What Do You Look for in a Writing Group?

That question has been on my mind a lot lately. When we write, we're usually alone; it's a solo process. When we want feedback or advice or direction, we want to turn to other writers, not non-writers. That means we need to be part of some kind of writing community.

I've been part of four writing communities over the past decade. One fizzled out, one was so huge you felt like you'd never get noticed or respected, one is a local online group that I'm fairly new in and am not sure if I'm going to stay, and the third I helped carve out and create. You'd think the last one would still be solid gold, but it's not. It's kind of existing right now. The writers who originally were a part of it have either reached a measure of success and no longer need a writing group, or they're too busy, or have gone in an entirely new direction. The remainder are still seeking publication or a sense of community, but the hunger isn't there any more.

What do I mean by hunger? That thirst to figure out how the writing/publishing world works and where we stand in it. There's vulnerability and its partner, courage. Eagerness to interact and try new things. A sense of wanting to help make a writing community something to be proud of.

I get it: after so many years, people get burned out or tired, or pretty much have things figured out. Sometimes we're so wrapped up in the writing or revision process that the timing isn't right. Life happens and pulls us away from that sense of community. Writing forum leaders get burned too many times, or find that their writing time has been sucked away into trying to make their forums relevant and fun so they quit. I've come dangerously close to that a time or two. Yet, I like being part of a writing community, and I like the friends I've made who are sticking it out with me.

So I ask myself, what do I want in a writing forum?

Honestly ...
1. Friends who understand the writing journey and can commiserate with me.
2. Conversations about writing and publishing. It's the lifeblood of any good forum.
3. Networking. Helping each other connect with others and expanding our reach.
4. Critique partners that will want to read my work as badly as they want me to read theirs.
5. Mutual respect. Recognizing that not all writing paths are the same, and even though we may like each other as people, it doesn't mean we have to love what each other writes. And that's okay. It's a huge bonus if we love each other's genres and styles, but that shouldn't be the deciding factor of our friendship. We also don't have to follow the same pathway to publication.
6. A forum where I don't have to feel like I have to carry the entire burden of making it a great experience for everyone else. Or where anyone else feels like they have to either. Some people love to dominate conversations and threads, of course, but no one should feel compelled to.
7. Fun. Games, trivia, contests, getting-to-know-you activities. A place where I can enjoy the company of other writers.
8. No fear. Meaning, no one is patronizing or rude or a troll to anyone else. No worries about someone else copying anyone else's work or ideas. No fear that if someone takes that leap of courage and puts their work out there for feedback that everyone else won't descend like a pack of bloodthirsty sharks and rip not only their work, but them as a person, to pieces.

Sounds idyllic, I know.

The most important thing I've learned, as both a participant and a forum leader, is that it takes more than bells and whistles and guests and fun to make a forum work. It takes participation and dedication from the members. A forum dies when people only come to take and never give back. I am grateful for the many people I've known who understand the give and take of a writing community. I wish I could collect them all and stay together.

What do you look for in a writing group/forum? What would make the perfect place for you to be nurtured and/or do the nurturing of other writers? What would make you want to come back to that place for years?

Accentuate the Positive: What If ... ?

When you've been writing for a long time and hung around the vast writing world, it's easy to see a lot of negative things bantered about. Consequently, it's easier to start thinking negatively about others and even worse, about yourself as a writer. So much emphasis is placed on nailing a query letter, your opening pages, your synopsis, your social presence, etc. that it becomes a quagmire of shadowy rules, rejection, deception, and negativity.

Think about your realm of influence for a moment. Are you often a beta reader or an established critique partner? Do you edit or help with PR? I'd even be so bold as to add, are you a literary agent or publisher?

How happy are you? How happy are the people around you? Is daily snark regarding other people the norm? Do you pick up someone's manuscript prepared to be a skeptic?

What if this next week you could only mention the positive things about someone's work?

What if instead of tearing someone down, you show them that they aren't hopeless or crazy but that they do have some things going for them. It may be a lot, it may be a little, but think how much of a boost you could give if that other person knew what they did right for a change.

What if you set a goal not to speak disparagingly of anyone else? What if you decided not to listen to or share gossip?

Focusing on the negative is a piece of cake. While we do need to know what we have to work on to become better writers it doesn't always have to come in a negative or derogatory package. It takes strength of character to be a positive person, someone who is genuinely concerned about helping someone else.

It's as simple as dealing with a child. If you always focus on what that child is doing wrong or where the child is lacking, you destroy their motivation and self-esteem. If you focus on what the child is doing right and point out their strengths, it motivates them to do even better.

Sure publishing is a business but people aren't. Sure you run into delusionals who have an ego the size of Brazil, but most people aren't that way. There is a hopeful person on the other end of that manuscript, someone who is trying to do better and whose basic desire is to share something they created.

Don't assume that they are getting positive vibes from other sources. You may be their only outside influence that day, week, or month regarding their work.

I find it very disturbing that as a society we're obsessed with perfection without having a concrete definition or outline for that perfection. If stripped down to our very core, we are all imperfect people, and you know what, it's okay. As long as we're trying to be a better person each day, isn't it time we chill out and admit that we're never going to reach perfection? Why would we expect everyone else to?

There is enough room for everyone to express themselves. There are so many subjectively diversified tastes out there, don't assume that your subjective tastes are what must be the rule. You may be tired of a premise, but that doesn't mean others are. You may think writing X + U is a bad idea, but that doesn't mean someone else won't think it's a brilliant pairing. Your style won't be the same as someone else's, and that's okay. Their voice will differ from yours as well. It's okay.

Now, I'm not saying you have to love, accept, or buy every story, query, or synopsis that you get. I'm not saying to you have to write a detailed letter of explanation for every rejection you give. But can we ditch the snark in social media for a week? Can we ditch it in our conversations? Can't we write a blogpost saying why we love writers or what they consistently do right? Instead of the "reasons why I'm rejecting this" feeds can we focus on "reasons I love this" feeds instead? If you're critiquing someone else's work, is it so difficult to highlight all the many more places they are getting it right instead of the fewer places they are getting it wrong?

Perhaps I'm the crazy one. I'm guilty of succumbing to the writing world negativity at times too. It's something I intend to change. If any of this has agreed with you, will you join me in a positivity week starting today?

Some of the Best Stories Are Still Unpublished

For members of the Speculative Fiction Group on Agent Query Connect, this week begins an annual ritual known as Marathon. Twelve intensive weeks of posting work and critiquing the work of others with the common goal of helping each other and getting fresh eyes to see past our personal blinders. (If anyone reading this writes speculative fiction and would like to join the group you can find out more information here. People can jump in and out of the Marathon at any time.)

I usually critique and I'll tell you why. Some of the best stories are still unpublished or works in progress. I think this is what I love best about diving into a writing community, the opportunity to read stories that the general public doesn't have access to, yet. My inner reader is tickled when I come across a manuscript that I fall in love with. At times I wish I were an agent or publisher so I could say, "Yes! This! This needs to be published!"

Of course, I sometimes run across not so good material, but I don't want to focus on that today.

Whether in a forum setting or even privately as a beta reader, it's a joy to work with someone else on their project, to help them out, and even better, to be touched by what they've written.

One of the down sides is loving someone else's story, eagerly rooting for them as they go into the query process, and then being just as baffled as they are when no one picks the story up. It's frustrating. This is a book you'd actually buy. (And for me, that's saying a lot.) This is a story you couldn't wait to tell everyone you knew about. Whether it had a fresh spin, or an original idea, maybe loveable characters, or a plot that kept you on your toes. It makes you wonder, why isn't it being snatched up?

I'm not the type of reader who gushes over every manuscript I read. I only buy books I know I'll read again. Of course, I have my subjective tastes, but I don't critique subjectively. Yet I love it when a story not only appeases the objective critic in me but also excites the subjective reader at the same time. There are many talented writers out there, promising manuscripts at different stages of development, and so many styles to sample.

I'm excited for this year's Marathon. I know the writers who are participating have been working hard on honing their craft. Of course, I hope that every manuscript will be stellar and something I'll enjoy. And I hope that they go on to be published. Realistically, some great ones will not. It'll sting for the author and it'll sting for me, a supportive party. The one consolation is that because I'm active in a writing community, I'll at least have read their story.

If you want to find some true gems that aren't on the shelves, become a beta reader.

Tell me your frustrations, as a beta reader or critique partner, regarding someone else's work that you love who is still unpublished. Tell about the success stories, too. Did you throw a little celebration? Spam social media sites on behalf of that writer? Please don't pitch someone else's story ideas in the comments.

Get Me My Sword, The Fight is On!

Last week my daughter struggled with some new math problems. In trying to help her, I pulled out the math manipulatives, talked through a couple of strategies, and worked through some of the problems with her. For some reason, she didn't want to use any of them. She was frustrated but refused to take any of the simple advice I'd given. The homework session drew out three times as long as it needed to. When I ran out of ideas she got mad at me for not solving her problem. That's when I pointed out that she'd created the problem by not accepting the simple strategies and that she could have finished her homework quickly if she had. In the end, she got over her stubbornness and found taking the simple route worked best.

I couldn't help but think, from this situation, of times I'd been stubborn in regards to some simple point of writing, querying, or publishing. I also knew other writers who behaved exactly as my daughter did, by asking a question and then belligerently refusing to accept the answer. We all get that way sometimes. We don't want to switch the way we're climbing the mountain for another path, even if it's easier. We fixate on stupid, little things. We don't want to start over, rewrite, or change a bad habit.

Writing and publishing isn't a stagnate process, it requires growth and change. It's the journey that counts, right? We will encounter new ways of doing things since industry standards alter all the time. Digging in our heels and griping at other people won't solve anything. Blaming someone else for our petty vices only spouts hot air. For example: So we grew up with typing two spaces between sentences and now everyone's saying use only one. It takes less time to train yourself to the new model than it does to write a tirade about it.

A few years ago a beta reader pointed out a problem in one of my manuscripts. Critiques often sting but this particular piece of advice rankled for some reason. I thought he was daft in not recognizing and understanding all my carefully crafted clues (I know, unreasonable idiotic moment on my part.) I shrugged his comment off and continued with my revisions. The story later went through a couple of other beta readers, who pointed out other problems. In fixing those I found I needed to do a major reconstruct on the entire story and by so doing, realized that first beta reader's bothersome comment was actually brilliant. He had shown me the door to a major reconstruct I didn't know I needed until later. I wish now I had taken the time to really think about his comment before. I could have saved myself substantial time and trouble.

Despite all the advice to develop a tough skin and be professional, we writers are usually the opposite. We pout, take tantrums, cry, mock, brag, debate, laugh, and do crazy things. (The smart ones keep these reactions private.) Our first instinct is to pull up our defenses and charge at a supposed threat. We prance up on a huge black horse, armor spiky and shiny, countenance fierce, and in our loudest and scariest voice challenge the rock in our path. We can yell, stab, stomp, and threaten all we want, that rock isn't going away or changing shape.

When something hits us hard, step away from it. Calm down. Sleep on it. Take time to think about it from every angle. Instead of assuming someone’s out to get you, consider the possibility that they want to help you or that a particular method might work better. It may take hours or years to accept it. I’m not saying that all advice is right or that you need to do whatever anyone tells you to do. Don’t blow on your battle horn and try to mass raging hordes to your cause. Fickle creatures, those raging hordes. They’re more likely to raise an eyebrow and ask “What’s the big deal?” when you issue the call. Why? Because you’re declaring war on all uses of the word “was” OR Sans Serif vs. Times New Roman OR “I need twelve pages of backstory in the beginning of the manuscript so the reader understands where my heroine is coming from.” Petty vices.

What insignificant things have you gotten hung up on in the past or might be struggling with right now?

In Hindsight

Looking back invites torture into your thoughts. All the “if I’d only done this” or “if I hadn’t done that” bits of reflection can pile up to a mass amount of guilt, embarrassment, and regret. Once that tidal wave rushes through, then the wisdom filters in. Despite the mistakes, failures, and goof-ups, we know we’ve learned new things.

My blog has helped me do just that. It’s truly been a voyage through the things learned from yesterday. Putting it down publicly—wow, how did I get up the courage?

Not to pour out all my inner musings right now (most of which would probably make you click on to the next blog or item on your to-do-list) but in regards to writing, publishing, and marketing, here are some of the things I’ve learned from the past year.

1. I still have much to learn in regards to writing craft. Reading a lot with an eye for studying the craft of writing has taught me that. I’ve seen amazing things, and others far from amazing, and plenty of other things that lie in between. In comparison to where I am at right now, I know I’ve come a long way. I also know I have a long way to go.

2. The writing world is an exciting, dramatic place. It can also be a huge time suck. I’ve had to learn balance. I don’t have as much time to write as I used to, yet that is compensated for by all the people I’m learning from and helping out. Instead of a solitary journey, I’m journeying with others.

3. Not all that is new and flashy is worthy. The latest social media platforms, the latest trends coming out (which turn out to really be at least a year old in the making), the names that flash around the writing community. So much sparkle. Sparkle tends to fizzle out and die too. I’m less likely to dive into something without checking its stability meter first.

4. Relationships in the writing community are a different beast altogether. It reminds me a bit of my childhood, moving around so much, getting settled into one place then moving off. People come and go. They group together in ways frighteningly similar to high school cliques. You can be in someone’s good graces one week and then suddenly they no longer communicate with you. In some cases, long-term friendships are forged. I’ve felt a bit like a debutante at some high society ball.

5. There is no one true and right way to write. Just as people tend to be individual in their personality, tastes, and desires, so too are we individual in our methods. Even trying to hedge us into groups tends to fall apart. There’s not a lot of point in wasting energy over arguing over it.

6. On a technical scale:
a) Learning grammar and punctuation can only help a writer. Likewise have a good vocabulary. It all takes some time and effort but saves you from a lot of embarrassment in the long run.
b) There is a fine line between showing everything in a story and letting a good summarization help keep your word count down.
c) Cause and effect can’t be ignored or manipulated without making the writer look like an idiot.
d) Characters need personality, not just interesting physical traits or superpowers.
e) If you take a random bit out of your story and look at it by itself, you’ll find more places to fix than if you look at the story in one giant hunk.
f) Beta readers do better if they can read more than one chapter at a time. Time lapses between chapters can spell disaster for a critique.
g) Readers want to be transported, usually to new and exciting places. World-building is not something to be taken lightly—or too heavily.
h) Never, never, never put up an unfinished manuscript for critique. It’s a waste of time for you and for the person giving the critique. And getting feedback from only one or two people is like shooting yourself in the foot. A writer with patience and good work ethic won’t see so much red pencil in the long run.

7. The writing industry is always in flux. Policies change, people change jobs, standards change, and mediums change. It’s important to keep tabs on things and to have at least a basic knowledge of how the industry moves.

8. Readers are subjective and always will be. There isn’t a single book out there that everyone loves or that everyone hates. Whether it’s content, story elements or delivery, voice, style, treatment, or what have you—you can’t please everyone.

9. If someone doesn’t want to learn, conform, or understand the way things work or even how to write better, all the arguments in the world won’t change their mind. It’s best to give these people space instead of sharpening your battle axe. Like the undead, they won’t die but become more lethal with each stroke you deliver. Self-discovery is the only way they will change.

10. In spite of everything, even the down times when I feel ready to throw my WIP into the wind, I still have a passion for storytelling. Taking a break from it makes that realization sharper. I can’t live without it, even if it isn’t the center of my life, it’s part of who I am and what I enjoy doing. Whether I have a reading audience of five or ever get to the thousands, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the process and getting down the story.

Some other blogposts on these subjects:
Because: One of the Most Important Words a Writer Can Use...
The Savvy Writer: Organized and Educated
Your Story, Your Spin
A Public Service Message Regarding Unpolished Manuscripts
Manuscript Disease Top 10 Symptoms
The Critiquing Dilemma
Receiving Manuscript Feedback
Adjectives, Adverbs, and Sneaky Profanity
Balancing the Details
Trimming the Manuscript
Synopsis
Disappearing Language
Don't Spend So Much Time Polishing Your Beginning...
Disgruntled Reader: In Which I Find I Sound a Little Like a Literary Agent
A Little Personality
World-Building: Think Big, Be Creative, Have Fun!

Disappearing Language

I'd like to preface today's post with a little video:

Seriously. Watch the video first.









Okay, here's assuming you watched it. Wasn't that fun? What did you think about those statistics regarding modern vocabulary versus common vocabulary even a hundred years ago? Children long ago had expansive vocabularies compared to adults today. It's a bit staggering to think about. I'm not saying I'd love to return to the lyrical stylings of Shakespeare but I do pause to ponder when I realize that we lose words from our active English vocabulary more and more each year, and with each passing generation. (And yes, we get new creative words each year to fill in the gap. I use the word creative loosely.)

What has this to do with books? Ever notice how whenever some literary bigshot puts out a list of must-read books most of the titles are for older classics? Kids and adults alike roll their eyes and yawn with boredom at the thought of trying to sludge through classic literature. Part of that reason is the language barrier. We're used to simpler language these days. With constraints and limits to our time, today's market calls for easy to read books that still deliver the rush readers' crave. To have to think or work to get through a book is frowned upon. No one wants to look up a few words in the dictionary, and dare we think of using any of these new—yet old-fashioned—words in our actual speech?

I suppose what frustrates me is when a writer naturally has a wider vocabulary (because writers presumably read a lot and have larger vocabularies than the average person on the street) and they submit their work to others to read and they get a lot of flack for making those readers have to think while reading. Reading today is primarily a pleasurable pursuit and yes, a lot of hype and big advances go to books that sell well because they are accessible to the masses. I'm not knocking on that. Publishing is a business after all. What strikes me as sad, is that in order to sustain the business side, some writers have to dumb down the vocabulary in their books. No one admits that's being asked of us (by the public mostly), but if we want stories to sell, the average person on the street shouldn't be expected to encounter any words that will make them feel uncomfortable because they do not recognize or understand them.

Okay, so some of you are probably thinking, "Yes! I have justification to go full-force in my manuscript and anyone who tells me differently is a vocabulary luddite." Um, no. Like anything, there needs to be balance.

For example, science-fiction is one of those genres where it is tempting and easy for any person of great learning to dive in and expound upon their knowledge within the thin shell of a fictitious story. I've seen it. Some of these types of stories do sell and have an audience—a limited audience, usually made up of other professionals in the same field (or aspiring amateurs) who grasp the terminology used in the story. In actuality, there isn't much story in these novels and many info dumps.

Beware the tendency to unleash your entire vocabulary or professional terminology on your intended audience. Realize that these kinds of books are not usually best-seller material although they can have a faithful following in certain demographics. It doesn't have to be science-fiction. It can be in any field or genre. Words for the sake of words does not a good story make.

Now before anyone gets up in arms, I'm happy to say that there are many books that still get through to the public and do well, that have a sprinkling of abnormal words. Most readers encounter an unfamiliar word, take their best guess at its meaning or skip it. Anyone who tosses a book aside over a handful of unfamiliar words probably isn't the right reader for that book or who has given in to the dumbing-down effect. Don't think I'm calling for tar and feathers here, it's their choice.

Personally, I get a bit tickled when I encounter a abnormal word when I read (especially in middle-grade or YA books.) I also love it when I read an unpublished manuscript that uses direct terminology to describe something in an accessible way. For one thing, it helps to cut down repetitive words and promotes the use of stronger nouns or verbs that don't need extra adjectives and adverbs as descriptors. And yes, I'm not above digging out my hefty dictionary from time to time to really understand a new word's meaning. Afterwards I tend to run into those words in other places and then find myself using them in both writing and speech.

I've seen the same effect with my own children. I read age-designated fiction to them but I also have been reading out of older classics to them. They do pick up on the language and have grasped the meaning of words that go over the heads of their peers. (Plus there's nothing quite as charming and cute as hearing a four-year-old use big words in a sentence.)

There are two sides to the literary snob label. There's the valid argument: why say something with an unfamilair big word when a simpler word will do the trick? True, yet we also run out of simpler words faster and run into repetition issues or sometimes the unfamiliar word drives home the writer's point better than its simpler substitute. I get alarmed at the growing trend in writers to embrace the easy way, to dumb down their prose in order to be more marketable. Society grows stupid with it. We do have an influence. If kids back hundreds of years ago could grasp a wider language because their books taught them too, what are we teaching future generations with our simplier language?

It's important to make books understandable to readers but it doesn't hurt a reader to have to think a little or even stretch their vocabulary. Balance is key. Writers struggle sometimes over word repetition and phrasing that isn't passive. We speak in a passive way and with a restrained vocabulary. Suppose we unshackle that restraint and instead of sticking to basic slang, profanity, and clichéd phrasing we start putting more of our rich, powerful language to use? Sure, kids today speak the way they do. We're also influenced by the world around us. Stay in any environment for long enough and you begin to act, think, and speak like others in that environment. Step into another environment and perception alters because it is not the same world. Written language is no different. If all we produce is dumbed down books, we also help contribute to a dumbed down society with a short attention span.

Give a group of people from one environment the power of influence through literature and other media and watch the masses be influenced by that environment until it spreads and spreads. People forget that there were other environments. Some scoff at others from different environments. Other environments attack the growing mainstream. Hurt and anger rebound. Respect is lost and smaller environments are trampled into dust. Right now we're seeing a mainstream of accessible, easy-to-read fiction full of limited vocabulary and sensationalism. It's always had its place among environments. Yet, it is only one environment and shouldn't be allowed to stomp out the others. It's arrogance to assume any one person's environment should be the mainstream or unchangeable.

There are so many sides to this issue, I can't begin to cover them. I think the video shows the point well. At the end of my ramble here I'd at least like to plead two cases: first, don't ever crush a writer just because you can't understand a handful of words here and there in their manuscript. Grow smarter instead. And secondly, don't go overboard, as a writer, with complicated jargon that makes your story thin and puts the reader at a distance. We shouldn't get all purple prosey or try to show off. Sometimes simple words and terms can have a profound influence. Sometimes moving away from our Teutonic words to Latinate ones works better. We can't go back to Shakespeare's time in an instant, if ever. We live in the here and now. We also recreate the here and now each day. Everyone who writes and shares their words has more influence than they know.

Over-Editing and Self-Esteem

There’s editing and then there is over-editing. All writing needs a pass or two after the initial flurry of composition to edit. Sometimes we’re testing out new skills or techniques that might need more than four or five drafts to get it right. Sometimes we’re asked to edit our work for the benefit of editors and publishers.

And then there are those of us who can’t stop editing.

I think part of it comes from low self-esteem as a writer. It’s easy to rationalize that “Hey, I’m a perfectionist.” Wanting to put forth our best work is what everyone should aim for but compulsive perfectionists, let’s face it, we have self-esteem issues with our writing.

It’s easy to second guess ourselves. Especially when you get feedback from others. We automatically assume that every suggestion made from other people is correct and that we were never right to begin with. After all, look at all of these other, confident, popular writers out there. They write so fast, so well, and people love everything they churn out. And oh yes, there are lots of writers who put out sludge and think they’re all that in spite of their lack of talent and effort. The compulsive perfectionist even regards these people’s suggestions.

All those articles, blogs, and workshops on writing are great to read and attend. We soak up the information as much as everyone else. Inwardly, they torture us. They point out all the many ways we fall short. So we edit, and edit, and edit.

What’s in danger here is not only our self-esteem, but our creativity and talent. We work so hard to try to please everyone that we end up disappointing ourselves the most. We never reach our goals.

What is worse, is most compulsive perfectionists are aware of their problem. All the kind and cheerful words in the world from others don’t remedy the issue. In fact, we tend to doubt the validity of those who actually compliment our writing. We cry buckets when we get negative reviews but those reviewers are so right! What were we thinking? People who say nice things didn’t give us a thorough critique. They probably hate the story too.

I think the trick to taming this over-editing beast is learning and remembering a few things:

1. Don’t take it all so personally. Oh certainly, we’re probably not the type that has a super fragile skin and can’t take any kind of critique. (Remember, we think only the negative ones help us grow and point out all the flaws we have yet to fix so we antagonize ourselves by searching those kind of readers out.) Taking a step back and remembering that no one reaches perfection in their writing helps. Guidelines, style, and popularity evolves over time. Readers don’t all like the same things. Really and truly. It’s not that our stories are so horrible sometimes but rather we haven’t found our audience yet. Finding the right beta readers is probably more of our problem here. We need people who read our genre and who appreciate it.

2. An art professor once told my sister that when you feel your project is done, stop. Don’t add another brush stroke. She said she crossed that line once and added the extra brush stroke. It ruined the painting she was working on.

The same applies to writing. We tweak and cut, and add, and change so much that it’s easy to loose our original vision of our work. So maybe there are a handful of sentences, paragraphs, or even pages that could have used eighty more hours of fine-toothed combing. Maybe we didn’t zap every use of the word “was” or “had” from the manuscript. You know what, readers don’t care. (This references the every day, non-writerly, editorial, or agent-type reader, and especially not anti-passivity zealots.)

There’s an evil in second-guessing ourselves so much. Storylines and plots perish, characters become over-the-top or lackluster, and sometimes we get bored with the very ideas that once excited us.

3. When we get too compulsive it’s probably a good idea to shelve the story for a little while. Take a break. Work on something else, or better yet, throw ourselves into an entirely different type of work or activity. Coming back after a hiatus sometimes lets us see clearly again and even learn to love our stories once more.

We do have talent. Maybe we’re still in beginner stages but the compulsive perfectionist is one that is doing their best to learn and work on their craft. Every writer is different and has a different voice. We need to stop comparing ourselves to everyone else, the good and the bad. And we also need to trust our inner voices even more than all the encouragement or tough love from our beta readers. We’ll get good, worthwhile advice and we’ll also get advice that steers us away from who we are and what our story is supposed to be. We need to grasp onto our self-identity and our story’s identity and then hold tight. The weather will be rough and turbulent.

4. Trends, comparisons, the wrong readers, too much advice—they’re all things that drive us to over-editing. Sometimes it’s best to shut off the internet, avoid the writing group for awhile, and get to know our own skills and the depth of our stories intimately one-on-one. Especially if we’ve fallen into over-editing. Recognizing that we will also make mistakes, fail, and even make a fool of ourselves is part of the process. It gives us perfectionists permission to chill out a bit. These are things that keep us awake at night but they don’t have to.

Get your story done to the best of your current ability and then let it go. It will fly or sink, but you won’t have killed it via an axe-wielding internal editor.

What things drive you to over-editing and how do you combat them?

The Posting/Critiquing Marathon Part 2: In Conclusion, What I’ve Learned

Each summer the Speculative Fiction Group on Agent Query Connect holds a posting/critiquing marathon. It's an intensive 12 weeks of feedback and opportunity. People post 1-2 chapters per week and everyone else reads and critiques them. In this way, submitters can get a good assessment of what works in their chapters and what doesn't from writers who read and write in their genres. It's also a private forum so work posted isn't open to the masses on the internet and doesn't stay on permanently. All in all, it's exhausting, fun, and a pretty positive environment.

Most submitters have gotten through their first 10-12 chapters by now. I admit, due to outside constraints I had to duck out of the last three weeks but here’s what I have learned from the second half of the marathon:

The Watch List:

1. Sagging middles. I can’t emphasize this enough—the middle is the most important part of the story. This is where everything happens, where the growth occurs, and where the journey takes place. Sure you need an enticing beginning and a satisfying ending but without a strong middle the book is sunk.
2. Whirlpools. This is where a writer keeps cycling the same type of events or bringing back characters that were eliminated. It’s boring, frustrating, and the reader quickly grows disillusioned. Forward motion died off. I don’t know if this is due to the comfort zone of the writer, where they feel they pulled off one thing well so why try something else? Or in other cases, the characters keep rehashing the same facts, details, and arguments. It’s like the writer didn’t have enough story to fill out a book or got lost somewhere from A-Z.
3. Plot plunges. The first chapters of a story were strong, the obstacles clearly defined, and the protagonist(s) chugged steadily ahead toward their goals. Then all at once, the story isn’t so interesting. It’s not that the goals have died or the obstacles disappeared, but everything feels stagnant. In these cases, the writer has stopped introducing new, fun, or dangerous elements. They’re playing with the exact same clay they started out with. Or there is a lack of growth and opposition for the characters.

For the most part, to beware putting all of your punch and energy into the beginning and ending alone. I found this to be a huge red flag. This is where writing with an outline during the editing and revising process is so valuable. Write the first draft or two by the seat of your pants if you like but then when you’re ready to really roll up your sleeves and pound the molten metal that is your story into something polished and refined, you need an outline. Take a step back and look at the broad picture of your story and how each event works.

The other big thing I’ve learned all over again is the importance of beta readers, particularly beta readers who also write. Those fresh pairs of eyes strip away our blinders and can show us what is working and what isn’t. Also the importance of finding beta readers that work well with you. Anyone can beta read but that doesn’t mean they’ll like your genre, your writing style, or even the story itself. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer and look for beta readers who can help you in those weak places. Say punctuation is your bane; find someone who can juggle commas, hyphens, and semicolons in their sleep. If sentence structure, clarity, or passivity is a problem, look for a beta reader who’s a grammarian. If your story takes place in a specific time period or setting it doesn’t hurt to ask someone who’s an expert on that time or setting to read through to make sure your research paid off. If you want someone to be very frank with you as to whether your story is making sense, whether characters or events are believable, plot holes abound…you get the idea. Look for honest readers who know what they are talking about. If you find that a reader does nothing but snark on everything you write without pointing out anything you do correctly, don’t continue with that person. If someone hates your genre or type of story, maybe let them read a different project later on.

The scope of writing submitted this year in the marathon went all across the speculative board. There was something for nearly every reader. The talent ranged all over the chart too with everyone sharing their strengths and weaknesses. The most beautiful part was seeing some writers who continually received lengthy feedback on their writing swallow their pride (if any) and work hard to make their writing stronger. You could see them improve and develop as the weeks went by. I’m in awe of these people. They didn’t give up. They didn’t classify the feedback as subjective and ignore it. These are writers who I expect to see on bookstore and library shelves one day.

The Posting/Critiquing Marathon Part 1: What I've Learned So Far

Each summer the Speculative Fiction Group on Agent Query Connect holds a posting/critiquing marathon. It's an intensive 12 weeks of feedback and opportunity. People post 1-2 chapters per week and everyone else reads and critiques them. In this way, submitters can get a good assessment of what works in their chapters and what doesn't from writers who read and write in their genres. It's also a private forum so work posted isn't open to the masses on the internet and doesn't stay on permanently. All in all, it's exhausting, fun, and a pretty positive environment.

This week marks the halfway point for this year's session. I'd thought I'd take some time today (begging your indulgence) to look back through the feedback I've given and seen, and share some of what I've learned from critiquing this year.

The list of individual critiques from the past aside, after three years of the marathon I know my critiquing skills have grown sharper and less subjective. This year I've had a strong bent toward finding plot holes and points that need clarifying. Which is a good thing because a couple of my current manuscripts will need me to see from that standpoint when I look at them again in the autumn.

Most submitters have gotten through 6 chapters by now; the opening chunk of their novels. How are these openings standing up from a technical point of view? What things have I seen or watched out for when reading these openings?

The Watch List:
1. The first chapter or two of the novel introduces the reader to the protagonist and sometimes the antagonist of the novel. We need to connect with the protagonist quickly in order to care about them and the problems that are stacked up (or stacking up) against them. Physical descriptions don't spark sympathy. Super-angsty voices don't spark sympathy either, especially when there are no redeeming characteristics there to balance the character's inner pain. The reader needs to care about the protagonist or have a strong moment of sympathy with them to want to read the rest of the story.

2. I've seen two camps: openings that overdo voice and openings that have no voice at all. I think with all the online emphasis about voice some writers try too hard. And it's obvious. You don't have to pack a wallop in your first chapter or smack your reader between the eyes. It's kind of like those movies that rely too much on special effects and blowing things up in order to dazzle an audience.

On the flip side are the kind of openings you see from inexperienced or too-eager-to-be-read writers. I think there must be a natural tendency to fill up a rough draft's first chapters with backstory, description, and all those neat details that do better in an outline, summary, or story-building journals. Most of us start out that way. With all of these backstage props sitting out there's little room for voice or plot.

3. Places where all the time invested into building tension suddenly fall on their faces. It happens. The story starts out with engaging characters, intriguing stakes, and even mystery. It builds for the first two or three chapters and then there is the plop. All of a sudden we have a "calm" moment in the action where nothing new is learned, no inner journey is made to compensate for the break from the outer, and often details are rehashed. Breaks from the action are good; reader's need breathers, especially if a story is fast-paced and something of an adrenaline rush; but those breaks still need to move the story forward.

Picture the story as a river, we've just come through some rapids and maybe pitched over a waterfall and now we're in a deep, calm stretch. Don't steer your boat into a lazy eddy or whirlpool, continue to paddle forward. Don't stop at the bank to have a picnic or go exploring or some other tangent unnecessary to the journey. Keep the reader headed down that river.

4. Consistency. This is a big one. Be consistent in your details but also in your plotting. One thing leads to another. Action--reaction or consequence. They must make sense. Contrivances and convenient props are things you try to get away with at your peril. Readers aren't stupid and they'll see these things as lazy writing. I've already blogged here about this issue.

5. Research. The freedom that comes from writing speculative fiction; any subgenre of fantasy in particular; doesn't mean a writer is free from all research. To make a story creditable and the happenings believable we often must delve into the dusty realm of research along with everyone else.

Say someone gets hurt, what are the true consequences/dangers of this injury? How will it affect that character from performing until they are healed? If medical attention is required, who has the knowledge to help? What are the available resources? How do you use them?

Or say you're writing in a completely made-up world but there are cultural elements similar to that of the real world whether in the present day or in history, know how those elements really worked before playing around with them.

Using creatures common to your genre? Do you know how these creatures have been used before? With creatures it's good to know what has been done and how they've been reincarnated in various stories before developing your own interpretation.

Readers and fans will know when you fake it. Not all of them maybe, but why give any of them a chance to put your story down and say "Yeah, right!" or "This person doesn't know what they're writing about."

6. Too much of a good thing. Whether it be a detailed play-by-play of a fight scene; every look, gesture, or hidden meaning in the eyes of a pair of lovers or a stalker; how something scientifically works or is invented; all the methods and nuances of learning magic; the political fabric of your world; etc. Often, I've found, these are things that the writer really gets into and has a personal interest in. Good stuff. But too much becomes an info dump and bogs down the story. Stick to the essentials and those details that move the story along or have some personal impact on the characters.

Six opening issues to reflect the six week mark. I'm guilty of some of these too. Come autumn, I will be able to examine my writing with a sharper eye and apply the proverbial red pencil where problems are. I'm looking forward to learning more during the second half of the marathon. I don't write much, if at all, during the summer because of the marathon, but you can be sure I'm learning heaps more than if I'd taken a class or worked alone those months. I sincerely admire and in some cases have a sense of awe at the writers who are submitting this year. Massive talent, even though every submission has had strengths and weaknesses.

*Submitters can jump in at any given week. So if you have a completed and ready to be shopped manuscript and would like to run it by a group of great beta readers, pop on over to Agent Query Connect and join the Speculative Fiction Group. (Speculative fiction writers only. Fantasy, science-fiction, horror, paranormal, etc.)

Receiving Manuscript Feedback

Last week I wrote about giving feedback. This week I'd like to talk about receiving it. We're flipping the coin, putting on the other pair of shoes, and have the First Aide Kit on hand.

I've said it before, writing is a personal process. But to be a published writer, you have to develop a thick hide to criticism and feedback. There isn't a single soul on this planet past, present, or even future, who is immune to both C & F. Like it or not, you'll get it. People love to talk and they love sharing their opinions, it's part of being human. No matter what stage of the game you're at, with regards to writing and publishing, you'll need and receive C & F.

Asking someone else to read your manuscript can be terrifying. I know. I tremble every time I send something out. We want our work to please our beta readers. Inwardly we're hoping for a wow factor. In some cases, we're also hoping to find out what is still wrong with the story--you know, that bit you can't quite put your finger on. The first step is, of course, to ask someone to read your story.

I don't recommend petitioning your favorite authors, big industry names, or even writer friends up to their elbows in revisions, contracts, or other duties that go with publication. You put these people in a delicate position. Those being critiqued can accuse these beta readers of stealing ideas, of being a jerk (just because they didn't love the story or the writing), or expect them to jump through hoops in order to get the petitioner a book deal. These professionals have enough on their plate already without having to cater to the whims and needs of the unpublished.

*If you know someone who's already in the publishing game and they offer to read your work (on their own initiative) that's an entirely different case.

We'd all love to have professionals help us skip a few corners and get our foot in the door. Most times, this won't happen. So where do you go to look for C & F help? Writers groups, conferences, conventions, online writing forums, and such. There's no shortage of places, you merely need to take the time to find one that suits you and dive in.

One suggestion I strongly feel should be a cardinal rule when it comes to C & F is if you want people to read your work, you need to be willing to read theirs. I've heard writers complain they aren't experts on C & F. You won't get any experience if you don't try. It's a cop-out excuse. Someone else is going to spend hours pouring over your baby, for free. Offer to do the same. We learn a lot by critiquing (see last Tues. post.)

Another good and fast guideline is to seek out more than one or two critiques. You aren't hiring industry professionals but fellow writers. These writers will give you what you need but in subjective doses. The more of these doses you get the more you'll discover patterns in the feedback. The areas that really need work will be apparent to most readers. Similar C & F from several beta readers is a red flag to you as the writer.

Remember that your beta readers are not the supreme authority over your story. They have subjective needs and wants as readers. Maybe they are really into paranormal but your story is straight up fantasy. Or maybe they hate certain settings, expressions, or plot devices. Sometimes beta readers are still new at the whole C & F process and tend to let their subjective voices try to change your story to how they would do it. Know how to spot this kind of feedback, don't think meanly of the givers, and ignore it.

Don't let your beta readers kill your voice. Don't let them rewrite the story for you. Don't be alarmed if one or two people absolutely hate your book.

But—watch the numbers. If several people hate your book, maybe it's doesn't have wide-market appeal or you are so green at writing you're boring them to death. If several people have issues with that scene about unicorns eating watermelon at a tea party while they discuss forest politics, maybe you need to take another look at it and see why those issues come up. If several people are noting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors you need to pay attention to that too. Likewise with wrong word choice or unclear writing.

Over time you'll get a feel for whose advice you need and want and who's you don't. Some of my favorite beta readers are the ones that rip my stories to shreds to help me achieve clarity and plot progression. Some of my least favorite (whom I don't ask to read again) are those who clearly hate the genre I write in so why torture them or me with subjectivity issues?

Avoid the inclination to hate a beta reader that is harsh on you for the right reasons. Oh, we hate to think they're right. We scream, pull our hair, or shout at the computer for awhile. When we've calmed down and look at our story again we see it through new eyes and gosh darn it, that strict beta reader hit the nail on the head with their critique. Keep in mind that people usually want to read your work to help you out. Why would someone volunteer to spend hours of time and effort reading your unpolished work if their intentions weren't to help you?

Don't take C & F personally. This is where the thick hide comes in handy. When writing a story, throw your heart and soul into it. When receiving feedback, step completely out of your story and treat it objectively--even like a stranger. C & F is not aimed at you as a person. (Now I know that you do meet the occasional troll in some online communities that never has a nice word to say about anyone or anything but you seldom run into these trolls if you solicit a beta reader to look at your work in private or in a controlled setting.) Please don't think for a moment that you are worth nothing if everyone tells you to go back to the storyboard. You are worth something. The story just needs more time and hard work to match you.

I see all too often writers who give up after one or two bad critiques. Some writers outright refuse to take any C & F because they expected only praise. Usually this is the mark of laziness, acute self-doubt, or delusions of grandeur. You are going to have your eyes opened, painfully sometimes. Criticism tends to come in huge doses while praise is fleeting. Most people who sit down to write a story for the first time can expect not to publish that book. They're new at the game. They haven't done the leg work or gained the experience in order to produce a marketable book. It's the sad truth about writing that the general public doesn't tend to focus on or hear.

The trick is to take that C & F and learn from it. You haven't failed. Truly. You can now move forward and use your new knowledge to up your game. Don't give up if storytelling is really in your blood. If you wake up every day thinking about writing, you are a writer. Finding out that your baby isn't ready to be shopped is discouraging. Go ahead and rant, rave, or cry. This is a normal part of the process. Don't give in to self-doubt. Gag that little voice in the back of your head that says you'll never be a writer. If you want it bad enough, you'll do what it takes to get there. Ignore timetables, the Cinderella stories about other writers, and don't compare your progress to anyone else's. Learn and get back to work.

Beware C & F that tells you nothing constructive. Even the pros need editors and beta readers. If the people you've chosen to read your work do nothing but praise, it's time to find new beta readers. Writers need to stretch and grow. There is no arrival point. Search out other writers who will help you grow. Also, don't get addicted to praise. Don't be a dog under the table begging for scraps in order to be happy. Praise can deceive; lull you into a false sense of accomplishment and security. Revel in the snatches of praise you do get but don't let it go to your head.

Receiving C & F is a delicate thing. Be professional about it, even if you're a newbie. Don't argue back with your beta readers, don't go online and bash them, and don't smear their stories in revenge. Sometimes the initial feedback stings. Put it away for a day or two. Pull it out when you've calmed down and look at it again. Another cardinal rule should be: if you're emotional don't do anything. Take a break from writing and do something else you love. Let the feedback simmer and cool.

From personal experience, some of the harshest feedback I've gotten over the years has tended to make a better writer out of me. I've had to rewrite, revise, completely cut out, and even blow-up stories. I look at those early drafts compared to what I have these days and I smile. I'm forever indebted to the people who beta read for me and who have taught me so much about writing and about my own writing process. Sure, the negative reviews still smart, but I know how to deal with them now.

Knowledge is power, people. Don't deprive yourself. Seek out feedback, think hard about it, edit and revise, and learn.

The Critiquing Dilemma

If you write books you should read books.

If you want to learn to edit better and have your eyes opened to some major flaws in your own stories, you should offer to critique other writers' manuscripts. There's only so much you can learn from books on writing and workshops. Taking time to evaluate someone else's manuscript bridges so much more. It puts you in the editor's seat as well as the reader's.

Finding other writers to exchange work with isn't hard. The dilemma comes in the how to critique for others. What if you're faced with a story you subjectively don't care about? What if you find a rough draft in front of you? What if you can't find anything to edit?

The first thing I recommend remembering is that you are doing the other writer a favor. They need your feedback. They live for the praise but they also need to hear where the problems lie. They want their manuscript to be saleable, to feel confident in sending it out on submission. By reading the work of others and taking the time to analyze it, you'll also be building your editing skills which will help when you revise.

Some guidelines to consider when critiquing:
1) Subdue your subjectivity. It'll still be there and is the essence of you as a reader, but when critiquing for someone else you are trying to help that person out. It's not your job to tell that writer their ideas stink or that they shouldn't write about the subject matter they've chosen. If the subject matter isn't your cup of tea, you can always decline before reading the manuscript or make the focus of your critique the technical aspects. Aim to help the other writer, not attack them.

2) You are not the supreme authority over anyone else's manuscript. You will read and critique the story and then give it back to the writer. That writer may be getting other feedback as well. In the end, it will be the writer's call what feedback to accept and what to decline. Don't get frustrated if you see a later draft and find you were completely ignored. The reasons for this are manifold and I'll write a blog post about them later on.

3) Be on the lookout for the positive as well as the negative. The errors are easy to spot. Don't forget to point out all of the things that please you about the story or the treatment. Writers need to know what they are doing right so they don't start second-guessing themselves.

4) Make sure your criticism is constructive not destructive. Keep sight of your role, a helper. You want to see the other writer succeed. If you come across a place that is confusing or a glaring plot hole make sure you point it out in a way that doesn't say "Boy, you're an idiot." Make suggestions to get the other writer's brainstorming gears turning, but don't expect them to sign you on as the producer of their book.

5) Resist the temptation to rewrite for the other writer. Don't do it. I don't mean switching around a word or two to show better flow. I mean taking whole paragraphs or passages and putting them into your voice. Respect the voice of the writer you are critiquing, even if it's not your style at all. If they need to rewrite something for clarity, point it out, then let them take care of it. They need the growth here, don't deprive them.

6) Be honest. Another big temptation is to gloss over your concerns and give the other writer a friendly pat on the head. Sweet crits are not helpful crits. The writer can get that from their loved ones or friends who know nothing about story construction. If what you've read truly amazes you and you can't find fault with it, point out why. Let the other writer know what you admire about their style or characterizations. Show them that while you don't have anything negative to point out, that you still took the time to really analyze their story. If what you see before you needs the jaws of life, don't be a coward. Point out where the story lost you and recommend major surgery.

Avoid name-calling, derogatory remarks, and the tendency to tear down the other writer. Writing is a personal thing. Feedback shouldn't be. Writers aren't to take feedback personally, and critics shouldn't dish it out in a personal way.

7) Keep in the back of your mind some kind of alert button that can go off when you come across anything that reflects your own weaknesses. Maybe you weren't aware that you over-described your protag's attraction for the new kid at school until you see someone else gush on and on and on. Maybe reading all those dialogue tags will alert you to places in your own story that you need to work on. Maybe you'll see the way another writer handles foreshadowing and mystery in a plot and you'll realize that is something you need to work on.

8) Critiquing takes time, a lot of time. Know what your schedule and patience can handle. If you have a lot of other writers wanting to suck up that time, have the courage to say no if you honestly can't take on another critique. Don't sacrifice all of your writing time. Be sure to keep some for yourself.


Questions, comments, other critiquing pointers you'd like to share? Please do.