Posts Tagged ‘feedback’

14
Dec

Writing Shouldn’t Be a Solitary Activity

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing, Books, Irreverent Muse

In my early writing days I believed that it was just me and the words. No one else would ever be involved. I was totally alone.

I’ve since learned that writing doesn’t need to be so solitary. True, there are times when it should be just you and the keyboard, but there are many times when you should be around and involve other people. For example.

  • critiquing and feedback of your work – I have heard the opinion that a writer must write a million words before they have anything worth sending out. I would argue that a million words without any outside scrutiny doesn’t improve one’s writing much at all. The feedback around what works and what needs work is more valuable than the actual wordcount itself.
  • marketing and self-promotion – you might be surprised at how useful talking to editors, publishers, agents and other writers can be. A publisher who has a chance to get to know you might ask you to send your work to them because they like you and think you would be a good person to do business with (btw, if you didn’t know that writing is a business, it is). The same holds true for agents, editors and so on. It can also be useful to know other people doing similar things to you because then you can setup cross-promotion activities. The more ways people have to find you (unless you are trying to avoid notice), the better.
  • collaboration opportunities – not every book or story should be written by one person. Some projects are simply too big for one person to tackle. Case in point, my first anthology (being worked on with Jeffrey Hite). I’ve never done it before and I don’t think I personally have enough time to do (or even think of) everything that needs doing. Jeffrey is a great partner and has skills I don’t have that will make this project even better. Another reason for a collaboration is to bring in additional point-of-view. My example for this: the YA Steampunk JRMurdock and I are writing. We each bring a unique perspective to the story that has made it a lot of fun for both of us to write and I think to read.
  • shoulder to lean on – let’s face it, only writers really understand writers. Our fears and anxieties, our hopes. They tend to resonate with other writers. When we stumble, it’s nice to have someone there to help us back up. When we reach a  new height, it’s fantastic to share the news with people who can truly appreciate it.

There are other reasons, but trust me when I say, I owe much of my success to others. Yes, I’ve kept working at my writing but there have been times when I’ve needed that little kick in the butt to keep going. To not give up. Some of my best ideas have come from conversations with other writers and friends that I couldn’t have gotten on my own.

You owe it to yourself to get out there and talk to people. It will help you to make the key contacts that will push you to the next level.

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10
Feb

Why I Care About Critiques and Feedback

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

A few days ago, Scott Roche, AKA SpiritualTramp on Twitter raised a question about critiques. Do we want them? How do we want them and so on. What followed was an extremely spirited (natch) discussion about the topic. One I got involved in.

Now, those of you who have read any of my posts probably know I cherish feedback. But why is that? Why do I care what other people think about my writing and podcasting?

Well, I think it all comes down to knowing that I’m creating something people want to hear/read.

But don’t I know if I’m doing a good job or not? Well, in a word, No. I am totally oblivious to whether my own work is good or not. My own biases make it too tough to judge. I’m simply too close to it.

But do I care about all feedback? Again a single word: No. There is a lot of feedback that isn’t worth the time taken to read it. I’ve gotten my fair share of that.

So what makes feedback/critiques that I care about? Well, it must be constructive. Don’t just tell me you like/hate something. Tell me why. For example, if you think something in ‘GalaxyBillies’ is funny, please tell me what you think is funny and why the joke resonated with you. If you think it sucks, say why it sucks and what you were expecting.

You can also tell me in a nice way. That is important. Flaming me will cause me to zone out. Saying something is bad in a positive way keeps me reading. It can be done, honest.

If you give me feedback or critique my work in a positive way I’ll be able to learn from it and either repeat it or fix it depending on whether you liked it or didn’t.

My goal is to be published. That is no secret. Anyone who takes the time to tell me what is and isn’t working is helping me move toward that goal and you are worth your weight in gold and I thank you for your help.

That’s why I care. Constructive feedback and critiques help me move forward.

Personal Update

My Flash Fiction story was turned down and so was my last YA novel submission. While I am disappointed about the first I am stoked about the second. Why? I got a page and a half of comments from the publisher telling me what I can do to improve the story. The publisher also told me they would welcome more of my submissions including a resubmission of the rejected book. That makes it a big WIN in my books. Now I just have to find the time to do the editing.

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16
Dec

Putting Yourself Out There

   Posted by: Michell    in Irreverent Muse

Whomever said “Without Risk, there can be no reward” was on to something. It is a saying that applies in spades to we writers.

We can write as much as we want, but until we actually let someone see it, we have no idea if it is good, bad or indifferent. Indeed, I would argue that without making it available for critique we writers will never really grow in our craft.

That sort of flies in the face of the “Practice makes perfect” mantra, but without feedback, we may get stuck writing the same stuff over and over. All that can do is solidify any mistakes we are already making. Granted, as we continue to write we probably start to see more and more of the problems (assuming we are prone to self-analysis) so our work should improve over time. I just don’t think it will improve as quickly as it might if we received outside feedback.

I am especially guilty of not sending my stuff out for review. I think it might have something to do with some of the useless, negative critiques i’ve gotten in the past. My favorite will remain, “I can see why it was rejected.” Great! Would you mind sharing your wisdom with me, oh great guru?

In the past months, I have put some of my work out for public consumption; namely two of my short stories in podcast form and I’ve entered a couple contests. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten much in the way of “I liked it, but…” or “it really didn’t grab me…” or much of anything else, really. That doesn’t tell me much except, it was either so bad that people quit listening/reading, swearing never to darken my virtual door again or it was “OK” and not really worth commenting on. I suppose, if the optimist in me were to step forth, it could also be “I liked it and don’t really feel worthy to comment”.

So, in an effort to both try something new and find out if I’m any damn good at something I’ve always wanted to write, I’ve got a new project underway. You may have already heard me hinting/talking about it. I’m writing a Science Fiction/Comedy that will be podcast over the coming months.

This addresses the whole “I’ve always wanted to podcast a book” and “I’ve always wanted to try my hand at humor” aspects of my creative aspirations. I figure that with 20 episodes of “Get Published” under my belt I have the tools I need to podcast the book so I’m only a little nervous about that aspect of the project. The writing humor side of things is an entirely different kettle of fish.

I think it may be because I have very high standards on that front.

My absolute favorite writing is Science Fiction and Fantasy as you may know. If I can get it with a healthy helping of humor, it’s even better. I’m always watching for the next new Terry Prachett book and I used to be that way with Robert Aspirin (until his untimely passing). I also make a habit of reading Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy” as least once every year.

Those three writers cast pretty big shadows and I want to do them honor by writing something they wouldn’t toss into the bin. It has taken me this long to get to actually attempting it BECAUSE I let their work intimidate me.

No more. I have already written and started recording the first episode of my new podcast which is titled “GalaxyBillies”. It is the story of five Hillbillies who are kidnapped by an alien starship and how they take the galaxy at large by… well surprise, I think more than anything. The first episode will be up on the site (and available in my “Get Published” feed) December 24, 2009.

I hope you will take the time to listen to the story and, love it or hate it, chime in with your comments. Because I am writing it episodically, if something isn’t working, I can adjust it on the fly. Your comments will help me with that.

I am nervous about the project, but I know I have to do it. It’s something I’ve wanted to try for a very long time so why not get started now? I hope you will join me in the grand experiment.

Personal Update

Other than the new podcast, I haven’t been up to much. My NaNoNovel is sitting quietly, waiting to be edited in a month or so and my fantasy novel is shelved for the time being. I have submitted a story to Absolute Xpress’s Flash Fiction contest and am waiting (patiently) to hear back in the coming months about that.

Oh yeah, and I’m getting ready for the holiday season. That’s enough, isn’t it?

Have a great week!

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