I started to write responses in the comment section about a couple of things that were brought up last week, but as usual my bend toward using too many words took over and it seemed better addressed here. Sarah asked how my editor liked the ending to my WIP, which I’d mentioned before as being something I struggled with. My original proposal described an ending that went on with more action after the blackest of the black moments. Executing that just didn’t work. It felt anti-climactic to introduce a second black moment that, frankly, didn’t feel as exciting as the one I chose to use.
On the other hand, by not following through with that original idea, I wondered if I’d cut it off too soon after the black moment. It felt rushed. I wanted to offer closure, but tying everything up along with another challenge to the happy ending only seemed to drag out the pages.
My editor agreed that avoiding the longer version was probably best since the climax as written works. But she wanted a little more closure and I knew immediately she was right. We talked about specifics, and so, following her suggestion, I plan to add one new scene that’ll give the reader a glimpse into something that’s currently not there: a reunion with the heroine and her adoptive father. He’s someone who wasn’t given much page-space but who’s important to my heroine, so it’ll also enhance the depth of both characters. I’m excited about writing it, which is the first good sign of writing anything.
But for now I’m still working on the rest of the edits. At the moment I’m still tightening those initial chapters, switching the order of a couple of scenes and omitting a scene or two as well.
The other area that was mentioned in the comment section last week was about critiques (specifically from contests), since I’m talking so much about the editing process. The scenario Pamela mentioned was having two of three judges give great encouragement and feedback, and a third being less than helpful. I just had to sit back and nod as I was reading that. I’ve been there! Wouldn’t you just love to be able to identify that one-third of the population with a totally different perspective? Maybe try to figure them out?
Most contest judges take the job very seriously. People normally agree to judge because they love the process of writing and want to share their opinions and/or experience with other writers. Another benefit to judging is that it can teach the judges, too, about what works and what doesn’t. That’s been true for me. Having to define for someone else what doesn’t work has helped me figure out many things that apply to my own writing.
To give harsh feedback or offer comments that show a lack of care for the process are completely out of sync with what contests and critiquing are all about. That’s when you, the creator of the work, maintain ownership of the piece and take whatever help you can from such an edit and disregard the rest.
If something the judge questions is actually in the manuscript and she just missed it, it could be she hurried through the reading. But I have to admit I’ve had first readers or critique partners question things on my pages. Even if I can prove it’s there, I usually take a second look anyway, trying to figure out why some things are easily missed. Sometimes it’s as subtle as giving information at the end of a paragraph, when the reader’s eye is already looking toward the next paragraph. That might sound silly, but on a technical basis this seems to be a common spot where facts are missed. Sometimes a fix is as easy as putting something in its own paragraph, for emphasis, just to make sure the scanner-type reader doesn’t miss something.
Other things to look at, and I do this in editing all the time, is to make sure there isn’t too much going on at once. This is important for clarity, but it’s also important to remember readers need a breather too, and can’t absorb too much at once.
Or, as I said, it could be the judge just wasn’t reading carefully enough. This can happen with contests (especially if they’re short on judges!) but I’m happy to say I’ve never had it happen with professional editors. They’ve been hired to be thorough, and most editors love what they do so they do it well.
Harsh comments are never helpful. Years ago I had a brand new member of a critique group write on the manuscript I’d offered for review that my heroine was so stupid she just wanted to shake her. Since I wasn’t going for “stupid” I called the critiquer on the phone the next day and explained that such comments, specifically such derogatory words, really should be avoided—especially if she were to give such a critique to a newer writer. Her response was that she assumed anyone who’s had anything published must have a tough enough skin to take criticism. While I was glad she didn’t plan to use hurtful language to a newbie, I assured her no matter how many times a person is published, attacks on our writing feel personal. Creating a story is a personal thing.
Do I think she was intentionally trying to hurt me? No. She was just thoughtless. She didn’t realize that since writing is such an individual job our characters feel like parts of us. To call them stupid is to call us stupid. She didn’t see it that way; she was a professional woman who was just diving in to writing and felt you could separate the product from the producer.
The gist of Lincoln’s old saying is true: You can’t please all of the people all of the time…
So if you’re published or unpublished, whenever we open ourselves up for a look inside, sometimes others will be in sync, and sometimes they won’t. It’s completely unpredictable. Taste is so subjective and can be affected by everything from the readers’ mood to their own personality, past history, or what’s going on in their lives at the time.
Critiques are still worth it, though. Even the harshest critique might hold a little gem of truth, and once we get past all the hurt feelings we might learn something. That’s happened to me, but it’s usually after a little time has gone by after receiving the critique.
Editors are rarely harsh, at least the ones I’ve worked with and heard about. I’d say some are more thorough than others, but for the most part they really do love to come alongside an author to make the final product the best it can be. Don’t forget: their job is enhanced by every book they work on that’s successful, so they have a vested interest in how well a book can do.
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