Destructive or Constructive Criticism And The Writer And Reader

All right readers and writers, gather around. This isn’t going to be a whiny rant about how people are mean to writers and how their criticism is the pits (though at times it can be), but a bit of a quick analysis of the situation and how everyone, readers and writers alike can deal with it.

Look, constructive criticism is a good thing and writers should get over their ire at having anything they create criticized by anybody. Hey, that’s life. And, constructive criticism can point out flaws or maybe a bit of a slip in editing that would, when corrected, make the book, short story or article much better. Really.

Oh, and readers who post criticism, think about how you couch it. You’re entitled to your opinions and of course if there are glaring editing or grammatical errors in a work you might want to point out that’s happening so other readers will be aware, but it can be put in language that isn’t a personal attack. You might feel the urge to be a ripsaw, but curb it. Remember that writer, whoever it is, put a lot of thought and work into the project. Because it isn’t up to certain standards now doesn’t mean the writer isn’t striving to improve and will, indeed improve. Helpful criticism is one thing, an all-out attack is another. Think about it. Does attack make you in some way feel good? What if your work, whatever it is, was attacked with a vicious edge and you were left feeling naked and abused? You might consider, even with a poorly written work, turning your own thoughts around and saying something encouraging instead. Or just plain shut up. If you have to point out a flaw, maybe you can point out a good thing as well. Maybe the book needs a lot of typo fixing but the story itself is interesting, just hard to see through all those errors. Pause and reflect. Just sayin’.

Okay, now writers, it’s your job to write well, to edit like a pro and cut mercilessly so you don’t surround your readers with needless fluff. It’s also a fact of life that no matter how good you get, no matter how well-known, you’re going to get those personal attacks and not just criticism for the obvious typos or grammar errors. Sadly, it comes with the territory.

BUT you don’t have to let that get you down. Of course they’re going to find the typos you miss no matter how hard you try and the grammar slip-ups and the story twist that didn’t quite do the pirouette you planned on. Take it with good grace when they’re pointed out and correct or you can decide their point isn’t valid. Up to you as writer.

Of course there’s going to be the ‘nasty’ out there who lives to do nothing more than try to tear others down. You don’t have to buy into it. Let the moment pass. You already know there’s no critic out there who can be harder on you than you are on yourself. Forgive the nasties, you don’t know what they may be dealing with that creates the inner demons who just want to attack and destroy. And if you can’t forgive them, cultivate your own positive attitude and don’t bother to respond.

Writers keep writing. Keep moving forward. Readers enjoy and give an occasional thought to the person behind the writing.

Planet Of The Eggs Work Continues!

It’s a busy time in my Writer’s World. There are a couple of things on the back burner due to time constraints, but along with my creative partner, Charlene Brash Sorensen, work on the Planet Of The Eggs comic book series is moving forward quickly. 

We already have three of the books published at Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions (well the third will be available in paperback very soon now). 

Planet Of The Eggs: Cracked Open

Planet Of The Eggs: Grimoire Book Of Spells

Planet Of The Eggs: Mummified Egg

And the fourth, Planet Of The Eggs: Eruption will release some time in March. Here’s a sneak peek with the first pages (raw & unedited) of Eruption. 

We're further along than that, but we're not going to spoil the storyline.

Hey, keep up folks!  This thing is moving right along. It’s taken on a life of it’s own and we can’t wait to bring out the next adventure starring our six Eggs of Legend, who are fully armed and ready to take on any world. 

And we decided to bring out a line of fab T-shirts to accompany the books over at Café Press.

How does all this happen?  Well, we’re a bit crazy and obsessed with eggs with attitude, personality and superhero abilities and we love what we’re doing. We use a combo of software and some quirky work-arounds to get what we want down on the page.  If you have questions, drop ‘em in the comment below and we’ll do our best to answer. 

So what’s next in our ‘eggciting’ world? Well, there’s a newsletter to keep you up to date, offer exclusives and brighten your day. Visit http://bitly.com/EggsSignUp to sign up or visit http://www.facebook.com/PlanetOfTheEggs for info and click the sign up tab on the banner.

Meanwhile, back to work here. Don’t forget to leave those questions below and visit our facebook page for updates, news and a heckuva lot more.  

Will I be writing more novels and scripts as well – yep, for sure. I’ll keep you posted here.

Writer dreaming: Would I rather hire a maid or a cook?

Writer dreaming: Would you rather hire a maid or a cook?

Seriously.

I’ve decided to take a short visit to fantasy land since in reality I can afford neither, but it’s nice to think about.

As a writer my time seems to be gobbled up from every direction. There are distractions, things that just need to get done and a whole lot more that can keep me from accomplishing in a day what I want to accomplish.

So, once in a while, I ponder that question above. If a genie were to grant me a wish or I was to get just enough money, which would I rather have, a maid or a cook?

It’s a question that’s tougher to answer than one might think at first. There are good sides to both.  And both or either would certainly cut down on the chores I have to get done myself. So who wouldn’t want that?

If there was a cook in the house, that would eliminate a lot of headaches. But I do like to cook at times. And, I have to admit, my usual escape hatch when time is pressing is throwing an interesting combo into the slow cooker in the morning and presuming it will produce something both edible and enjoyable by the time my writing day ends somewhere around 4:30. Ah, the writer’s daydream. Presuming having a cook would guarantee seriously good meals neither overcooked nor overdone and the smells of such excellent cooking would fill the house even as I continued to write in my study, well that has a lot of appeal.

On the other hand there is always that slow-cooker to fall back on.

Now if there was a maid in the house that would mean all the dusting, cleaning, vacuuming  and picking up would happen without me doing the work. It would be like magic. Things would be dusted, vacuuming done (though I’d have to give some thought to all that noise going on while I’m writing in the upstairs office), dishes would be done.

I’m lucky, I have a husband with whom I split the work around the house, both cooking and cleaning. Nonetheless, wouldn’t it be grand to have to do none of it? Or to have one totally taken care of and need only split the work of the other? Yep, a true writer’s dream.

 

On the other hand, maybe what I need is a painter and around the house handyman. I do quite a bit of that myself around the house as well and am currently in the idle of repainting all the kitchen cabinets…then there’s the door frame and the downstairs bathroom cabinets…and…hmmm, maybe I just need to win the lottery to finance my writing.

But I got off track. Maid or cook? In the end it doesn’t matter, I’ll take either!

A Hero’s (protagonist’s) Worthy Goal

          Taking time out to put something simple and basic out there for the writers who join us here – readers too who enjoy getting a peek into the writer’s world and just what goes into a good read. What a writer wrestles with to come up with that eyeball-grabbing story that keeps a reader up half the night because the book just can’t be put down.

          Subject?

          It’s plainly written above. It’s very basic. Is the goal that’s been set for the hero of the story a worth y goal. And by that I mean,  there are lots of things a hero can strive to achieve. BUT choosing the right one, the one with the right outside motivation, can be tricky and can require a lot of thought on the part of the writer. Is it a big enough goal? Is it a goal that is worthy of the hero?

          It sounds pretty direct, but without thinking about it, deep down, the reader is automatically asking questions while the story unfolds.  Does that goal  set for the hero fulfill a basic human need? Safety and security? Love? Belonging? Physiological? Some fulfillment of self-esteem?

          Why are we all looking for that element? Well, it reminds readers of their own goals and desires, then draws them into the story to find out whether the hero does attain his goals and desires, and if so, how.

          Another question regarding that worthy goal is, is it logical and attainable? Really, if one is wrapped up in a story, there is little worse than the exclamation, “that doesn’t make sense!” or seeing through a paper-thin plot and knowing deep down that this guy couldn’t really accomplish that goal no matter how willingly the reader dives into the pool of suspended disbelief.  If that happens the writer has lost the reader. Not good.

          The next test is does the hero have an emotional attachment to the goal? Is he or she passionate about achieving whatever it is whether it is saving the life of a puppy, preventing a bank robbery or curing cancer? The protagonist absolutely must be passionate; must have a soul-deep motivation for plunging into whatever circumstance follows. If the attitude is a wimpy, it’ll be nice if I can achieve it, then the reader follows the same path, doesn’t care and gives up on the story.

          Related to the emotional attachment is the question, what happens if the Hero doesn’t succeed? What’s at stake?  Does the world explode? Is a child’s life at stake? Will an evil force succeed? Will a ship sink at sea? If he doesn’t get back in time to donate a kidney will his wife die?

          There has to be a powerful motivating factor and hit has to be real to the reader. It puts a lot of pressure on the writer.  See, readers, see what you do to all those slaving writers out there?

          And at the same time, readers motivate writers to always improve, to come up with the next fascinating, exciting, dramatic, love-filled tale of adventure, success, mourning or joy. 

          Readers keep reading and the writers will keep writing.  That’s a given.