How To Tell If Your Writing Is Any Good - Part 2

(Read Part 1 Here)

I have had the most interesting experiences with my writing as of late. The most exciting experience has been what I like to call THE RIFT in feedback. Among many, many other reasons why I self-published my novella, Cinders, one reason I did so was to get feedback on my writing - writing I felt was the best I had done up to that point. I knew without at doubt that by keeping the book unpublished and handing it only to people I had some sort of connection with, that I would never find absolutely honest feedback. My way of thinking was that I would never know if my writing was truly any good. I thought it was good, but what did I know? Readers are who mattered.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20.

I see now that my way of thinking was terribly wrong. Although I would have never put my own work out there without feeling it was really good, I still ultimately put all my hope in the opinions of others more than in my own. Every time I read a crushing review or received less than 4 stars, my heart sank and my opinion of my own work withered. Then, on the other hand, every time I read a 5 star review by someone who really seemed to understand the work the way I intended, my heart soared and my opinion of the book blossomed. Talk about a roller coaster.

This is THE RIFT, and it will happen with every single word, sentence, short story, and novel I ever share with others.

If I'm not careful, I'll fall into that rift and never emerge. This is one of the reasons I don't feel reviews are for writers. It's good for me to know how readers react to my work, but one of the things I learned very quickly - all those reviews were the exact same reactions I received from beta readers and friends who read the book, just on a much larger, more dramatic scale.

So, with no further babble from me, let's look at the paragraphs from yesterday's experiment. We're the Literary Lab, after all. We like to experiment.

#1
The owl lives behind my home in a tall pine that is bald on one side and heavy on the other with frost-laden boughs that groan with every snow fall. At night, when flakes gather in drifts and heaps against my back porch, the owl plunges from his hunting perch, his sooty brown feathers driving tunnels through snow until all that is seen are whirlwinds of white—feathers and snow creating silence in chaos. I strain to hear any sound at all, but only succeed in finding the crashing thumps of my own heartbeat. Solemnly, after I know the kill has taken place, I enter my cabin, assured in the warmth of my small, but necessary fire.

This paragraph comes from a long short story I wrote in college titled "Sounding Light." I wrote it at the brink of my awareness with language, and decided to experiment with merging prose and poetry. I was really happy with the end product - a literary, quiet story, which oddly enough, was part of the inspiration for my spy thriller novel, Monarch. "Sounding Light" was published in the literary journal, Touchstones, in 2002.

Hmmm, there were 15 solid votes for this paragraph as the best written and liked. It came out as the winner. General consensus:

• easiest to read
• too generic
• good imagery
• both poetry and prose
• strongest writing
• grammatically wrong
• good technical quality
• sentence structure is strange
• style over narrative
• compared to several classic authors (not in a good way)

#2
They questioned him the day after Naomi’s disappearance, although he didn’t know anything. Naomi hadn’t shown up to his house the night he asked her to, and that was that. “You were the last to speak to her,” the police kept insisting. “And you’re her best friend. Can’t you give us some clue to what could have happened? Would she run away?” Brad only shook his head, fear clawing at his heart. He was most likely more frightened than Naomi’s own parents, who believed she had just not come home for awhile. She was frequently away from home, but when that happened, she was with Brad. She was not with him now.

This paragraph was written somewhere between 1996 and 1997 while I was in high school. It's the beginning paragraph of my novel, The Breakaway, which I've rewritten more times than I can count. I am currently working on this novel to submit for representation. The paragraph above no longer exists, even remotely, and the beginning is now much altered.

This paragraph came in 2nd place at 12 votes as the best written and liked. General consensus:

• felt like newbie writing
• good sense of plot
• felt flat
• too telling
• was in the character's head strongly (in a good way)
• easy to read
• immature
• strongest story
• immediate hook
• author isn't trusting voice
• confusing narrative

#3

I buy a snakeskin bag today, lizard green and shiny patent leather and the silver accents catch the sun on a sunny day before the clouds decide to come. When they do, they split open and rain all hell down for five minutes, plaster my hair to my skin, soak through my white shirt so the boys on the corner smoking pot whistle and lick their lips and yell, “Nice tits!” and I roll my eyes and think immature and wish I’d remembered to bring my long jacket that goes down to my calves. At least my green bag looks good with my green skirt, my six-inch green heels and green toenails that are starting to chip and I need to schedule another pedicure tomorrow and pull out my phone to punch in a reminder. I feel like a walking lime tequila.

This paragraph was written in 2010 as part of Loren Eaton's Six-Birds prompt. It is from a flash fiction piece titled "True Colors." You can read the entire pieces on my author site, if you're interested.

This paragraph came in as the third best written and liked with 11 votes. General consensus:

• strong voice
• great sense of voice and confidence
• too much description, sentences too long and run-on
• felt flat
• great sense of character
• style over narrative (not good)
• last line was cheap
• last line was too cutesy
• last line was a treat

I think the most interesting thing was how several readers mentioned that they hated #1 or #3 because of the present tense or first person POV, yet didn't say that this bothered them in both of the paragraphs. This confused me. Did you not notice that both 1 and 3 were both in present tense and first person POV or was I misunderstanding what you said?

Moving on, I think it's quite clear from the general consensus lists that feedback overall (on anything) is extremely subjective. I don't wish to focus on that today, though. I want to point out that each of these excerpts was taken from a different period of my life. #2 was from when I very first started writing novels, #1 was from college when I started experimenting with language, and #3 was from only a year ago when I was really starting to feel confidence in my writing. I think from the general feedback given in the comments that many of you picked up on these things in my writing. Many of you seem to favor plot and a good hook over technique or prose - at least in a small excerpt like this. All of this tells me that feedback is helpful to hone my writing, but I should never rely on it to direct my writing, or even worse, tell me if my writing is good or not.

One of the most important things I have learned over the years is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to judge a writer's worth or abilities from a short excerpt, maybe even from a whole chapter or short story, or even an entire novel. I have read absolutely amazing pieces by authors I truly admire, and then read something else of theirs that fell completely flat for me. Overall, though, I still admire their work because I have read enough of it. What does this tell me? Simply that I must turn this around and see if from the other direction. If I get feedback that rips me to shreds, does that mean I'm a bad writer? I think the answer is obvious, and it leads directly into the question: How can you tell if your writing is any good?

If you can't answer that, go back and read this post again.

Writing Face to Face

There are only a couple of people on Earth who read my works in progress: Mighty Reader, Domey, Michelle and my agent (and his reader). I don't have a group of "beta readers" and I don't belong to a critique group, online or otherwise. I am not taking any sort of writing class and so, in general, most of my writing is done alone, with as little feedback as possible from other people. The main reason for this is that I know very few people who read the sort of fiction I write and will talk about the issues in my own work that concern me. If I ask someone to read something, I don't really want to hear about misspellings or split infinitives. I want to hear if the story and the characters work in the way I want them to work. In general, I trust my own instincts and taste more than those of anyone else, though I will of course listen to my agent and the three other people listed above.

Lately, however, I have begun to write more short stories, and I'm in a loose sort of online writing group who share our bits and bobs of stuff every two months. That's very cool, especially because I continue to struggle with the short story form and it's nice to have feedback from people who do it better than I do. It's also nice to be part of a writers' community that meets, virtually anyway, every so often. I also have a standing invitation to go drinking with a group of writers here in Seattle, but it's on a school night so I haven't gone yet, though I have gotten together a few times with one of these guys and it's a blast. He and I talk about writing in very similar terms and I get what he means and he gets what I mean even though the waitress and the folks at the next tables think we're just insane. Which is fine.

The thing is, then, that while I still see writing as primarily something done alone, in isolation, it is an activity that's brought me into contact with others doing the same thing. There is a lot of value, certainly, in the online community of writers. But the interactions I've had with writers in real life (and I include the groovy Skype conversations I've recently had with Domey and Michelle), including going to readings/book signings, means that writing has become something larger to me than just writing down stories. Some folks I know here in Seattle are thinking about organizing a regular series of public readings, and I think that would be a lot of fun and I think I'd like to try out my short stories in that venue.

Anyway, my point--if I have one--is that I think it's important to have real-world interactions with other writers if you can. So I'm wondering how many of you have met any other writers in real life? How many of you are taking a class or are part of a critique group/reading group that meets in person? How many of you take part in readings on a regular basis, either as audience members or as readers?

Outgrowing Your Peers

This is a sad topic for me, but at the same time I'm trying to convince myself (and others) that it shouldn't really feel that way.

I think all of us have helped each other with our writing, at least a little. At the same time a few of us have struck something deeper, a friendship. But, what can happen as we all become better writers is that we also grow and have different needs, and sometimes we can outgrow each other.

In an ideal situation, we and our peers will continually develop and improve at about the same pace. I have that experience with my wonderful writer's group. We have been together for 5-6 years, and we've all grown as writers and as reviewers, to the point where we are celebrating our different styles and voices while still helping each other get better. Criticisms have diminished because we are all in more control of our art. Now, we can just read each other's work, point out small problems, but generally just enjoy some fine writing among friends. And, our shared high standards inspire us to push ourselves more.

But, I'm not always so lucky. Occasionally I also find myself among a group of writers that are not pushing themselves in the same way that I push myself. For a long time I felt bad about not wanting to work with these people, but in this past week I've come to realize that we have just ended up on different paths. I was so resistant to it, but really it is perfectly natural. Just as we graduate from our various schools, we should understand that we will sometimes graduate from our writing circles. I think we should accept that, maybe even celebrate it, because it is a sign of our improvement and a result of our hard work.

And, most importantly, just because we outgrow some people as writers doesn't mean we must outgrow them as friends. How lovely will it be, when we all get to a place where we can just admire each other's art and enjoy all of the different voices around us?

Have you all ever outgrown your peers or writing circles? Were you able to move on in a way that didn't injure friendships? I feel at peace today because I know that I'm lucky to be in touch with writers that are already good and still wanting to be better.

How Do You Find A Critique Group?

Litgirl01 asked us about finding critique groups. Critique groups (or writer's groups) can be a great way to combat the loneliness of writing. They also provide valuable reviews by a group that stays with you long enough to see the evolution of a long story or novel. And, a good group will keep a writer on a regular schedule.

Critique groups can either be online or in-person. Online groups allow you to work with your own schedule, and perhaps more importantly for your question, they are easy to find!

1. The Zoetrope Virtual Studio was started by Francis Ford Coppola in 2000. Over 10,000 members participate, which may seem overwhelming, but the site is organized so that writers can go to separate “buildings” like the Short Story building, the Novella building, and of course, the Screenplay building. Writers within a specific genre can also find each other in public or private offices. Within the main boards, a writer must review 5 pieces for every 1 that they post. Reviews include ratings, and the reviews themselves are rated by the recipient. Bestsellers and editors frequent the site, even F.F.C. himself, on rare occasions.

2. Critique Circle Online Writing Workshop was started in 2003 by Sigrún Erna Geirsdóttir and Hulda Bjarnadóttir. It’s smaller, with about 2,200 active members. Like Zoetrope, you can participate in public or private forums. There’s a point system to maintain the proper checks and balances in reviewing the posting. This site can be free or it can cost money, depending on the services you want to have.

3. You can set up private online groups using sites such as Proboards. I’ve been a moderator for one of these sites for a few months, so let me know if you want an invitation to check it out.

4. In-person groups are harder to come by, but a good group is well worth the effort. I’ve been a member of two in-person groups. They’ve typically had about 5-6 members. I started one myself, which I think is a great way to stay focused on the genres you’re interested in. I simply sent a sign-up sheet around at a local author reading and made some follow up calls afterwards. Some of my published writing teachers rely heavily on their groups, which include both published and unpublished writers.

5. While I’d recommend starting your own, sites like Craigslist often post ads looking for people to join writers’ groups. (Just be careful who you meet.) You can also check out libraries and bookstores to see if anyone has posted up ads. If you’ve got writer friends or classmates that live close by, I’d start with them.

Take It All Off

Taking your clothes off might be a daily occurrence. But how often do you do it in front of other people with whom you are not intimate?

I do it all the time.

Yep. I stand in front of groups of people and strip it all off. It's embarrassing, let me tell you. In fact, I blush. I cry. I start with the outer layers and move on to the ones closest to my skin - closer to revealing what I try to hide so often. Each article of clothing drops to the floor. I shiver under the lights that should feel warm, but they don't. Denim. Cotton. Silk. I'm revealing more and more skin. Layer after layer . . .

Until I'm standing with nothing to hide behind.

And that's it. Now how long I decide to stand there letting people gawk and admire and laugh and criticize is up to me. But at least I do it. At least I'm brave. Right?

Oh, come on! You know I'm talking about letting other people read your work. Sometimes it feels just like you're naked, doesn't it? Haven't you sent your work (querying might be a similar experience to some) out to some readers and a few days later you regret it? You think, "I shouldn't have done that. It could be so much better. Maybe I should ask for it back? Tweak here and there and send it out again? Maybe?"

Don't.

I've been getting feedback on my novel, Monarch. It's a second draft. I know that in many respects, it sucks. It needs help. I took off my clothes to show the few extra pounds I'd rather were not there. I'm still standing naked, letting it all show. And it's great. I'm getting used to it, bit by bit.

(I would never really strip in public, I promise. I'd be labeled all sorts of things I'd rather not say here. . . . And I'd be arrested, but that's beside the point.)


Here's a few pointers for those of you who can't "bare" to strip down yet:

(1) If you don't let others read your work you're doing yourself a disservice. Few people can write in a vacuum. Let others who are willing read and critique your work. Often.

(2) Read Scott's excellent post from yesterday and take all that criticism in stride.

(3) Take that criticism and be honest with yourself. Rework. Write. Edit. Layer. Grow!

(4) Then send it out again. And again. Until you feel like it's solid and the critiques you get focus more on nitpicks than huge issues like plot holes and character inconsistencies.


Here's a few pointers for those of you who strip down all the time with no fear:

(1) Make sure you let your viewers - I mean readers - know where your work stands. Let them know if it's polished, a first draft, almost-there-draft, etc. This makes a difference in the kind of feedback you'll receive.

(2) Please tell your readers what kind of feedback you're looking for! You don't want a line edit when you're only looking for overall advice. That's a waste of your time and theirs.

(3) Don't overburden your readers. Seriously rework your piece before you send it to them again. They don't want to read a draft with just a few sentences changed here and there. If all you have done is changed grammar or minor things - and you think it's as polished as possible - your work might not need critiquing anymore. Save the line edits for a close beta reader who doesn't mind reading your work fifty billion times (I'm lucky to have a few of these readers. They're gold and I love them).


If you need help or have questions about where or how to find Beta and Alpha readers, see my post over on my blog, here.

On an ending note, I loved Jessica's advice over on BookEnds a few days ago about knowing when it's time to start/stop querying. She said:

I made the suggestion that authors should never even start querying until they finish their first book and have started on the second. At that point, continue querying until the second book is done and ready to go, if you still have no bites, put the first book under the bed and start querying the second while writing the third.

That's tough advice, she says. I agree. But patience is key in this business. Apparently, it helps to work naked, too. I come up with strange analogies.

Now, if only we could perfect our bodies just sitting in our chairs in front of the computer . . .


~MDA (aka Glam)

Should You Join A Writer's Group?

I've been a member a few writer's groups during my ten years of writing. Writer's groups have advantages and disadvantages, and using them to help your writing and publishing career requires self-discipline, a bit of luck, and some partial, but not complete loyalty. I'll explain.

What can writer's groups do for you? You are more likely to get honest critique from a writer's group that has decided to meet for the purpose of improving themselves. The peer pressure within a group can help writers be productive, especially if they like to have schedules and expectations put on them. (In my groups, we always give a gentle nudge when a person hasn't brought in any writing for a couple of weeks.) And, you can benefit from the things that other members of the group learn through outside sources.

How can writer's groups be bad?

As with all groups, there is going to be a group mentality in some of the decisions that are made. Writing is difficult and with enough persuasion some people can be convinced to give it up or to not push themselves as much as they should. Failed attempts at publishing or revisions can often be frustrating, and the problem can get worse if these failed attempts cause other members to give up before they even try. If the majority of the group has lower standards, or if they have particular aesthetic preferences, the masses might be able to persuade a writer to go in the wrong direction, or to sound more like the rest of the group, or to give up completely.

So, what are some essential things to make sure your group is successful?

1. Make sure members of the group are dedicated to meeting regularly and bringing work with them every time they meet. Start a schedule and stick to it. If you are going to stop for the holidays, announce that ahead of time and also schedule when meetings will start again.

2. Make sure members participate. Allow everyone to voice their opinion and to share their own desires for their writing. If a person has nothing to read, they should still attend the meeting and review other people's work.

3. Allow members to be parts of other groups and classes so that they can improve themselves and bring new skills to the group. This is where the partial loyalty comes in. Throughout the evolution of any group, critiques will change as members learn new things. What wasn't ever a problem before, can suddenly be the most important issue in literature for one person. Hear the new critique and understand that focus changes as we improve.

4. Critique in such a way that you celebrate the positive aspects of everyone's work while being direct about the negative aspects. You will respect each other more, trust each other's opinions, and improve faster.

5. Respect each others goals and priorities. Not everyone wants a Nobel prize. Members of my groups have had dreams of writing stories for Lifetime or NPR. Some people just want to write light stories that make other people happy. Books are around for many reasons, and all of those reasons are valid.

If you manage to get a motivated group together that is honest and direct and willing to push themselves, a writer's group can be a great way to improve your skills.