, try writing it like this '...' That's better." Really? That one just boils me, even though it probably shouldn't. I always get defensive and think, "Go write your own novel! You don't like it, fine, but I'll fix it, thank you very much."
ReplyDeleteSo yes, that's my ungracious response to some of the criticism I get, even though I generally enjoy it, or at least find it useful. Things like, "I might take out this word," I can handle, (I got a lot of those) but I think there's such a thing as being overly-helpful.
:)
And I always know - if the advice really rankles, than it's probably something I already suspected, but didn't want to admit. (Is rankles even a word?)
Thanks for the opportunity to read your 25 words. While I love the name Kate, I found that I could not connect with Devin. While your writing was concise, I just 25 words, I felt the story lost direction. I will have to pass on this one, but I am sure you will find someone who feels quite differently. Best of luck with the other 69,975 words of your book!
ReplyDeleteAh... I was hooked by 176. :)
ReplyDeleteI do agree with not explaining the whole plot to critters (though it is so tempting). And definitely, please don't post revised snippets in the comment section (though I can see how that is tempting), and you definitely don't want to show sour grapes on your blog or other blogs...
But surely there's nothing wrong with waiting until the end of the critting before plopping in a quick thank-you and maybe hitting on the points which were brought up in the comments... right?
Knowing it's your entry doesn't make me like it any better (I'm heartless that way), and I love that you told us which is yours knowing cold, unfeeling people like myself would still rip it apart. =D
ReplyDeleteOkay, I won't rip it apart because I'm not quite as heartless as I professed, but I will admit it didn't hook me.
I'll go post why on the entry.
Big of you to come out like that. Great sentiments, too. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations are not to please everyone--my self first then an agent. After that? Hopefully enough people to make me a writer with a writing career.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to please the folks in my writing group so I don't take their crits personally. They are just another way to help me write my best--a tool (sorry that sounds cold doesn't it?)--just like the grammer/spell check might make suggestions as I type. I certainly don't get mad when the computer points out my sentence fragment! LOL
It's also in my best interest to consider all comments because I truly want my readers to have a good time with my book!
I grew up with a mother I could never please so when I became an adult it was a relief to discover I don't have to please everyone!
I don't comment much, but I wanted to say: You are awesome. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteYou see! Just getting feedback convinces you WHY you wrote it like you did. And you have a good reason, enough to learn one more thing about yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting thing about this whole exercise was to find one very important thing. Different strokes for different folks.
Okay this is a cliche but life is a cliche LOL (and then ya die!)
So which commenters are gonna get banned?
ReplyDeleteMr. A. Is that you? I hope you have a man's garden shed out the back. Or share the night with the dog at his hospitality.
ReplyDeleteBut take a doggie bag because you might get hungry during the night.
You've been so kind helping everyone else I thought I'd return the favor.
ReplyDeleteYou're comment about the grain of salt stood out to me as an excuse. It might be your first draft but that doesn't make the comments readers left less valid.
I only mean this with the best intentions. Many writers fall into a trap where they get feedback, don't like what they hear, reaffirm why they did x or why the commenters were wrong, or why the comments can be taken less seriously. This is a viscous cycle that prevents all who participate, from growing.
My suggestion to you and all readers of this blog, is whenever you ask yourself "could this person be wrong" change the question into "how are they right?"
If I say anything, I just say "thank-you for the crit."
ReplyDeleteI have to say I personally LOVE to get people giving me suggested wording changes, and I didn't realize that it bothered other people so much. When i give crits, I usually do give some suggested changes. I give the kind of thing I would like to hear in a crit of my stuff, and that is it. I guess maybe I'll have to rethink that if it bothers people so much. I'd much rather have - "try changing this sentence to this and that would work better" than "It just doesn't work for me"
I posted a query, got feedback from several authors seeking publication and two published authors who write in my genre - very helpful and I thanked them. Then, because I'm obviously a closet masochist, I put it on another site for feedback. Yesterday an anonymous one came through that basically said "You suck, your writing sucks, I hate your mc, and no agent in their right mind would want this book." Yeah, I've been biting my tongue for the past 24 hours. Hard.
ReplyDeleteA rejection after a partial or full request is soooo hard! I'm feeling for you! I'm sure you're over it by now though with your eyes set on another agent. :)
ReplyDelete