Saturday's Writing Quotation Examination

I think the first duty of all art, including fiction of any kind, is to entertain. That is to say, to hold interest. No matter how worthy the message of something, if it's dull, you're just not communicating.

Poul Anderson

I think as novelists, we consider ourselves artists and many claim to be literary writers. Many write poetic lines or use big words in the hopes of sounding brilliant, winning a prize or acclaim. However, if the reader spends more time with their dictionary or on Google or if the reader needs to re-read passages over and over, they aren't really developing attachments to character or plot. Will your story have the same affect if the reader believes you're trying to sound smarter than they are?

 

Writing Feedback Summary

So, what is good feedback? 

While gushing is nice to receive once and awhile, if you're asked to give feedback and all you're giving is praise, you're not being helpful.

Praise then raise. Tell the writer what you liked about the piece then raise the bar a bit higher. Be specific. Cut and paste examples.

Here are some things I like to receive as criticism:

• How are the opening 3-5 sentences?
• How is the dialogue?
• Mechanics – Grammar, spelling and punctuation
• Are the characters real to you or cookie-cutter?
• Are there problems with my time line or plot?

Here's what you should not write:

• Don't attack the writer! Writing is art. Writing is free speech. People can write about what they want * and if you don't like to read it, that's your right. I believe the concentration camps of WWII existed but not everyone does. That doesn't make the writer a Nazi. They may write about homosexuality, that doesn't make the writer gay. NO NAME CALLING ALLOWED!
• Don't lie to the writer. If the writing is really bad, don't tell them that it's good. Be nice about it. Suggest they take a course on grammar or buy writing books. Explain a writing rule to them.

*The only exception I may make to the rule above (and as of yet, I've never come across this) is if a writer frequently (over many poems or stories) promotes terrorist ideologies, pedophilia, or violent hatred towards a person or group of people (because of religion, color, gender, or race), or if I feel he's crying out for help (suicide). I don't know what I'd do in that situation but I may ask them to get help. What would you do?

Here's a good quote from Toxic Feedback by Joni B Cole: 

Picture source: here

Writing Feedback - taking critcism

Today I want to discuss bad criticism. We've all received it... well, if you've ever had a group read your work. Even highly popular authors will receive bad reviews on their books.

For instance, one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth George, received these reviews on her latest best-selling book - Careless in Red (Amazon Reviews):

1) 600 pages! Elizabeth George is not Tolstoy. She desperately needs an editor with a CTL-x button.

2) Like a lot of people, I eagerly awaited George's latest creation but this book is so b-o-r-i-n-g! The plot goes on and on, with many superfluous characters, not many of them likable, so by the time one is halfway through the book one has resorted to skimming. Who cares about Dellen? or Ben? or Santo? or Madlyn, etc. etc. Daidre was interesting. Her friend whose name I have already erased from my memory was not. I couldn't care less about most of the characters, they ALL deserved to fall off cliffs as far as I was concerned.

Here's two examples of bad critiques I've received:

1) The subject of the story is a little dark for me. While no babe in the woods, I have a difficult time with murder and cold-blooded response to anything. Your writing is, of course, brilliant, but I didn't like your character. Hard to reach out to someone, or identify with another who is in the act of murder, regardless of the reason for it. I loath abusive people, whether they are male or female, and the act of depravity that drives people to this level of emotional response is beyond my ability to comprehend. Perhaps as the story unfolds, I will warm up and understand better, but right now, I'm not sure if I would continue.

2) Unfortunately, I do not believe I will be able to offer anything really constructive to you. As for the fact is is formatted as a transcript.
Though very sparse and at times difficult to read as there is little to picture, the dialogue is both
solid and believable. Angie is more like the typical "Stupid American" who is blissfully ignorant to the world outside her own.   (...)
Ordinarily, I would like to know more about where this will lead to, but I will not be able to even
struggle through the format. Sorry I could not be more helpful . . .

So, when you receive criticism like this, what do you do? Go to your local gun shop? NO! Don't do that.

Instead, count to ten and calm down. Along with those two brutal reviews, I received many more encouraging ones. Ask yourself, what do the majority think?

There are reasons people give bad feedback:

1) Perhaps they feel they need to be harsh because that's what you're expecting.

2) Perhaps they're having a bad day.

3) Perhaps they're jealous.

4) Or, perhaps what you wrote is bad.

This may come as a surprise to some, I never started out as a good writer. Most of my first novels I destroyed because I thought they were rubbish. But, I improved because I took the cricism to heart and tried harder.

I also think all writers need bad feedback. It's vital. Here are my reasons:
1) If all you've ever receieved is pats on the back, you won't be ready for the publishing world where rejection and criticism is handed out by the truckloads.
2) Without bad feedback once in a while, you may never believe you need to keep improving your craft.

SO tell me, I spilled my guts, tell me what types of criticism you've received over the years?

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Read a wonderful post today from Women of Mystery about how to find overused words in your manuscript: Use Wordle.

Helpful Writing Feedback

 Today, I'm going to discuss feedback again -  helpful and honest feedback.

Here are some examples of good feedback:

I felt a bit lost in the first four paragraphs because I can’t tell the killer is in a car, can’t figure out if he actually just killed someone, and don’t get much visual on Lorna. Is she his ‘kindred spirit’? I have absolutely no idea, and while the vagueness might stir me to read on later in the story, opening so ambiguously, without grounding me in a real scene, leaves me restless.

Why is it good feedback? It's because as a reader, they explained what they didn't understand. What didn't make sense to them. 'Vagueness' and 'ambiguous' are things you want to change in your novel.

Here's another:

‘A friend recommended this book to me,’ - I thought it odd she explained it this way, given the text in the books would be the same, wouldn't they? Maybe if she came up with something on the fly that distinguished that particular copy from the others, it would be less apt to garner attention from the library worker. She is going through such a series of events to get to the appropriate copy, I'd expect her to cover better.

Why is this helpful feedback? If a character does something out of character and your readers pick up on it, that's wonderful. You don't want the people who buy your book to make the same complaint because it will cost you money and readers when it counts most.

How can we give good feedback?

1.) Explain what you liked about the piece. Be specific. ("I liked the monologue on page three," "I liked the way the main character handled the situation," etc.)
2.) What elements of the story did you like and would like to see more of? In other words, what parts can be expanded for your enjoyment and/or understanding? ("I think the mother's dark sense of humor is really intriguing, and I would like to see more of that," "The relationship between the father and son has some good conflict, and I would like to see more of that," etc.)
3.) What confused you or what didn't you understand about the piece? ("I'm confused about when this story is supposed to take place," "I don’t understand why he walked back in the room when he said that he wasn't," etc.) This includes perceived technical/logistical problems. ("The war that your main character is referring to was in 1812, not 1813," "One of your characters looks out at the sun and comments on it, but earlier in the piece someone says it's midnight," etc.)
These are some of the things important for the writer to hear so that they can improve.

Source:  How to Give Feedback to Writers

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Sidenote: Right now Harley D. Palmer from Labotomy of a Writer has been doing a series on Characters. She has had some really interesting posts.
1) Epic Character Questionnaire - A 253-question interview you can ask your character. It's extremely in depth.
2) Character Development Before and After - How your character has changed over the course of the novel.
3) Character Details - showing little things about your character.

Wonderful Critiques

I think I'm going to discuss readers a bit this week. Every writers wants them, every writers needs them, if you don't have them now, you soon will. I want to talk about readers that help you along your writing path.

We get different types of reviews/critiques/edits (whatever you want to call it). Some are gushy (full of praise), some are mean, some are honest, some are silly. Today I want to talk about the gushy ones, the nicest ones to receive. They can be about a book not published or a book published. They are the ones that keep you writing.

I think we should keep the gushy ones in a place where we can look at them every once and awhile. Especially when we're feeling down on our writing.

Here are some reviews I've received over the years... the ones that have touched my heart. The ones that made me feel my writing was important.

"There is so much great insight in this novel, and it is a really important story you are telling on a lot of levels... but that may be the deepest, most important level of all."

"I am going to be lost when the story ends... it is so good."

"Your book has given me a reason to stop and think about several issues, some private and that makes your story special.

"Congratulations on writing this poignant and wholly original novel. I won’t forget it for a long time."

"Oh my goodness! This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. Ann, you are truly gifted. I started to read it to myself, then I read the whole poem out loud and it gave a whole different feeling and meaning. Before I finished there were tears in my eyes, those feelings you put in your words came through loud and clear. You are a very gifted writer and I don't know when I have ever enjoyed reading anything more. "

I don't post these to brag but I think I wanted to leave these here to remind myself why I write. Why I need to keep trying harder to improve my writing.

Tomorrow I'm going to post some more good ones, but not gushy. The ones I post tomorrow will be honest and helpful to the writer.

What are some of the most memorable reviews you've ever received?

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Now to some other important matters:

First of all, I want to thank the wonderful people at Renee's Read for award me a wonderful book - THE MOON LOOKED DOWN . I can't wait to read it and review it.

Also, I wanted to ask my readers a question...I cut out the word verification on my comments, does it make a difference to my readers. Does it make you want to comment more? Does it make it easier to comment?

Book Review: A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

Genre: Psychological Suspense Mystery

How I read it: I own it.

What attracted me to the book: I admit, I saw the Lynley mysteries on TV before I actually picked up one of her books. But, when I read this book, I wanted to read all of them.

What it worth the money? Yes.

Who should read this book: This is another psychological suspense. I don't know why I pick some of the most gory books but this one is another. She doesn't describe in detail the gore but the scenes are disturbing nonetheless.

Summary (from amazon): Roberta Teys, a silent, obese adolescent, is accused of killing her church-going father with an axe. The detectives sent by Scotland Yard to investigate are a mismatched pair. Inspector Thomas Lynley is smooth, attractive and utterly upper-class; "stubby, sturdy" detective-sergeant Barbara Havers, conscious of her plain appearance and lower-class origins, considers Lynley a "sodding little fop." Thrown together, they weigh the general conviction in the village that Roberta could not possibly have wielded the bloody axe against mounting evidence that damns the now catatonic girl. In sifting slowly through the ashes of the past, the detectives find enough horrific skeletons in every closet to lead them to a climax unexpectedly loaded with fire and fury. While Lynley seems rather bland despite emotion roiling beneath the surface, it is Havers' painful secrets and driving rage that encourage one to overlook decidedly uneven passages in this essentially intriguing psychological thriller.

My thoughts: When I write, I don't add a lot of details and descriptions, in the first of this series, neither does George. I can't say that about her future books. I found she became more and more wordy as the years went on. But, let's not focus on her later novels but her first.

What do I love best about this mystery? The character Havers. She's such a wonderful off-the-wall character. She's the opposite of her partner. Lynley's a handsome, titled detective and she's poor, not good-looking and kinda mouthy.

I have to say, the story is wonderful, Haver's is wonderful but some of the characters (Helen and Deborah) I found annoying. Perhaps it's because we want the two main characters to get on more but Lynley seems so distracted by those in her personal life.


Bottom Line: If you haven't read a George novel yet, start with this one.

Rating: