A friend of mine just had a disheartening experience when she asked several people for constructive criticism on a short story she'd written, and it got me thinking about the concept of criticism. When someone asks for a critique/analysis of their work, so often they just get torn down, ripped to shreds. This wouldn't make anyone comfortable with the idea of putting more work out there! And I wonder if people just don't understand how to be constructive in their criticism. While it is true that, in asking for critique, we as artists are asking to be told what is wrong with our art, what isn't working with it. But that doesn't mean we're giving people carte blanche to tell us how much we suck. Instead, I strongly feel that it is important to make mention of what people do accomplish well, while pointing out areas that need improvement. Instead of "I think your story is boring" say "I really like your idea, but . . ." or "I think your characters are really well-developed, but . . ." etc.
I'm certainly not saying that people should pussyfoot around the issues they see. I'm just saying that it's good to mention the positives along with the negatives for a more balanced opinion.
Anybody else have any thoughts on this one?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
query letter #1
All right everyone, this is the first query letter I've ever done. I'm pretty sure it's crap. But, you have to start somewhere, right? Please do let me know your thoughts on this:
Nor is in trouble.
As a slave for her entire life, Nor is used to doing what she’s told. So when a revolt breaks out in the slave quarters and someone tells her to open the door and run, she does. With the help of a young man who Nor is secretly drawn to, she and the other runaways flee into the desert in a desperate attempt to find freedom.
Throughout their journey, Nor struggles with her desire to return to the only home she’s ever known. Her owner, Myrthe Severe, was the closest thing to family she’d ever had. A small but growing part of Nor relishes her newfound freedom even though she doesn’t know how to deal with it.
Things get more complicated when they plunge into the jungle to put more distance between themselves and the slavers who search the desert for them. The emperor of the jungle believes them to be the jungle deities returned to fleshly form, and holds them captive in his palace while drugging them into doing his bidding. Nor evades the emperor’s manipulation with the aid of Isha, a mysterious woman who she quickly becomes emotionally entangled with.
When the emperor makes a drastic move to keep Nor’s friends under his thumb permanently, Nor must make a choice: Will she obey orders, as she has always done? Or will she stand up for the freedom that she and her newfound family fought so hard to achieve?
A fantasy novel, XXX is complete at 89,000 words. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Nor is in trouble.
As a slave for her entire life, Nor is used to doing what she’s told. So when a revolt breaks out in the slave quarters and someone tells her to open the door and run, she does. With the help of a young man who Nor is secretly drawn to, she and the other runaways flee into the desert in a desperate attempt to find freedom.
Throughout their journey, Nor struggles with her desire to return to the only home she’s ever known. Her owner, Myrthe Severe, was the closest thing to family she’d ever had. A small but growing part of Nor relishes her newfound freedom even though she doesn’t know how to deal with it.
Things get more complicated when they plunge into the jungle to put more distance between themselves and the slavers who search the desert for them. The emperor of the jungle believes them to be the jungle deities returned to fleshly form, and holds them captive in his palace while drugging them into doing his bidding. Nor evades the emperor’s manipulation with the aid of Isha, a mysterious woman who she quickly becomes emotionally entangled with.
When the emperor makes a drastic move to keep Nor’s friends under his thumb permanently, Nor must make a choice: Will she obey orders, as she has always done? Or will she stand up for the freedom that she and her newfound family fought so hard to achieve?
A fantasy novel, XXX is complete at 89,000 words. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Hmm
I feel like I'm always apologizing when I get on here. Sorry it's been so long, sorry I've been so quiet, etc. And I feel like I ought to do it again. But I'm going to skip that and instead go straight to what I want to say.
Every writer has their own process that works for them. For some people, it's all about a serious, in-depth outline that plots out every scene of the book. Some people outline with index cards, one per scene, so it's easy to swap things around. Some people write by the seat of their pants, starting with just a character or scene or bit of dialogue in their head. Some people can only write at their desk, with a particular type of pen and a more particular type of paper, with the radio on so low that it's only a suggestion of noise. Etc.
I am a seat-of-my-pants writer. While I plan to experiment more with outlining, I do tend to just get a snippet of an idea in my head, jot that on paper, and see where it leads me. My story is as much a mystery to me as it is to my readers, the first time around! But. I saw this post on Deadline Dames and just had to share. So, click over there and enjoy!
Also. Soon to appear here: my attempts at a query letter. Yikes!
Every writer has their own process that works for them. For some people, it's all about a serious, in-depth outline that plots out every scene of the book. Some people outline with index cards, one per scene, so it's easy to swap things around. Some people write by the seat of their pants, starting with just a character or scene or bit of dialogue in their head. Some people can only write at their desk, with a particular type of pen and a more particular type of paper, with the radio on so low that it's only a suggestion of noise. Etc.
I am a seat-of-my-pants writer. While I plan to experiment more with outlining, I do tend to just get a snippet of an idea in my head, jot that on paper, and see where it leads me. My story is as much a mystery to me as it is to my readers, the first time around! But. I saw this post on Deadline Dames and just had to share. So, click over there and enjoy!
Also. Soon to appear here: my attempts at a query letter. Yikes!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I'm here
But I'm exhausted. Riding roller coasters is hard work. I'd blog more but the wireless connection where I'm at is spotty. Instead I give you a picture. Doesn't that look like fun?
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