I just submitted a section to my writing group, and I'm currently feeling great self-loathing. What in the world am I thinking?
I often hear successful writers say that what kept them going was that they had no idea how bad they were when they started. I'm so jealous of that. I've always been scathingly, totally, paralyzingly aware of my suckage at creative writing. It makes showing anything to anybody really hard.
*Chewing nails*
Oh, Heidi! Just remember what my father used to tell me. Opinions are like people's *ss holes. Everyone's got one, and they usually stink. =D
ReplyDeleteFeed back isn't suckage. Robin says she loves when she gets stuff back soaked in red. It helps her see areas where she can make it better.
But don't forget ... it's your story. You know what it needs to be. That when you need to think of my dad's saying.
Good luck!
If the first draft doesn't suck, you're spending too much time on words and not enough time on story. Bleeding is for the edit phase, not the draft phase.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love that Donna quotes me. Makes me feel so... quotable. :) And yes--I love red-soaked crits. Pre-publication anyway. Not that I know from the other kind.
**Resolves to read Heidi's submission today**
I'm excited for the critique. It's my own writing that's the suckage. Necessary suckage, to be sure, but suckage nonetheless.
ReplyDelete