Are we too involved?

By DanesDarkLand · Sep 14, 2012 · 498 · 3
  1. I found myself publishing a very objectionable statement in my writing, and when I say publish, I really mean post. I had the idea for the event in my head, but with no frame of reference, and very little thought on my part (obviously), I wrote something without actually thinking about what it was I wrote.

    After a couple of opinions were in, I had to read my piece again and again, not to see their points, but to find a way to write the idea without losing the flavor of what I wanted to convey. In the end, I ended up changing the idea to point to another outcome, or desired outcome. It wasn't that the event itself would be objectionable, but how the character felt about it.

    The problem I really had, and still have in many other sentences, events, ideas, and scenes, is that because I wrote it, to change the words would erase the idea. Maybe the idea wasn't good enough in the first place? Maybe I shouldn't have wrote it?

    I think that I become too personally involved in my writing that I take offense to solid and unbiased opinions with excellent points that I should take the time to consider.

    The major thing I think that I will take from this site's lessons is the knowledge that I have to step away from the writing and be willing to take criticism, especially my own. Without that criticism, I will only write base stories that will never be ready for publication. If all I want to do is get the idea out of my head, then I'm on the right trail. If I want them published, I have to keep on learning, and try to understand that this isn't personal.

    It's necessary.

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  1. mugen shiyo
    What's up, man. I write a certain amount of fiction, but I also found that I like writing about real-life things in a sort of quasi-jounralistic way. Because of that, a few articles in I realized through the cross-interrogation of my readers and critics that there is an ocean of difference between writing what you feel and writing what is real. Even if you don't mean for it to be a reference, they will call you out on it. But because I was so attached to my own viewpoints I got defensive and barked back. Then I tried to shimmy around complete ownership of my inaccuracies by making excuses and half-edits. At some point I realized that when writing about facts you have to use facts, and that despite it being my wriitng, if I want other people to read it, I must appease them...though you may have grounds where you remain inflexible on.

    I think I know exactly how you are feeling. I think most people who will write like us do. If it helps try to take the criticism quietly, unless it was something you found completely unjustifiable. Critics abound. I'm one and I spare nothing to let others no about it, lol. Because of that, we will always be in a consumer service business. Patience, flexibility, customer curiosity, and all that apply to such positions are virtues you are going to have to get used to.

    Looking forward to reading more of your work, now. There's nothing better than seeing a person improve.
    mugen shiyo, Sep 15, 2012
  2. peachalulu
    Hey, Danes, I think I know which part you're talking about. Your recent short story? I understood what you were going for. But it wasn't clarified from the characters pov. Whenever your character makes a controversial decision there will always be objections but if you can clearly define why your character chose that particular choice - your readers may not agree - but they'll understand. One way to do that is acknowledge why other choices are unreasonable to her. Give her a personality to corroborate her decision.

    I wouldn't go to the immediate extreme and dismiss an idea. And changing words won't necessarily erase it, it can actually clarify it or yes, it might send it in another direction. Pin point what went wrong in the execution of the idea. Was it truly thought out? Did you leave room that it could be taken the wrong way? Is it clear, justified? Reasonable. Sometimes it's not the idea. But how you present it that matters.
    I battle taking critiques personally - even the lack of them - I look at the hits on my stories and moan nobodies reading them, nobody likes them. I have to tell myself, Peach, get a grip.
    Don't write to please people. Write to entertain people, enthrall people, provoke people. Your passion will sort it all out.

    I've read your stuff Danes and seen you're ability to self edit, you're definitely on the right road. :)
    peachalulu, Sep 16, 2012
  3. DanesDarkLand
    Thanks Peach. I did go in the wrong direction as I failed to recognize the person, ie a female, would not welcome what happened. She welcomed death as the pain of her disease was increasing, oh oh, that's what i left out. Just realized it while writing this response. There has to be a reason for her to welcome death. Not simple pain, but the amount and the way it effects her. There is more to the disease then she knows, and more then I can let out of the bag, as there is a limited amount of chapters I wish to write about. The next few introduce something quite different in the genre, and how it all plays out.

    Got some more editing to do. Again, thanks to anyone who read the piece. We shall see what the next edit brings....
    DanesDarkLand, Sep 16, 2012
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