Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dianne Baines on March 5, 2012 at 12:11am

Hey Sara! I have been meaning to reply to your query regarding a reading exchange for a few days now-- sorry it took me so long to get round to it. I think it is a great idea with a lot of merit. Sure it takes time but then anything worth doing does. In fact I believe that this is so important that it deserves a group of its own. Sure not everyone will be compatible with the others writing techniques and if that is the case I think the person should be honest and say so. There are a lot of ladies out there who for whatever reason find writing a lonely and sometimes daunting business. One of the good things to come of the internet is the ability to communicate worldwide almost instantaneously. I say lets take full advantage of this to critique, mentor,encourage, and just generally be a friend to our sisters out there. 

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on March 6, 2012 at 8:04am

Dear Dianne,

I would love to. Do you know how to start another group? If nobody else is interested here. . .

Sara

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on March 10, 2012 at 9:08am

Might be you and me from here, Dianne. I think we can start another group for this. Are you writing genre or literary? Let me know.

Permalink Reply by LeTeisha Newton on July 18, 2012 at 3:48pm

I seem to be very late to this discussion but I would be interested in this exchange. Time is of the essesnce, yes, but having others critique work is a help, not a hinderance :)

Permalink Reply by Brook Blander on July 18, 2012 at 5:47pm

I'd be interested in doing a reading exchange, but I wonder, at what point in the writing process does everyone share with others? Im still in draft one, unedited and basically naked...in a reading exchange is that that taken in account? Just curious. 

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on July 19, 2012 at 1:04am

Hmm. I think reading exchanges are terrific but if I were in a naked draft stage, I would approach them carefully. In fact, if I were teaching writing, I think I would want to teach not just about giving but about getting a critique, things like:

1) know your critiquer. As soon as possible, get a sense for who they are, what they know, what they like. Not just in writing--you may not get a good read for erotica from a literary novelist, but you might also get a bad one from somebody uptight about sex (pun intended.) You may hand your story about leaving an abusive relationship to someone who did that long ago and can't stand to think about it again, or to someone who remembers the process with compassion and is thrilled to see it documented. You may hand your fresh baby over to someone who needs to prove that they know language, and thus will pick apart your word choices when what you need to fix is character arc, or to someone who can sinply tell you when they are enthralled and when they are confused and what they remember from before they got confused, or to someone who can pinpoint the exact weakness of your story structure, and suddenly, with either of the latter two, enlightenment dawns and you know what to do next.

It can take time to figure out which critiquer is strong in which sense and where are they weak--and we are all some of both. Its hard to do this whether the person critiquing is online or in person, though in person, you can get a better sense of each other both as reader and writer. I have never physically met one of my very best ever critiquers, who I found through this website, but I also had quite a few who, though kind and well-intentioned, were not right for me, and I know that I have not been right for some I have critiqued.

Even in my weekly physical critique group that has met now for two-three years, there can still be times we have to untangle threads, calmly sit and say, I need something else from you. I ragged about subtext on one of my fellow writers until she was ready to quit, then apologized up the yahoo for pushing her too hard, then watched her come in two weeks later with a brilliant opening scene that symbolically laid out the subtext for her entire novel, writing on a whole different level from before. Now we both know that a) she will get furious with my notes sometimes so b) I should back off and c) when she gets really mad at me, it means she needs to go chew on my note until it becomes something inside her because d) I'm often pushing her the right way but e) I don't know everything and anyway, it's not my genre.

Especially when something's raw and new, I'd suggest being a little armored. Put it out there, but be prepared to negate the feedback you are getting if it shuts you down. The worst kind of critiquing is that which shuts us down, and yet, the problem with the critique process is that what shuts me down might make you fly. Or vice versa.

Which is why, so far, I am afraid to teach. Because the first rule of writing is to keep doing it no matter what. Do not stop. Do not get disheartened. Make sure to collect 200 every time you pass go. Especially make sure you have plenty of get out of jail passes beside you at all times.

Sara

Permalink Reply by Brook Blander on July 19, 2012 at 6:03am

Thanks Sara for your response. I agree with so much of what you have written here.With my current novel, I have been very "keep it to myself" until recently when I shared it with two readers that are personal people in my life just to get a feel for it what they thought about it. I don't feel Im ready to share it with others outside of that intimate circle as I know that I myself haven't even went back to reread it (discipline to keep moving forward with the story). Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate its confirmation. 

B

Permalink Reply by sara selznick on July 19, 2012 at 9:50am

You're welcome, Nya. we'll be here when you're ready. For now, do keep on chugging through. I think the difference between success as a writer and failure is that discpline to keep on going.
Sara