Critical Decisions
I suppose every writer faces the dilemma of criticism. Sure, some suggestions are instantly convincing or exactly what you thought you’d hear. But others create a quandary, like a two edged sword. Should you accept the criticism, make changes in your work or your style, or stick with your own judgment, the one you started with? Either way, you could be wrong, and it may take years before you know the answer. In some cases, there may be highlights in an author’s ambition level, or sense of destination, that make the decision particularly challenging.
For instance, in my own case, I wanted to write a love story not only good enough to be published, but better than that. I was intent on producing a truly great love story. To achieve that, I felt I needed to risk developing a writing style just right for the literary task, but one that would have to be different from what is currently in fashion. For this story to succeed, my style would need to give the readers a deeper look into what the main characters were feeling. That made the writing challenge doubly difficult in the path to getting published. The writing would have to be that much better such that it would still shine and impress when the editor noticed it as different–different but exactly right for this kind of story.
At one point in my writing journey, when I decided to send my manuscript to an independent editor, I knew that I had a number of improvement needs, including one to upgrade my writing mechanics. The problem was that my editor interpreted my style, the one I felt I needed to eventually write a great love story, as simply poor writing that needed to be changed. And she was not the least bit delicate about her criticism. In fact, she viewed my style with scorn and demanded I change it if I ever hoped to be published. She is an editor of some renown, forceful and intimidating, and I mean to tell you that I felt heavy pressure to conform to her will.
It was a painful decision to stick with the style I felt the story needed if it was ever to be good enough. My confidence in the decision was low enough to mark the nadir of my writing journey. And the echo of this experience persisted as a doubt that was hard to shake. Not until after publication, when consecutive readers told me they loved the story and couldn’t put it down, did I feel complete vindication, like being released from jail.
In looking back, the hardest aspect was resisting the urge to accept the criticism as a more likely path to simply getting published on minimum terms. Nothing wrong with that, right? Yet the outcome in terms of reader experience would have been so much less. So when you face that lonely decision about what criticisms to accept, it pays to be crystal clear about your true literary objectives, the destination that is driving you onward. Will the decision position you for a shot at the best you can be? Or will you be left wondering ever after about the high road not taken?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
R (Rob) Costelloe
Coinage of Commitment was published in June of 2007. In a departure from conventional novels of this genre, this love story describes characters who love at a higher level than the world all around them, a level requiring mental preparation as well as emotional commitment. The lovers face unique challenges in reaching the zenith they seek, and the story examines some of the challenges and pitfalls they face on their journey. The manuscript received multiple contract offers for publication, and Saga Books published it on a fast track basis in less than three months. To learn more, visit Rob’s website at rCostelloe.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tags: criticism, novel, writer, writing
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.