The stack of blank paper is yelling. Write ME! If that M. Clifford guy can do it, so can you!
What is this? Let's check the cover art. Advice on writing. Projects I'm working on and what's to come, updates, and all that jazz. Practices, like my proc...
When I first started writing novels, I kept the work to myself until I felt it was ready. And then I enjoyed watching my wife's reaction as she read the finished chapters. What a privilege for her! Sometimes I wouldn't let her read any of it until the entire book was complete!
Oh, sweet arrogance.
And then, during what would become the *real* editing phase, she would offer reasonable suggestions and corrections. Oftentimes this was met with resistance because, well, the book was complete.
I don't want to CHANGE things! I'm a genius! You should be impressed. Or silent!! Why... this is a work of ART! Only a monster would go up to Picasso and say, "Hey, Pablo, how's about ya pick up the paintbrush and round out the fourth cube-ish lady in the foreground"... You're not a monster, are you? Or maybe, by the sound of things, you are!
Us authors are "special".
Ultimately, in the process of revising my work, I discovered that I not only needed her critique but depended on it. My stories would have suffered without a set of discerning eyes that always sought to support and understand my writing in broader terms. I count on her to evaluate my work and she doesn't exactly hold back her criticisms. I enjoy praise as well, don't get me wrong, but I'd always rather get the story right.
This morning, while I was writing in the kitchen and my wife was wrapping Christmas presents in the living room, I interrupted her to get a second opinion on a tricky line of dialogue filled with implications and perplexity. And it worked out better than I had imagined.
See... I've been writing for so long, I know by now that interrupting her to discuss an issue will not only help me to find a solution but reveal other things I hadn't considered. This especially happens when I'm attempting to narrate an unwritten scene and she gets that look in her eyes. The same one I used to get when she'd tell me, oh-so-gently, to pull over and ask for directions. The look that told me I was off track, and if I didn't steer my scenes in the right direction it wasn't going to make sense to my readers.
It's the author's curse, really.
You have already thought hard about what you're currently writing, so you have the advantage of seeing it all clearly. You've most likely lived through the scene in your head hundreds of times, which is fabulous. But just because you are able to envision everything that is taking place in your character's mind, in the setting, how a line of dialogue is meant to be interpreted, it doesn't mean it translates well on the page. And if your reader doesn't get what you're trying to say, you've failed.
Welcome back to THE LETDOWN! Keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times. Please enjoy your ride and the rest of your stay at DNF World!
A lot of times, it doesn't matter how readers interpret this or that. And we definitely want to give them a chance to fill in the blanks with their own imagination. But the bedrock of good storytelling is a blend of consistency and clarity. Involving others in your work will help you to see where your story is lacking before it reaches your audience.
And I don't mean BETA readers. We'll devote an entire post to BETA readers. I think it's best to save them until the book is complete and ready to publish on Wattpad. Other writers use Wattpad for first drafts, and that's okay too. This is def a first draft.
Thankfully I have a built-in critique partner through marriage! Over the years, she has given me so much advice. Entire characters would have never been imagined were it not for her input. Through her help, just today, I recognized that by adding one additional scene - really a stopping point between scenes - and with very few words - I could significantly increase the impact of the "Ah HA!" moment of one mystery that leads to the greater resolution of the book.
And I've been thinking excitedly about this new addition ever since our talk! That would not have happened if I just kept quiet at the kitchen table and let her continue to wrap presents. But we walked through a scene, and the story will forever be better for making that choice.
Now, whether or not she enjoys being interrupted is another question. Problem is, if you're married to me, you're going to be interrupted often. Because as soon as I'm done talking, another version of me is on deck, ready with something else to say. All of us Mikes like to talk.
Okaybyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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