I did something sort of huge this week. It might not seem like much to you guys, but it was huge to me...
I let people read my writing.
I know what you are thinking, well, not really, if I could do that I would be rich and powerful. What I imagine some of you thinking is, "Um, you blog all the time. People already read your writing."
Which is true, but blog writing and fantasy novel writing are two TOTALLY different things.
I'm not just writing "for myself." I'm writing with the hopes of someday publishing it. Yet I don't want to let anyone read it? How exactly is that going to work, Nik? Exactly.
So I am in a writing class and this past week I volunteered to bring in a 5-10 piece writing sample for the class to critique. I handed it out last class and I get to hear their comments tomorrow. Everyone in the class is unbelievably nice so nothing mean will be said, but it is still a little bit nerve-wracking.
Even harder than that was sharing it with one of my friends. Several of my friends have expressed interest in reading it and I have not wanted to share it. It's not finished. Not that the novel isn't finished, but even the things that I have wrote are not "finished" they need touch-ups and reworking. And I don't want people to think I suck.
I'm finally to the point where I know that I CAN write this book and that it will turn out alright. But I don't want it to be alright. I want it to be awesome. And I'm still not to the point where I am awesome. But I think I can get there.
Anyways, I finally let one of my friends read it. And whether she was lying or not, she said all the right things to make me want to keep writing and not just hang my head in shame.
What is it about writing that is so hard and scary? I think that it is that you are putting a piece of your soul on the line for all the world to see... and what if they don't like it?
I'm very proud of myself for taking these first steps and I know that the more I do it, that the easier it will be, until I get to the point where I don't even think twice about it.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
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Holy Hell! I am SO PROUD OF YOU! I can't even IMAGINE!!!! I'm SO PROUD! You shared it!!!!!!!!! That's HUGE!!!!! H.U.G.E.!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI did it too, in a different but just as scary for me way. This week alone, I let TWO NEW people see my blog. Both are boys. They both asked. Neither of them was wishing for what they got, of course. Both were likely expecting well written, focused blog posts about kidney donation or getting inspired or whatever. I'm positive neither thought they'd get Nicki-ed full on in the face. And I'm also sure neither got past a post or two before calling it quits- WHICH IS FINE, minus the part about my ACTUAL SELF getting rejected (okay, not really fair- who REALLY wants to hear every thought that passes through someone's head???)....but I was proud for doing it too. I don't share that blog with people. If I keep practicing that, when people ask, it has to get easier, right?
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post tomorrow night and tell us how it goes. I'm SO proud of you. Over the moon proud!!!! Seriously. I'm grinning from ear to ear.
LOVE!
It went well. I apparently didn't really give them enough information, that's part of the problem with giving them an excerpt that takes place 50 pages into my book.
ReplyDeleteBut I got really helpful feedback, mainly about needing to break my flashbacks up into smaller pieces. Even though something happened all at once doesn't mean that I have to tell the reader about it all at once.
And it is good to slowly introduce characters rather than telling them about every single person who lives on the island at once and having the reader try to remember them all! (That was actually feedback for someone else but it is good to remember.)
It's really not as scary as you think.
Plus it totally helped me figure out a way to make my book soooo much better! And more dramatic- more tension anyways. Good stuff.