Mama Jude's Pep Talk

muse

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Whoo-Hoo! You found 'em, onuilmar. :hooray:

(I have the link copied into my favourites. When I open AW I also open the link - simples.:D)
 

Stanmiller

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Well, I see you guys are still up to the old tricks (and some new ones). It's good to be back....Now I have to get busy and start writing again.

Stan
 

muse

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Welcome back, Stan. :hi:
 

Stanmiller

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I'm glad you're better, but sorry you weren't well. Are you writing?

Writing? Easing into it. A couple pages per day while I'm training the Dragon (speech-to-text software). It's coming along, but not as easy as it looks on TV.

Everybody here did OK while I was gone?
 

Stlight

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Writing? Easing into it. A couple pages per day while I'm training the Dragon (speech-to-text software). It's coming along, but not as easy as it looks on TV.

Everybody here did OK while I was gone?

The hard part is to get the mouth piece positioned just right, like at the edge of your chin, or where your jaw and chin would meet if they weren't one piece.

The hardest part is to learn to talk slow enough to make Dragon happy. le sigh.
 

Stanmiller

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Heyjude,
Dragon is waaaay better than Win7 Speech Recognition, but as Stlight says, it requires special attention to cadence and clarity.


History, thanks. BTW, that's a gorgeous pic in your sig line. What is it?


Stlight, the Premium version recognizes Southern US, which helps a bit.
 

kaitie

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Was talking to my boyfriend today about what was a relatively minor plot point, and he pointed out how his expectations of the type of story I'm trying to write totally don't work with the plot the way I'm doing it. Basically the inciting event itself is flawed. He also pointed out that he thinks my characters need to have a more clever strategy at the beginning, which basically completely changes things in terms of what I can do and length and that sort of thing.

Now I feel like I've totally screwed up the plot before I've even got it going good. :( And the worst part is I thought I was just figuring it out in a way that I was happy with. I feel like I just suck at this.
 

lizmonster

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Was talking to my boyfriend today about what was a relatively minor plot point, and he pointed out how his expectations of the type of story I'm trying to write totally don't work with the plot the way I'm doing it. Basically the inciting event itself is flawed. He also pointed out that he thinks my characters need to have a more clever strategy at the beginning, which basically completely changes things in terms of what I can do and length and that sort of thing.

Now I feel like I've totally screwed up the plot before I've even got it going good. :( And the worst part is I thought I was just figuring it out in a way that I was happy with. I feel like I just suck at this.

First - I know how you feel. My husband, despite his best intentions, is often completely discouraging. I have not actually had him read anything in a good long while, and I have discussed my current WIP with him almost not at all. Just because they love us doesn't mean they are helpful.

Second, three pieces of unsolicited advice:

1. Ignore him. Trust yourself and write your story.
2. How representative is he of your target reader? Does he read a lot of your genre, or is he just making assumptions? If he is a reader of your genre...do you agree with what he is saying? Does it make sense to you? If so, can you work with the feedback constructively? If not - everyone is entitled to their opinions, but it doesn't make your storytelling "wrong."
3. See number 1.

I have a trunked novel - my 2010 NaNo work. It took me a long time and a lot of work before I was comfortable giving it up...but really, I didn't give it up at all. My beta is a direct descendant of that work. Telling that story, going through that exercise, gave me invaluable experience writing this one.

I'm a big believer in "Write what you need to write." Even if it doesn't become THE novel - and you don't know that it won't - there is something worthwhile in getting the words out.
 

kaitie

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Honestly...I don't know. This story has always included this particular plot point. Like I said, it's the inciting event. The hard thing is I can't really think of much to compare it to. I've only read a couple of books that are similar. I'm trying to lean it more suspense--the bad guys are coming after them and upping the ante, and at the same time they're trying to uncover the big conspiracy and put a stop to it. It almost feels thriller in a way, but I'm too big on lighter tone to have it actually qualify as a thriller.

If that's the case, I could see it working the way I've always envisioned it, but I really did want more of an outsmarting each other thing going on than a typical life or death stakes sort of story. Now I'm afraid the majority of readers would agree with him and just think it's boring or stupid.

I've had concerns about this book for ages. My friend who I used to plot with (he was brilliant) loved the idea and was super helpful and encouraging, but he's in another country now and I hardly ever get to talk to him, so I can't get his opinion. I've always been a little nervous that what I like and think is fun/interesting is actually stupid and doesn't work for anyone but me. I got lucky once, and I guess I've just been feeling lately like I'm not going to be able to write something that good again (and we see how far that one got me).

Honestly, I can't imagine changing the story to make it fit what my boyfriend is saying. It would change so much, and more than that I think it just wouldn't work. The entire story was built around this event and how it throws two of the characters together in a really fun way. I've been looking forward to writing this scene for months, and now I'm feeling like I'm going about this in the completely wrong way. The worst part is I just finished rewriting the first ten thousand words because I'd figured out how to make the opening work, and from what he's saying I'd really need to toss what I have and start over again. :(

How do you know when someone else's opinion is right or wrong? I know it doesn't fit what I have in mind for the story/characters, but he's got a point, and I've never been good at plot. It's always been my big weakness--that's why I outline everything so much now. He also said that there's no hook to this story (I kind of agree, it's not a very hooky story) the way there was with my last ones, and he thinks if I changed this it would give it more of a hook. Ugh. This whole thing is just frustrating. I actually have time to be working and instead I'm feeling so totally insecure I'm not even sure I should keep writing at all.
 

heyjude

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:Hug2: Kaitie, talk to someone else about the plot point. It could be that he's seeing it wrong!
 

Namatu

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kaitie, sometimes there's the way you've always envisioned it, and someone comes along and says something and you realize it can be more/better than how you've seen it. Or someone comes along and say something and that suggestion is perfectly fine and makes sense - but not for the story you want to tell.

Trust your instincts and your vision for the story. Use what you can and leave the rest behind.
 

lizmonster

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How do you know when someone else's opinion is right or wrong? I know it doesn't fit what I have in mind for the story/characters, but he's got a point, and I've never been good at plot. It's always been my big weakness--that's why I outline everything so much now. He also said that there's no hook to this story (I kind of agree, it's not a very hooky story) the way there was with my last ones, and he thinks if I changed this it would give it more of a hook.

Opinions aren't right or wrong, and it sounds like his doesn't fit the story you're trying to tell. He may very well be picking out legitimate weaknesses - but that does not mean you have to fix it the way he is proposing. You don't need to fix it at all, unless it resonates with you.

Not everybody is going to like or enjoy what you write. Heck, I have a long list of famous authors beloved by millions that I just can't stand. That doesn't mean they can't write - it just means they're not writing for me. You may not be writing for your boyfriend - and that's not a reflection on either one of you. It does mean, though, that he's probably not a useful critic, at least for this work.

Ugh. This whole thing is just frustrating. I actually have time to be working and instead I'm feeling so totally insecure I'm not even sure I should keep writing at all.

I have been there. The only way I got through it was to sit down and write, even when I was convinced that every word coming out was terrible, that I was doing exactly the wrong thing to tell my story.

The worst thing about these sorts of critiques is not whether they are right or wrong - it's how much we let them paralyze us. Keep writing, keep working, keep following your gut. Trust yourself, and you'll figure out how much of what he's been saying to you is relevant to your story.
 

kaitie

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Thanks everyone. I just feel like so much is riding on this book, and I've already rewritten the opening part twice to get it to a point I was happy with. I appreciate the thoughts, though. You guys are right. He might just have a different idea than I do (he often does) and maybe he just doesn't understand what I'm doing. Really the only thing I can do is get the first draft done and the have betas look at it and see, right? Even if my heist needs more detail early on, that's something I could edit on revisions, right?

I need to listen to what I tell my students: writing is about rewriting. I'll email a couple of people and see what other opinions I get. At least if there's a fatal flaw I can try to figure it out.
 

HistorySleuth

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I wouldn't be so quick to jump and assume your boyfriend is right, especially since it sounds like you are not done with it yet. Is the first draft done? Has he read the whole thing yet? I'm always here to read something over too. :)

Don't EVER say you wonder if you should write at all or I will have to beat you with a copy of "50 shades" of excessive adverbs!
 

wonderactivist

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Dear kaitie,

It can be so hard to getr your heart to understand what your mind already does. You are right about following the advice you give to your students. Write, just write.

If it's any help, I'll just share that my husband rarely reads anything I write. He isn't much of a regular reader to begin with plus I think he's too biased. He was one of the last in my family to read my first book. Like with many of them, he sees the protagonist in his mind as me, so he doesn't like when bad things happen to her.

I hope the new year brings a new state of mind!

SENT WITH A BEAR HUG,

Lucie