Are You Dealing With Bad Reviews?

I had started a comment on a blogger friend's article and decided to create an article instead because it had grown larger and more complex than what I believe is appropriate for a comment. Thank you, Auden, for inspiring this post.

I'll quote the original question which prompted this response: 

There's a ton of advice out there on how to deal with bad reviews. They like to say "dwell on the good reviews." What if you don't have any glowing reviews to off-set the negative/indifferent ones?

I've had my two short stories on Amazon since 2012 and one of them has exactly one review and the other a whopping five reviews. I can tell you this much. I didn't ask for reviews, but when I got them, I was pleased. I'm far from inspired by the numbers, but I'm flattered by and appreciate the favorable responses by those who appreciated my work. However, I've not written or produced much these days and that makes me sad.

On the contrary, though a bad review has to hurt, it's not a lost cause, because bad reviews are those things that prompt you to explore and improve! Especially if you're passionate about storytelling.

Here are some questions to ask yourself if you feel you're not getting the feedback you desire. Do you attend a lot of writing conferences? I know they can be expensive, but the advice and information you walk away with is so wonderful! Have you joined a writing critique group? In-person group sessions can help your writing out quite a bit. Don't shrink away from advice and constructive criticism. It's out there. 

I've joined both, the Tallahassee Writers Association and the Florida Writers Association. Both organizations have welcomed me in such ways I can't even explain. You need to be around people who are driven and wired the same way you are in order to learn the lessons and solutions of the trade. These folks are willing to be there for you because their struggles are the same. 

Lethal Injection, The Seed is 7 pages, received almost 400 downloads, and I have 5 reviews, 1 from a relative. The story has no action but is described as powerful. How does that happen? Writing classes, conferences, critiques, and encouragement helped my confidence in putting the story out there. It's the readers who will figure out if it works or if it doesn't. If it doesn't work, I agree, it would be helpful if readers would provide better feedback. Unfortunately, they are not required to give anything of value. It's other writers who will fill that void.

So how do we improve as writers and storytellers? Stephen King advises that we read, read, and read some more. However, how do you take the time to read if you're pumping out novel after novel? After all, Dean Koontz does it! He has an excuse. He's famous and people buy his books because it's branded already. Come on! He's Dean Koontz. 

If you don't have the time to read much, do like I do. Audio books! They are great because I pop them in on my way to work, and they start up again when I'm driving home. 

:)

Hope I've been helpful in some ways.

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Battling Constructive Criticism - Ferret Style

Scholarly ferret has answers.

There are many things we'll hear from critique partners during our writing journeys. I've heard them about my stories and you'll hear them about yours, if you haven't already. These words are hurtful when you first hear them. After all, writing fiction is an art form and the creative soul cannot be judged, for art has value only to the artist. But if you want to sell your art, you are opening yourself up to scrutiny, right?

I encountered such criticisms in one of my first creative writing classes and I can tell you my reaction wasn't pretty. I'd spent almost $400.00 to take this class and I had better not hear anything but how great my writing is and how wonderful my story.

That didn't happen, unfortunately. I heard many things, and I'm about to share them with you. Trust me, I was steaming mad. The vulgar gestures I produced after having read the "constructive criticisms" of my classmates, went largely unnoticed, mainly because it was an online class and my computer shielded me from the rest of the group.


Q: Whose story is this?

A: What the hell are you talking about? It's my story, bitch!

Just kidding. When I was first asked this question, I wasn't sure what folks were talking about. I've introduced three characters already, so obviously it's about "at least" three characters, right?  ...right?

Confused ferret asks question.

It's their way of saying that they believe a story should have one main character and that character should have a story all about them and their journey. Fine and dandy! I get it. For new writers, maybe it's smart to stick to this "template" but seriously, there's more than one way to write a story folks.


Q: What is the main goal of your character?

A: Shouldn't you read more than the first chapter before you ask that question?

This is no joke. Why do you have to know the goal of my character when you start reading the story? Do you want to know the goal in the first chapter so you can then decide whether or not to buy the book? Is more than 15 minutes of reading in Barnes & Noble too much time to waste deciding whether or not the goal of my character is important enough to fork out $5.99? Read the back cover!

Angry ferret's favorite acronym RTFM

Okay, so the goal of my character is to travel to China, unlock the mystery behind the ancient Chinese secret, and rescue the world. Tada! End of story in only one chapter. Chapter Two: Does the Character Meet Her Goal?


Q: Do you expect us to believe your character actually drove off that cliff and survived?

A: It's fiction! 

The answer to this question is obvious. No, I don't expect you to believe it because it didn't happen for real. It happened in my story, and my story is fiction. If you do the same things my characters do and think you'll get away with it, then you deserve to die! Much like the Mountain Man.

Ferret wants you to chill.

Q: Couldn't you change it to read more like "blah blah blah blah blah, "blah, blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah?"

A: No, because then it would be YOUR story, not mine.

Writers are so funny when we critique other work. We all do it, but let's be honest. When we like something, we always want a crack at it to see if our version will sound better, look better, smell better, or taste better. Just like chefs, there's always a twist to make it better. Just remember, it's my food you are sampling. If you like it, get the basic recipe. You can always add your twist to it in your own kitchen, when you make your version.

Ninja ferret is not happy!

Q: Why is there so much head-hopping going on here?

A: What the hell is head-hopping?

I seriously did not understand this whole concept of head-hopping. It made me angry for so many people to tell me I was doing this when I didn't even know what it meant. In the voice of a whiny, little brat, "How does Jane know that John is feeling sad? She's not privy to his thoughts."

Can you guess ferret thoughts?

Um, I'm the author writing the story. Jane doesn't need to know that John is sad. I'm telling you he's sad! I know he's sad and because I know he's sad, Jane knows he's sad, and now so do you! Now shut up and read the rest of my story.


Do you recall any criticisms which made you feel immediately defensive about your writing? Please share!



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Launch of Delusional by Terry Lewis

I've changed up my reading list and added Delusional by Terry Lewis, author of Conflict of Interest and Privileged Information. This will be an exciting read for me. I read the first 3 chapters before it was even publish, but then my hard drive crashed. Oh well, I knew it would be coming out in the future, and here it is, finally.

Delusional is a mystery novel set in my home town, Tallahassee, Florida. The first person prologue introduces Nathan, a mental patient serving time for murder. Now his newly appointed attorney, Ted Stevens, must uncover the truth in the murder of Nathan's psychologist. Find out why by reading this intriguing novel.

I got my signed copy during the novel's launch at Momo's Pizza on September 30th. Other fans and friends of Lewis' first two novels showed up for their copies as well. The party offered a variety of pizzas and appetizers for hungry fans, as well as a cash bar. Guess what I made a beeline for?

Look, it's Liz! Another critique partner of ours.

Thanks for inviting us to the launch. I never tasted pizza from Momo's before. Sad that I've been missing it. In the thirteen years living in Tallahassee, I thought I'd tried every pizza joint within 30 miles.



Enough about food. Go get your copy of Delusional!

Referencing Pronouns - Got Tips?

This question comes from one of my critique partners who has given me permission to use it in order to prompt other writers to share how they handle this situation. First, I'll share the draft version of the paragraph in question, and then I'll share some tips and a revised paragraph. But first, the question.

In this draft paragraph there is only one character, Charlie. To me using his name in the place of every "he" for each action seems too much.

Charlie opened the door...Charlie put the gun down and then Charlie closed the door. Charlie put his hat on. Charlie walked to the front of the truck...etc. 

I have been using third person the entire book so far. I start with a name and then if there is no other character in the scene yet then I just use "he" or "she". Is that not right?

Draft version:

Charlie pulls up to the cabin and shifts his truck into park.  He sits there looking at the house for a bit.  He draws in a deep breath and looks over to the glove box.  He looks back at the house and then scans around his truck.  He reaches under his jacket and unsnaps his holster.  He places his pistol in the glove box and closes it. He grabs his hat on the seat next to him and opens the door.  The twenty year old hinges groan and send a startling echo throughout the surrounding woods.  Charlie closes the door and puts on his hat.  His hand follows the rim back to front where he pulls it lower. 

There are a few suggestions I had, but I know these aren't the only tips in keeping the number of referencing pronouns to a minimum.

1. Remove the subject pronoun 

He saw the clouds rolling in from the horizon.
The clouds rolled in from the horizon

He smelled the sweet cherry trees in the field
The sweet aroma oozed from the cherry trees in the field


2. Combine two sentences

He reaches under his jacket and unsnaps his holster.  He places his pistol in the glove box and closes it.

He reaches under his jacket, unsnaps his holster, and places his pistol in the glove box.


Revised version: 

Charlie pulls up to the cabin and shifts his truck into park.  The rotted siding of the house shows years of withstanding harsh weather.  He unsnaps his holster and places his pistol in the glove box for safe keeping. After grabbing his hat from the passenger seat, he opens the door.  The twenty year old hinges groan and send a startling echo throughout the surrounding woods.  The car door closes with a clunk and he places the hat on his head; his hand follows the rim back to front where he pulls it lower.

What are some other ways to deal with this issue? I thought I would pose this question to the writing community. Again, this is draft material, so feel free to make suggestions. As always, I appreciate your feedback!

G is for Grammar, Grace, and Gratitude

There are elements of writing which make us unique from one another. The two most important are style and voice. When you are going for brand, you want to be different, especially when you have a quality product. No woman wants to show up at the Ball and find another woman wearing the same dress. You want to stand out and be noticed, because your brand is what defines you. You might feel differently if you operate in a country which makes money in the mass production of rubber dog shit.

Grammar

Unlike style and voice, grammar is the one thing where there is no standing out for the better, only for the worse when you do not comply. We all need to unite under the same rules which dictate proper grammar. There’s no doubt I am one of those people who would need to hire an editor to comb through my writing. 

I know what you are thinking: I’m a writer, not an editor! I say you should learn how to edit. Learn proper grammar. If I were an editor reading gross grammatical errors in the first pages of a manuscript, I’m going to miss the story. Why? Because I would be horrified at how much work lies before me in the next 200 pages. Brand is important to your image, but grammar is important to your integrity.

Brand : clothing :: grammar : hygiene

Grace

It is difficult to accept criticism, but if we are to improve our skills, we have to rely upon our fellow readers and writers to give the feedback when there is a problem. I have been reading and writing in many different forums over the past 15 years and I can tell you some of the more common reactions from writers when they are given negative feedback on their work. However, I won’t. Why? Because I’m a positive person and I believe in sharing positive things, with the exception of the big, black woman who beat myass.

Instead, I want to share the most positive reaction to criticism, and that is grace. Have the grace to accept the criticism. You are not agreeing with the criticism when you accept it. There is a magical thing which happens when you accept criticism with grace. You discover a funnel of information by which you can choose to apply to your future work. Ta da! This leads to our next topic.

Gratitude

The biggest transformation in me since I’ve been writing is the gratitude I feel toward my fellow writers. The number of critiques I have received from both of my writer groups and from those of you out in the blogosphere have helped me to improve, not only my writing skills, but also the way in which I share with all of you.

This gratitude I feel is what keeps me contributing content in this wonderful world we share. And thus was born this idea for a blog post dealing with the letter “G”.

Have you found gratitude for others in your writing journey?

Visit my Alphabet Links:

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Are You In The Closet with your WIP?

I guess I was a bit flattered yesterday. I want to share this story with you. I think it is something we've all dealt with as writers. I like to consider myself a bit of an artist though, so it's a little personal when I am working on something and someone wants to have a peek before it's finished.

Of course, I share my work with my critique groups because they understand the art of writing a novel and they provide valuable feedback. I even share with you guys and I truly appreciate the feedback.

However, when someone who isn't familiar with the process of writing asks to see your work out of mere curiosity, how does it make you feel? I'm sure we're all a little different, or maybe not. I'm not certain, but here goes the situation with me.

My husband just finished his two year CT scan and check-up after having a soft tissue sarcoma removed from his calf. His surgeon took an interest in the book I had with me and this is how the visit ended.

"What's that you've got there?"

I held up the book I was reading to where he could read the title, Bullies, BastardsAnd Bitches: How To Write The Bad Guys Of Fiction by Jessica Morrell.

Now, let me say this. The book is a godsend for me, because we've all been told you must write what you know. Of course, I'm not a bad guy, but my novel features a serial killer, so I have to learn how to portray this type of character at some point, right? Anyway, back to my incident.

The surgeon's eyes opened wide and he said, "So, you're reading this to learn how to write what exactly."

"Oh, I'm writing a novel." The two physician assistants accompanying the surgeon on his rounds now eagerly wait for the next question.

"Really?" The surgeon's surprise was not unlike others who have found out I'm working on a novel in my spare time away from a full time job as a software developer.

My husband, and biggest fan, said, "Yes, really, she's writing a novel." And they all stand around in awe, and I imagine they all may very well believe me to be the biggest geek ever.

"Can I read it?" he said. "If you let me read it now, I promise to buy it when it comes out."

"I'm not finished with it." Now I'm a bit embarrassed because all eyes are on me.

"What's it about?"

"Some bastard," I said. I just couldn't help myself at this point.

Seriously, how do you find yourself reacting to this question? Do you clam up like I did, or do you excitedly gush about your WIP? Is it ever too soon to talk about your novel?

Editing Tips For Your Draft

It’s Grammar Time!

I've been reading more posts about how we process revisions on our manuscripts. Well, I don't have a manuscript yet because I've been procrastinating for the past 5 years! However, I do have many short stories, blog posts, and essays which have had their share of "polishing".

In the past 3 years, I've received much feedback from my critique groups and my instructors at Gotham Writer's Workshop, but I’ve also learned to critique with what I call my 5 Scans.

1. I scan for ' you'

Notice the space before. My intention is to find all instances of "you", "your", and "you're" without picking up words like “bayou”. When you write, I'm sure your mind isn't on every single use, or misuse, of words you may have typed. This is why it's important to do this scan. I cringe whenever I see these types of mistakes published, so I'm sensitive about finding them in my own work. And, I do find them!


2. I scan for ' the'

Notice the space before. I do this because my intention is to find all instances of "their", "there", and "they're". However, I don't want my word processor to highlight "bathe". I do this for the same reason I do the first scan above. If you don’t understand these first two scans, please email me.


3. I scan for 'ly '

Notice the space after. My intention here is to find and eliminate as many of the "ly" adverbs as I can. My instructors hated them, and now, so do I.


4. I scan for 'start' and 'began'

If written in past tense (obviously I will scan for 'begin' if I had written in present tense). There are so many times we want to write things like:

It started to rain.

Well then, did it stop right away or did it continue? If it continued then it didn't start to rain, it obviously rained.

Likewise:

He began to sing and his voice was heavenly beautiful.

He sang, didn't he? If you heard him sing and his voice was beautiful, then he didn't just begin to do it. He did it. He sang!


5. I scan for ' that '

Notice the spaces before and after? How many of these irritants do you think I found in the last critique I did? 82!

If you're referring to an object, switch it out with "which" and if you're referring to a person, switch it out with "who" or "whom", whichever applies. Better even, if you can eliminate it altogether and make it more active, do it.

The blue boat is the one that won the race
The blue boat is the one which won the race
The blue boat won the race.

He was the one that met me at the park.
He was the one who met me at the park.
He met me at the park.

This is the dress that I wore to the prom.
This is the dress I wore to the prom.

So those are the 5 scans I do, no matter what I've written. My drafts always have these basic mistakes, but I don't want to worry about them while I am compiling and being creative. However, I don't want them to slip through the cracks, causing me a great deal of embarrassment.

Do you scan your work? And if so, what words do you scan for and why?

Is Your Critique Group Killing Your Story?

Since I’ve found a local writing group where I can share my work with other passionate writers, editors and published authors, I’ve grown to understand the process of sharing and critiquing. For one, it’s not that bad to hear someone say, “I don’t know; this one I didn’t like.” That first time you hear that, it’s like the clouds open up and the light bulb comes on.

We’re not supposed to like everything we read or even every style we come across. It’s why we have different genres, right? But, you should never lose sight of your story, because in the end, it is YOUR story and you must take ownership of that story, whether it spreads like wild fire in the e-publishing world, or belly flops off the desk of a slush pile reader.

If you’re in a critique group where they’ve introduced a new writer, just beware of the elements you will face when critiqued by the newbie. Everyone wants to know what the new guy thinks, how he operates, and most importantly, who will side with him. Will he attempt to sabotage your story and turn the others against you? Will you cave to his suggestions and turn your work into a semblance of something written by your 30 year old self? Or will you simply say, “Thank you for your feedback. I do appreciate your time in reading my work.” And then you mutter something under your breath like, “fucking moron.”

Either way, critique groups are great and I absolutely love mine. I’m just happy that they accepted my application and invited me into their inner circle. And, just so you know, it wasn’t my critique group that inspired this post, nor the fact that we have a new member starting this month. I chose to share this because of a video a Facebook friend posted. It’s funny how involvement with gaming in RPGs (Role Playing Games) creeps its way into my writing on so many levels.

Enjoy the video. If you’re a gamer, I think you will find it hilarious. If you’re a writer, you will understand the frustration of the Dungeon Master!

Sorry, the video will be missed!