On to the post!
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| Jury of my peers--Be nice, please?! |
I will listen and scribble mad notes while two of them critique my work.
A jury of my peers: no longer online, faceless avatars, but people I consider my friends.
I'm scared.
I'm not afraid they'll be mean. These are my friends and I know they'll be nice. But they will also be honest, which is the point.
As many of you know, it's been a tricky few weeks in my writing life. After all the pages in all the stories I've written, I feel like I can better identify my weaknesses. This is a good thing--it means I'm learning.
It also means I have a long road ahead.
Yet, in the past week your comments to my blog questions have put my story (and my frame of mind) back on track. I feel so energized to write that I want to take a sick day and camp out with a pot of coffee and my computer. I want to prove to all of you that I'm not really this ridiculous of a writer. I want you to know I've listened to your questions, considered my story from the angles you helped me see, and I want my story to be all the better as a result. Especially six weeks from now.
Knowing friends will read my story ups the ante even though it shouldn't. Feedback is feedback, whether from my mom, an agent, a friend, or someone I've never met. But I feel an extra dose of motivation to put my best foot forward on this first impression.
How about you: Do you feel extra pressure when showing work to other writers?
OH my god is it only six weeks away?? I am so not ready.
ReplyDeleteBut I can't wait to be in the same room with you! I hope you all know I'm going to be a picture taking machine. I'll want to remember every single moment for forever.
Oh, good. I always pack my camera and then forget to use it. :) I'm counting on you!
DeleteDITTO Sommer's comment. My first thought was "SIX WEEKS?" *PANIC*
ReplyDeleteGood on the picture taking. I tend to forget and regret!
And Tricia, I remember my first time in a critique group last semester. I'd never exchanged critiques with anyone before and I thought I was going to die from the stress. Everyone was really nice and helpful in the end, and it turned out to be the case in ALL my classes. Take a deep breath. We'll all be okay.
(To be honest I'm not rational about this either. I worry of what Sommer and Charlee will think more than strangers because they are awesome and what if they don't like it - AAAAAAH! So I know where you come from. XD)
Yup, there's something about having friends in the writer community read your stuff. Some day, I'm going to get up the nerve to ask Margo if she'll read 5 pages. Maybe. Some day. In the far, far future.
DeleteHave fun in Vegas!
ReplyDeleteI do feel pressure when I am showing writing to other writers, but their comments are so helpful that no matter how bad the writing may actually be, I'm still learning something.
Exactly--I figure I'm always learning. I either appreciate the feedback and can incorporate it, or I learn what other people might not like and how to resist the desire to change everything for others. Either way, I learn!
DeleteYes I feel the pressure when I know a writing friend is going to read my work!! I start seeing more cracks and fissures than I did before I knew they were going to read it, which I suppose is a good thing. I always try and raise my game when I know a fellow writer is going to critique my stuff. It's scary but rewarding at the same time to hear what they have to say.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time in Las Vegas!
I like how the added pressure is making me "raise my game" as well. Not that I would've submitted garbage if I DIDN'T know them, but yeah, any motivation to get me to improve is good motivation in my book!
DeleteOh, yeah, and congrats on your 100th follower!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that writing has to be solitary, I share everything with my husband. But I do think that writers shouldn't show a WIP to a group and certainly not to strangers. If you want to share your work and get feedback, it should be a finished product. (Written, edited, in publishable form.)
ReplyDeleteDean Wesley Smith tells the story that when he was a young writer in a critique group he would write a short story every week to take with him to the group. But he mailed the story out to editors on the way to the meeting. He got the feedback from the group, but he applied what he learned from them to writing future stories, not the ones he'd already written.
Can you tell that I am strongly against changing your story to the whims of betas and critique partners? Anyway, have fun and congrats on your milestones.
Sarah, I so greatly admire this about you!
DeleteI don't feel compelled to change my stories on every piece of feedback I receive, but I do need to grow a much thicker skin. If I want to someday brave the deep end of the query waters, I'm going to have to get used to shallow end where my crit people hang out.
Why you guys panicking? We're going to have so much fun. (I've never been to a critique session that resulted in fatalities, btw. You'll be fine.)
ReplyDeleteTrue story: I'd be panicking MORE if you were reading my stuff. You're like my sub-2:30 half marathon challenge. I might not be ready just yet, but I'm gonna do it. :)
DeleteI think I can, I think I can...
Margo, we're panicking because who cares if people in my class don't like what I write? They can provide helpful feedback anyway. But you guys matter beyond receiving help.
DeleteAlso, fatalities: It's okay, there has to be a start for everything. ;)
It's great to receive feedback from other writers because they feel your pain. I've come to prefer it, depend on it, and hope for it!
ReplyDeleteI agree--I enjoy the feedback as well, though I always admire writers like Sarah (above) who can keep it close until it's ready to be seen by anyone and everyone. I think I'm too much of a sharer. :)
DeleteOMG I am so terrified that you're all going to find out I'm just a normal girl! I mean, I'm awesome, but totally and completely normal.
ReplyDeleteYour secret is safe with me. :)
DeleteYou'll be fine! I share my work with two test readers in the real world (although neither is a writer) but online I have three critique partners who are all writers and authors. They give some of the best feedback.
ReplyDeleteAnd congratulations on a hundred followers!
Thanks, Alex! I feel like I'm finally entering my own version of Writer Reality, where I offer my pages up for review. It's a small first step in what I hope is the right direction.
DeleteIf they're too cruel, you can get even by posting scandalous gossip on your blog. I think they call that the Golden Rule in those parts... :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on hitting 100 followers! That's such a cool milestone. And yes, I am always nervous about showing my work to writers. Writers can be the toughest critics. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI always feel super scared before my work is critted (and my crit partners are wonderfully nice). But they also are honest. Thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteeh. Sometimes... but not usually. I have pretty good self esteem, so any little niggling fear i have is usually squashed. Also rejections helped me build a nice thick skin
ReplyDeleteAre you going for a conference or just a fun writing retreat? Either way, you'll be awesome.
ReplyDeleteI always write my work knowing/thinking that someone is going to read it no matter what, so I'm always prepared for feedback.
Karl--ohh... you're on to something! Public tar and feathering!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen! The milestone surprised me, and has created a bit of increased anxiety, I won't lie.
AA--I imagine my crit partners will be nice and honest. It's just my own fears taking over.
Sarah--That's exactly why I need this. I'm in dire need of a thicker skin!
Jessica--It's a fun writing retreat, though we have "sessions" lined up so we're learning along the way. It'll be great. I like your approach to writing and knowing people will read it. This is very zen!
Woot, 100 followers!
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I feel the most pressure when I have to critique other writers' work. I can't decide if I should just mail your proof back to you and run and hide from your wrath or just leave it on your doorstep (with a gift of whiskey and chocolate) when I'm in Minneapolis this spring. :)
If you drive by and toss the book at my doorstep without at least ringing my bell, I'm gonna be so bummed!
DeleteWrath? You've met me. When have you seen my wrath? I'm more likely to cry than get angry. True story.
Hang on... this doesn't make me feel very secure. It was so bad you want to get me drunk on whiskey, first? Crap. How bad was it?
As I told you on Twitter, it's not that it's so bad, it's that it's so good! I feared that if I made too many suggestions for edits or created too many sticky notes, you'd get mad at me! Therein lies the pressure.
DeleteThere's no way I'd just creep on your doorstep without ringing. Please ignore my flair for the dramatic!
But if you're in my town and DON'T tell me... girl... words. You and me. We'll have words. ;)
DeleteI'd never get mad for feedback. Especially when I ask for it, first. :)