Don't defend

It is embarrassing, if not outright humiliating, to get caught defending your work against corrections offered in a critique group.  But, and this is a big but, everybody does it, including the ones who most vociferously object when it is done by some member other than themselves.   

So why don’t we cut each other some slack?  We acknowledge that our work is our baby, and defending it almost irresistible.  But we jump with both feet on the member who succumbs .

Someone forwarded this to me

On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:

1. The best doctors should carry his coffin;
2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered 
along the procession to the cemetery, and
3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin for all to see.

One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain.

Here is what Alexander the Great had to say:

1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, 
even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal
2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that 
material wealth acquired on earth,  stays on earth
3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that 
we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed       

after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is TIME.

TIME is our most precious treasure.  It is LIMITED. 
We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time. 

When we give someone our time, we actually give them a portion of our life 
that we will never take back.  Our time is our life.

May God grant you plenty of TIME and may you have the wisdom 
to give it to others in ways that allow you to LIVE & LOVE in peace.

Followup: Six levels

I guess blog entries are like e-mails.  You should wait 24 hours before posting.  Then, maybe, you will see what you should not write before it is too late.

A Character's Voice

In critique groups, I often ask a member whether he wants the reader to read the character's voice in the same way the author reads it aloud.  A writer, reading his own work, reads narrative and dialogue in the voice he hears as when writes and edits.  How do you convey that sound, that unique way of speaking that is part of the character you are creating and developing?

Four ways:

1.   Sentence structure: requires that the author be skilled and have a degree of mastery of the craft of writing- vocabulary, grammar and imagination.  Also, a sense of patience and dedication to do it right, to be thorough and diligent in producing the words and syntax that will make the character's voice reflected in the mind of the reader.

2.   Word emphasis: almost any word in a sentence can be emphasized, vocally, and emphasizing different words give the sentence different connotations.

Italicize the correct word for the reader to emphasize.

3.   Dialect: it takes effort and consistency to illustrate in writing what a word sounds like the way the character pronounces it.  It is essential, however, if you want the character to be authentic.

4.   Cadence: use punctuation—commas , m-dashes and ellipses—to  match the written dialogue to the stops and starts, hesitations and pauses in the character's speech.

These instructions are probably listed in many books and articles.  I made them up this morning, however, over a cup of tea.

Six Levels of Critique Groups

I have experienced six levels of critique groups

1.     My one official AWC group, with at least seven published authors; fiction; six page limit; open until we recently had 13 members show up.  Critiques are sharp, thorough and sometimes astute.  I am amazed when I review the notes members have made on my copies, how many "good catches" are written that were not spoken in the group.*  Good atmosphere of private room in a public building.

2.     A semi-official AWC group sponsored by a local community college learning center; open genre; three-page limit (frequently bent); open to public (AWC membership not required).  Two faculty members serve as authorities in disputes.  They are almost always correct.  Private room in learning center provides a good atmosphere.  Most critiques are slicingly accurate, on the money, but some are rote repeats of the type of comments you hear frequently and seem appropriate: tighten up, repeated words, speech characteristics (I don't think he would talk like that, or use that kind of word).

The multiple genre are distracting: poetry, narratives written for children, illustrated books, highly specialized non-fiction.

3.     An offshoot of the Learning Center (community college) group; meets in a retail business; same characteristics as above (same people, too) except no page limit.

4.     A private group meets weekly in a Starbucks location; noise of equipment is distracting.

5.     AWC Online group- new for me, I am formulating opinions.  This group deserves a post unto itself, which is forthcoming.

6.     My first group experience was with a fiction group that met monthly in a member's home.  Only two members read- from material distributed in advance.  This was a longstanding, small group of tightly connected members.  By mutual consent, we decided that I should join a group that offered more opportunities to give and get criticism, a decision that's has proved to be insightful and correct.

One group member friend recommended that I limit myself to no more than three groups, to which I complied.  More groups help move through a long novel quicker, but also makes it harder for the group members to comprehend the big picture of your book.

My only regret about my experience with critiquing and groups, is that there is no group close to where I live.  I have thought of trying to start one, but don't feel I have the expertise to be the leader/facilitator.

*True of all groups.

Excerptination (really, this time)

Given in my previous post, the definition of this made-up word is- "the stress on both the author and the critiquer caused by the limitation of the critiquer's not having readily accessible knowledge of the plot, setting and character development meticulously woven by the author throughout the entire work."

Every person who has been a member of a writing critique group has experienced the type of stress described in this definition.  However, we also know that not every group member receiving a critique who reverts to the excuse that "that's covered elsewhere in the book", has meticulously woven subtle, or overt, development of plot, setting and character throughout the book.  But for those who have, it is frustrating when a group member questions the way a character talks, or says he doesn't understand an event which the author has crafted to happen at exactly that time because he has skillfully prepared the reader to understand and react the way he wants him to.

An editor will tell you that a chapter should stand on its own, so that the agent or publisher will not be left with a feeling of disjointedness.  But a well thought out, developed strategy to set up a scene or character cannot be re-explained in the scene, nor would it be desirable to do so.

So, is the "elsewhere in the book" a lame excuse, or is it a legitimate answer, which holds no hope of satisfying the critiquer?  The answer is both.  Embrace the paradox.  Persevere.   Respect each other.  Move forward.

Okay. I cheated.

I have lured the members of my AWC Online critique group to my blog with a reference to my June 9 post:

A Writer's Rollercoaster
Thoughts on joining AWC Fiction 1 Online Critique Group:

To be continued . . .

However, that subject, in itself, is a blog topic of the series on critique groups and has its own place in the priorities of subjects (entries, posts).  I can't say when, but I think it will be near the beginning.

Intro to Excerptination

Having committed to blog about writing, and apparently having some interested followers, I now face the task of seriously organizing my ideas and establishing a priority for addressing them.

Central to my motivation to share this info are multitudinous feelings and observations about critique groups.  Therefore critiquing moves to the forefront of the priorities.  That's progress, but, so far twenty-five topics are on the list to discuss about critiquing.  So, the prioritization starts all over again.

Complicating things (adding pressure to my endeavor) is a note that my (professional) editor is interested in following and analyzing what I have to say about critique groups, since she says she heard such mixed messages from other authors.  Great.  I'll just have to think of it as free services.

Prepare yourself, Laura, for more mixed messages.

The topic Excerptination (cute word, huh?) will be the first I tackle .  The definition of this made-up word is- "the stress on both the author and the critiquer caused by the limitation of the critiquer's not having readily accessible knowledge of the plot, setting and character development meticulously woven by the author throughout the entire work."  The next blog entry will begin to address this phenomenon.

Ups and Downs of Writing

I told Dawn the other day that writing is like a roller coaster.  I referred primarily to my novel, which I have edited and revised through critique groups for over a year.   I have to share my perception of this phenomenon, but, in the blog, will have to post in segments. Otherwise it would be too long for blog followers to read.

The rollercoaster ups and downs have to do with how I feel about the endeavor and processes.  Frequently, I am convinced the quality that would satisfy me is unattainable.  The complexity of my novel's subject keeps the completion dangling out of reach, ahead of me, advancing forward as fast as, or faster, than my progress.

Then on other days, a chapter or segment's development suffuses me with confidence that not only is completion possible, but, if accomplished, will yield a superior product.

I don't have to tell you which is the up, or down.  The alternation lends confidence that what goes up will come down, and vice versa.

Tommorow: effects of critique groups.

A Writer's Rollercoaster

Thoughts on joining AWC Fiction 1 Online Critique Group:

To be continued . . .