Crits advice

[Cory Swanson]

Now that I have my requisite number of posts and am of the age of majority here, I am thinking of putting something up on the crits board to get some help with my writing.

What should I post? It seems like most folks put up the introduction of a longer work. I could do that or put up an excerpt from the middle of something that I am having trouble with.

What have you found to be the most helpful? When you read these, what do you like to see?

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

I like to see an opening of something.

Middle bits can be confusing and out of context. You'll usually learn plenty of tips from critiques of your opening that you can apply to the later bits.

 

[Phyrebrat]

It depends on the kind of advice you're after. An opening will get you pointers on how the opening grasps the reader, but really any part of the story that you want advice on is ripe for crit. You may have a question on credibility, or character voice, or grammar, or, or, or... It all depends. Usually if you are making errors, they will be repeated no matter what section you put up.

Personally (and this is just me) I'd advice against sticking up a prologue because that's possibly the least important part of your story and will probably (possibly?) end up being cut out in the final draft. I find it hard to crit over say 500 words as a crit takes a long time; a few read-throughs, notes, and writing up, but you can post up to 1500 words.

Whatever you decide, if you are looking for specific advice or observations, ask for them.

pH

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Just keep it short! You'll get more detailled - and more in quantity - crits. Lots of people moan at the 1500 word limit - I've found 3-500 tells me all I need.

If you post a middle section just tell us the context and let us get on with critting the writing.

 

[MemoryTale]

I tend to use the crit section for when I think there's an issue with a particular aspect of writing, such as descriptions, or if I'm worried something isn't working. I agree with Jo about context, especially if you use your own terminology.

 

[Dan Jones]

There are numerous things you can get out of crits, and the length of the extract will colour what you get in return. But really, the best way you'll know is by putting something up.

Three bits of advice:

a) Don't get discouraged! Often you'll get pieces back with red pen all over the show, but the damage often isn't as bad as it first appears.

b) Be completely open-minded. The people on here are really experienced and are full of good wishes and encouragement (no matter how much they might say they want to throw the book across the room ). So when they say something critical, don't take it personally; theyv;e probably been there and been through it themselves.

c) It's no-one else's work but yours. So whatever advice / feedback you get from these boards, ultimately it's your decision as to what you do and don't take forward into your next draft / work. You'll gradually get a feel for whose experience and advice works for you.

Good luck!

 

[J Riff]

And good luck sorting out the contrary advice. )

 

[mosaix]

Jo's right - keep it short. Post something that you're having a problem with - beginning, middle or end. Let us know what you want advice on. Chronners are a valuable resource - don't waste them.

And please edit it properly so it's easy on the eye.

 

[zmunkz]

a) Don't get discouraged! Often you'll get pieces back with red pen all over the show, but the damage often isn't as bad as it first appears.

^This.

Also have a game plan / goals going in for how you plan to handle and use the feedback.

What I mean is this: The first time I started workshopping my own work, I was simultaneously trying to finish the book while critters were looking at the opening chapters. I quickly got all tripped up doing repeated revisions on those early chapters every time feedback came in, and it totally halted my overall progress. It would have been smarter for me to put all the feedback to the side while I finished my book, then assembled it all together and processed it at once.

Sounds like you might be looking for more of a checkpoint for your overall writing, but whatever the case, just make sure you have a goal so you don't become overwhelmed.

 

[Cory Swanson]

It's funny. My brother, who wrote a book, told me how hard it would be to hear criticism about your baby. I think my mom is pulling her punches so that she doesn't hurt my feelings as well.

But I'm a musician. I am used to working really hard at something and then having a teacher tear it apart. I am used to face to face criticism and a lot of it being harsh.

So I really appreciate the honesty I've encountered so far. I also subscribe to the whole Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours theory. I never expected my first effort to be great, just a stepping stone to where I want to get to. I may not even attempt to publish until I am on future books. At this point, things are looking pretty dismal for book one. Book two is already eons past it.

 

[zmunkz]

I never expected my first effort to be great, just a stepping stone to where I want to get to.

That is the golden mentality right there.

There are some people who've always wanted to write that one great book thats been brewing in the back of their minds for twenty years. Nothing wrong with that. However, when a project is as personal as that, harsh feedback can be very discouraging.

I think a more constructive approach is to think of writing like a musical instrument, since you mentioned music. The goal shouldn't be to play one particular song, it should be to learn the instrument itself, so you can play many songs... and as with music, doing lots of scales and making many mistakes paves the way forward.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I find the most helpful crits are those with tips or ideas and that are specific. Least helpful and a waste of time is a shopping list of faults.

In terms of taking crits I find it most useful to read them but not to react for a time. There's been crits I've rejected, gone home and reread things and months later decided they were right.

Also I find when people are commenting on something they may not understand something so they may give the wrong reason for what is the problem but they have highlighted there is one.