Oct 17

Oct 17 The Write Place - October Issue

We had an exciting month at our Write Place meeting. Per the usual we spent some time getting caught up on members current projects, the highs and lows. From there we moved on to our main topic of the month, Tips for dealing with Writing Critiques (scroll down to read these).It sparked some great discussion.

In the last half of our time together, we moved onto our grab-bag game, where I passed around slips of paper labeled Character, Action, Place. Each member filled out the papers (according to the subjects). I recollected each subject, mixed them up and passed them back out - making sure no one received the one that they originally wrote. Then each member was given 20 minutes to make a story. This is always a fun activity and it challenges the members to think outside of their normal box/genre.

One of our members - a man in his fifties received: teenage-girl-bisexual, church, dancing at nightclub (that was interesting).
Another member was given: angel, school and flying, so she created a story about an angel flying school - it was fun and playful.
Another member was given: Bunny - a woman in her 40s, the Steam town Mall & stealing, this one ending up being a performance piece where Bunny had a high proper accent, it was fun!
I received: Barry Gritz-50 year old psychologist, Grand Tetons and sex. If you’d like to see what I did with that, scroll to the end!

This is always a fan-favorite and something that breaks everyone out of their shell.

Tips for dealing with Writing Critiques

1. Take A Breath And A Step Back

The first thing to do when receiving any sort of criticism of your writing is to take a breath, and distance yourself from the critique. If you're feeling disheartened, offended or overwhelmed by criticism your work has received, take a step back. Come back to deal with it later, when you've had time to put things back into perspective and you're feeling more confident.

2. Check your ego

No one receives purely positive feedback, and once you begin working with editors regularly, you will need the thick skin you’re developing. We are all on a journey towards improvement in our craft. If you receive feedback from a defensive posture, it will take longer for you to see real improvement in your writing. If a critique leaves you feeling inadequate, remember we all struggle with impostor syndrome.

3. Determine Whether The Criticism Is Useful

Anytime you receive criticism of your writing, take a moment to consider whether it's actually useful, or whether it's not worth stressing over.

4. Rely on more than one reader

Because feedback is subjective, you will need more than one critique, as well as different types of readers.

Beta readers provide comments based on their reading experience, rather than a place of expertise. Fellow writers are able to read as practitioners, and provide a critique on your skill as a writer.

Both are important to the development of your craft. Take note where similar themes emerge between readers. If more than one reader recognizes the same weaknesses, it’s a sign you should address them.

5. Don't Read Or Respond To Your Reviews

Why? Because these reviews aren't for authors – they're for readers. They're simply opinions, put forth for the benefit of the online reading community, not as a professional critique intended for the author.

6. Remember That It's Just One Person's Opinion

Writing is such a subjective art. There's no such thing as a perfect piece of writing, or a book that everybody likes.

7. Rein In The Self-Criticism

Writers are always their own harshest critics. While this can be somewhat helpful when you're editing your novel (kill your darlings and all that), it can also be destructive and detrimental to your mental health as a writer. Instead, remind yourself: 'My writing is not terrible; I just need to work on fixing these few things, and it will be much better for it'.

6. Talk To Other Writers

An educated outsider's perspective can be so valuable. You might be too close to your writing to be able to see whether the criticism is valid or not, but another writer will be able to provide a more objective view.

*information sourced from thewritersedit.com & thewritelife.com

Barry Gritz goes on a Hike

Barry Gritz looked through his binoculars up at the Grand Tetons Mountains. He’d waited all fifty years of his life for this opportunity. He bent down and made sure that his boots were secured to his feet. He adjusted his poles, tugged on the straps of his pack, tightened it just right and off he went. He knew from all the reading he’d done that the altitude would be a major issue for him, but his life’s goal was to hike to the highest peak in every state in America and the Tetons were next. He’d do it – no matter what.

Halfway through his first day his mind began to run. Much like most of his hikes, he’d start out enjoying nature and the beauty of God’s world and then he’d think about sex. Not on purpose but because that was his job. He’s a psychologist and being educated in the nineties he knew that the cusp of the sexual revolution would lead to many individuals and couples questioning their sexual aptitude. Boy was he right, business was booming.

He used to love his job. It made him feel normal listening to how confused and lost other people seemed. Plus, he had good advice. Now, he’s looking forward to retiring. At this point he can watch a couple interact with each other and immediately know everything he needed to know about their sex life.

He thinks of any grocery store: That couple that’s fighting in the middle of the dry pasta aisle–they haven’t had sex in 9 months. She’s prude and won’t allow herself an orgasm. It has emasculated him to the point that he feels guilty if he gets an erection and won’t even think about doing something about it. At this point they are both staying because of the kids.

There’s the woman shopping for the right organic-cashew-hemp-dairy-free milk, she masturbates twelve times and day and is so in love with herself that she doesn’t need, nor makes the time for a man in her life.

There’s that man in the sausage section comparing himself to the kielbasa. He has mommy issues and can’t get aroused unless he is being yelled at by a sexual partner.

As Barry contemplates all he’s learned, he thinks about his life, which one of his partners he’ll hand his practice off to. What he’ll do when he’s completed hiking the tallest peak in all fifty states. Just then he hears a noise. A branch cracks. Sharp teeth attach to his skull, by the time he tries to fight it’s too late, he’s dead.

Too bad for his wife, she’ll have to go another nine months without sex. Or not.