American Dirt: Writers Must Listen

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Writers Must Listen

Go on, use those things on the side of your head.

Writers have an interesting mindset: when somebody tells us a part of our work is wrong (or bad, or isn't working, or or or or), we assume this person is referring to the entire work. Whether it be a blog post, ad copy, a novel, or whatever- we begin to think about sabotaging that work, grinding it up, shredding it into tiny pieces and throwing those bits out of a speeding vehicle careening across a tall bridge.

Whoa tiger, or should I say Jaguar? At least that’s still a car.

I had this experience just yesterday. My editor had gone over a short story I'm preparing for release. There were a couple of things that he noted needing my attention. Y'know, to make it better. My immediate- if internal- thought was to feed this story to the fish. No, literally. I wanted to print it out, tear it into tiny pieces, make them into spitballs, go to the lake, and fish with them.

I don't even like fishing.

What's my point? Well number one, I did NOT go fishing yesterday. I slowed my brain down and listened to my editor's actual words. Which were (slightly abridged):

"I loved the story. You have a tendency to repeat certain words over and over again in the same paragraph. I put in hyphens when you used commas incorrectly. Your main character's voice got weird for a moment. I loved (a certain part of the story). Don't use the same word over and over again. Did I mention I love how you have an observation about life, and a commanding morale to the story?"

If you're a writer, are you thinking that maybe I should set fire to this story? I did, but when I forced myself to listen, I realized how many times he told me this story is amazing, but parts needed extra work.

As writers, we have a tendency to be tellers. We tell stories. We tell facts, observations, and tidbits that "normal" people would never think to put on paper. That's important. It's also important that we listen. If we forget this crucial element, we slide into one of two trains of thought:

"I am the best writer in the world and don't need any help," OR

"I am the worst writer and should burn every piece of paper along with every computer so I'm not tempted to try this again."

I've been on both trains, and believe me, neither thought is correct. Listen to critiques with an open mind. Most people are only trying to help your work get better. Also, don't only hear the negative components. Hear the compliments, and let those get you through the rewrites. You're a good writer…allow yourself to grow regardless of which train you jump onboard.

James Neal is the author of three stories:

Of Blood and Blade; a dark fantasy novel on Amazon

Paints the Invisible Eye; a dark fantasy novella on Amazon &

Divine Right (linked to Smashwords); a free fantasy short story available on Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and other digital bookstores.