Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Things All We Writers Know

A while back, I sent one of my co-workers a link to my pre-story for STARWIND, because we'd been chatting about books and stuff and she thought it sounded interesting.  She absolutely loved it, which was both awesome and kind of a relief, since showing my work to someone new is always nerve-wracking.  Yesterday, I sent her the link to STARWIND's first chapter.  While she hasn't had time to read it yet, the look on her face when she got it made my entire damn day.

It made me think, this is something I hope all writers know - what it's like to give a new story to someone who loves our stuff.  It's rewarding like nothing else, and makes a lot of the toil and trouble worth it.  And that got me to thinking, what are some other things all we writers know?

We all know what it's like to get rejected.  I'm not one for absolute truths, but I'm certain there's not a single writer out there who's never known rejection.  Unless they've never tried submitting their work, which seems a little like cheating.  :P

To go with that, I think we all know how personal rejection can feel.  It's never meant to be personal, but damn if it's not a kick in the teeth every time.  I know none of the agents I've submitted to actually hate me, but I've had moments where you'd have trouble convincing me of that.  >_<  Sometimes I can shrug it off, but sometimes I see the name of an agent I really wanted to work with show up in my inbox, and it's never been good news.

We all know what it's like to be unable to recall an idea we had.  And it's always a really good idea, sometimes one of those things you think of right as you're trying to go to sleep, and damn it that could have been an entire book right there. . . .  I've crawled out of bed to write things down before, and I'm sure I will again.

I hope we all know what it's like to reread our work and recognize that we absolutely nailed a scene, or a moment, or an emotion, or (if we're really good) an entire chapter.  I've had that a few times while editing STARWIND, and it makes me smile.  No matter how many things I cross out and scribble over with changes, it's always good to read something and think, no, I got this right the first time.

And to go with that, I think most if not all of us know what it's like to read our own notes and wonder what the hell we were talking about.  I've had times where I can't read what I wrote because I crossed it out three times.  Or when I just write "fix this", because I can tell it needs something more than just a few different words.  I need to switch that to "fix this with _____" and fill in the blank with something useful.

I'm dead certain that we all know what it's like to try to find someone who wants to read our work.  I worry about this because the stuff I'm working on is getting progressively weirder and I never know if what I'm writing will be to anyone's tastes, let alone a beta-reader.  I am so grateful to have four people who've already volunteered to read STARWIND.  ^_^

Speaking of which: I'm delaying the STARWIND beta read until September or October, after I get back from the writing workshop/cruise.  I didn't feel right giving my betas a deadline, and hopefully I'll learn some things at the workshop to make the book even better.

So, as always, your turn.  What are the things you think all we writers know?

9 comments:

  1. All writers have a love affair with our own words. We think, "Damn, I nailed that line." Or "Whoa, that was an awesome description." But we doubt the whole of our work. We look at the premise, or the plot, or the marketability, and we have this horrible, heartsick feeling that no one will be interested, no matter how many clever lines we've nailed. This is the core of the Insecure Writer Syndrome!

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    1. This is very, very true. And no matter how good we think we've done with one thing, there's always something we think we're absolutely horrible at. Sucks, kind of a lot.

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  2. Not just rejection - we all know what it's like to have someone trash our work.

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    1. True. I think I've only had that happen once, back in high school with what was admittedly not my best work. But I still wanted to punch the guy for being an ass about it.

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  3. Cherish and hold on to her reactions because it's exactly those rare gems which make the rest of the trash worth it.

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    1. I hear you. Her reactions give me hope, but on the other hand, she's a reader, not a writer, and I worry the critique from fellow writers will be more harsh.

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  4. I have to wait until Sept???

    That's pretty cool you get to see the look on your friend's face. I aspire to someday have local fans I actually know.

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    1. Yes. Sorry. >_< But hopefully the book will be better for it.

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  5. Sometimes I look at edit suggestions I write in the margins and think, "Why'd I write that? This scene is TOTALLY fine!" Or sometimes, I'll get an idea and will just know that it's something special. I hope you've come back from your cruise inspired and ready to rock out on those revisions:)

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