lazy afternoons
Sometimes I want to reread a book for the first time
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I’ve always thought it was an amazing gift for authors to have such control over the written word. So much so that readers forget where they are when reading a book.
I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.
Robert Louis Stevenson
You can wipe your feet on me, twist my motives around all you like, you can dump millstones on my head and drown me in the river, but you can’t get me out of the story. I’m the plot, babe, and don’t ever forget it.
Margaret Atwood, Good Bones
The other side of a bad review…
Hello. My name is Leigh, and I write book reviews.
Please don’t hurt me.
I know reviews can be the best and worst thing to happen to a writer. I’ve been on the other side of a few brutal ones myself. But as a reviewer I try to do two things.
One, I try to find at least one positive thing about everything I read.
Two, I try to be honest.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a great deal about criticism.
I know Tumblr has a younger audience than some other social media platforms. Some of you may be submitting and receiving your first critiques on your creative work. And I thought that getting some perspective from the other side might help.
So, here are a few things you should remember about your first bad review.
1) The reviewer is human.
Even if the reviewer has degrees from every single Ivy League school and speaks fluent Elizabethan English when discussing Shakespeare, they’re human. Remember that. They’re allowed to have preferences, make mistakes, or read things into the text that may or may not be there. If you think they’re in the wrong, you can blow them off. But be careful. You should…
2) Know the difference between constructive and destructive criticism.
Criticism of any kind stings like napalm. Lit napalm. Lit napalm that failed its court mandated anger management classes. This is especially true if you don’t often share your work with other people. But learn to listen to what they’re saying. Destructive critics just want to hate and complain. Constructive critics will try to mention things that needed to be worked on and things that can help you improve.
3) Just finishing a book / short story / podcast / etc means you’re already ahead of the game.
I can’t list for you the number of people I know who have been working on a creative project for years. I know one guy who has been working on the pilot episode of his web series for 5 years. I know a great writer who has been working on her novel for over 20 years. There are scores of people out there who have ‘writer’ on their business cards, but who have never finished a project. Finishing yours proves you’ve got guts.
4) A bad review only effects your work as long as you let it.
The first time I sent a short story out, I got notes back from the editor. The phrase “confusing and weird, needs to be clearer” frustrated me so badly that I stopped writing and submitting anything for 3 months. Who did that hiatus effect? Me. Only me. The editor didn’t know, and certainly didn’t care. My fellow writers and competitors didn’t care. The only person it affected was me, fuming in front of the TV. You can’t focus on where you’re going if your focus is the criticism. As the old Zen parable goes: "The hunter who chases two rabbits, catches neither one.“
5) Every writer you love has received at least one piece of bad press.
F. Scott Fitzgerald had dozens of rejection letters. Hemingway was called 'Tedious and Offensive” by a famous editor. Even J. K. Rowling was sent 12 rejection letters for Harry Potter before finally getting it published. Getting a bad review puts you in excellent and rare company.
This is literally the worst book i’ve ever read..
I’m always amazed at friends who say they try to read at night in bed but always end up falling asleep. I have the opposite problem. If a book is good I can’t go to sleep, and stay up way past my bedtime, hooked on the writing. Is anything better than waking up after a late-night read and diving right back into the plot before you even get out of bed to brush your teeth?
John Waters, Role Models
(via writerintraining-us)
(via writerintraining-us)
some of you haven’t stayed up late to read a 100k+ word fic even though you had to be up early the next day and it shows
THAT FIRST SITE IS EVERY WRITER’S DREAM DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE TRIED WRITING SOMETHING AND THOUGHT GOD DAMN IS THERE A SPECIFIC WORD FOR WHAT I’M USING TWO SENTENCES TO DESCRIBE AND JUST GETTING A BUNCH OF SHIT GOOGLE RESULTS
reminder to myself about the process of drafting & revising:
- first drafts are for making it exist
- second drafts are for making it functional
- third drafts are for making it effective
This is the most important thing I’ve learnt in writing my novel. Have fun the first time but know your first pass isn’t going to be perfect
This advice literally saved my life. I have NEVER gotten as far in a first draft as I have this time around. Some really good stuff to remember guys. You don’t have to show your first draft to anybody. Ever. Let your betas get at your second draft. That will definitely be better than your first. I promise.
dresupi
