WIP: Damning with Faint Praise

[cathschaffstump]

Reading between the lines of well-couched and friendly critique, I find that even though my readers are being polite, I have clear messages about WIP from 3 readers:

1. The braid isn't working. It's choppy and hard to follow. You only put up with it if you're vested in the story.

Solution: Time to ditch the braid. Artistically noble, indeed, but probably not what a non-published novelist should try to do with the first book of a series.

2. We like Janetta so much, we don't understand why it's a bad thing that Pettigrew is out. Now there's a problem I didn't see coming, but should have!

Solution: Someone suggested we see Pettigrew and Hero before they're out. Actually, Hero *isn't* as nice as Janetta. This one requires some thought.

3. The description is lean. Everyone keeps saying this isn't a problem, but everyone keeps mentioning it, which makes me think that it is an issue.

Solution: Ponder, read, see if it is an issue. I'm pretty sure it is.

4. We like Grant and Janetta, we don't know the Sudanese as well.

Solution: Get crackin' on the characterization!

***

Overall, it looks like I have the problem many of my students have--I can see what's in my head, but my readers can't, and I need to get more of that onto the page than I currently have.

New strategy: write one story at a time, see what you get. See if it's appropriate to mix things up or not. After you've written the stories, see if it's appropriate to put them together or not right away.

Re-envision what you're doing. After you've laid the pipe of the rough draft, beef up that imagery. You can do that, especially if you go in purposefully to do it.

***

*sigh* I was rather hoping for some positive reinforcement to keep me going right now, but instead, I got the usual writer problem-solving stuff. It is *just* like writing your thesis after all.

Okay. Time for a little writing vakay. About a week. Do some sewing, girl. That always gets your subconscious moving in the right direction.

Also, get that academic paper done for Mr. Iwahara while you're on vacation.

Foo. Today, I get to be the mopey writer. We shall soon recover, once we've got a solution.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[dedbutdrmng.livejournal.com]

"3. The description is lean. Everyone keeps saying this isn't a problem, but everyone keeps mentioning it, which makes me think that it is an issue."

I had this problem pointed out by my editor. Also, there were a couple of bits I snuck in that were to bulk out and I thought I might sneak past her as more of the 'general weirdness'. They were duly picked up and pointed out to me as being a bit 'tacked on'. I guess that's why she's an editor.

Turns out I need a whole new sub plot. I may weep.

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

see/ this is right why i am so scared to do this. someoen asks me what do yo uthink of this and then i say right what comes up in my head, and i thought halfof what i thought was partl ybecause i'd seen jsut a snippet of the story. i was thinking if we see the whoel product you'll have foudn a way to have us along o nthe journey and solve the whole puzzle in the end whic his how some of those braided stories work. and i'll take back my tolkien words. that definitl ysoudnedl iek i know how to write this stuff. i stil think it's bloody brave yo utried it. i had an idea in my had for a series that hada past-and-presence plot and the mer realization taht it had several threads wsa enoug hto have me flee.
argh. adn i hate thos angst cycle where iread somethign liek this nad startto feel guilty adn i know ican't say that out lodu because itmight make the other one feel sorry and...agh.

[cathschaffstump.livejournal.com]

If one reader says something, you cock your head and go hmmm, I wonder.

If all of your readers so far say something, you see a trend and put your analytic brain to it.

An author who hasn't sold a book and doesn't have an editor relies on readers to profess honest opinions about what they read, regardless as to whether it's what they want to hear or not, because they must know if a story works.

If a writer is complimented, and a story doesn't really work, there's not much point in having anyone look at it, because publishers, editors, and agents will tell you the truth by rejecting it.

So, in short, feeling bad is about wanting it to be good and realizing it isn't there yet, because I've triangulated my sources of information. You did absolutely nothing to make me feel bad. You were kind enough to give me an honest opinion of the story, and others coraborated what you saw.

And you all said nice things too. I zeroed in on the flaws because they need fixing, I'm tired, and I was hoping it was better than it was.

So, if you're reading for people who take this personally, stop reading for them. I'd be pleased if you'd keep reading for me.

Catherine

[erised1810.livejournal.com]

oh yes please. i wantto see this become what it will become. it jsut felt kidn a odd and heavy at once. and iwas sort of stunend to that your original idea didn't feel good. oh well.