Criticism

 

    Today's writing tip is based on accepting criticism, or more accurately, determining whether the criticism is worth accepting.  Everyone, it seems sometimes, is eager and willing to tell us what they believe is wrong with your story, poem, or blog post.  People rarely, in my experience, understand what it takes to pour your mind and heart out for examination and listen to criticism.  So, this is for any aspiring writers who are about to face or have recently faced a critique of their beloved work.

    

    First of all, let's talk about the most obvious and most overlooked aspect of criticism when it comes to writing.  Criticism, just like writing is a skill.  It's a skill that gets better with time and practice.  Lots of people think that they have the ability to write a book, a poem, or a story, but a small percentage of the human population actually does it.  Criticizing someone else's work though, no one hesitates for a second to jump into this learned field and do donuts in the mud.  Why?  Why do people hesitate to step into one area of literary art, but jump gleefully into another?  The answer is simple.  You risk nothing by criticizing another person's work.  You will not be hurt, insulted, or driven to give up on your dream after the act is done.  Writing, on the other hand, is risky.  You subject yourself to the possibility of being rejected.  You have to put yourself out there, and risk your dreams.  That's a tough thing to face, the fact that your dreams may never come true.  I'm just not good enough.  We, as writers, face it every day.  Critics, not so much.  So, when listening to criticism, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.  First of all, is this person a skilled critic, and second, is this person trying to help me improve my craft, or are they just angry at the world and taking it out on me?  If a person tells you they've heard ten stories like yours in the last week, what does that have to do with your writing?  The movie Avatar was a retread of time-honored cliche's but it set box office records.

    Another thing to think about is the generality of the criticism.  Is the critic describing your writing in vague terms like stuffy, clunky, boring, slow, or cliched?  These are all things to pay attention to, especially if more than one person used the same type of descriptor, but these are the tools of the amateur critic.  Now, don't get me wrong, professional critics may use vague terms like this, but they won't rely on them solely.  If the entire critique is written entirely with a broad brush of generalities, it can be dismissed as amateurish and unhelpful.  By no means should you take these kinds of critiques to heart and make decisions about following your dream based on this kind of critique.

    Also, we need to ask ourselves, is the critique correct?  Is it valid?  Writing, as with all art, is a subjective thing.  One person may hate it, but ten thousand more may love it.  So, the trick to acting on criticism is to learn to detect recurring patterns.  If one person says that you have too many commas in your story, and another mentions that your story doesn't flow, there is a very good chance that the two are related.  Pay attention to how the critiques compare to each other, and whether they are related in any way.  One person may dislike your ending, but that does not mean that the ending is bad, or should be changed.  Listening to people and reworking our writing is often more difficult than the first draft, and close behind marketing on the scale of difficulty imho.

    Last, but definitely not least, we need to learn to take criticism for what it is.  As artists, we tend to have our heart and soul wrapped up in our work, and criticism of our writing often feels like criticism of personal self.  "It's boring," is often heard as "you're boring."  Step outside your work and take a look at your writing almost as if someone else did it.  The best Authors and Poets in the world have room to improve, so what makes me think that my writing should be perfect?  It takes courage and determination to pour your raw mind out onto a page, but even more is needed to face an honest review.  If you have a good editor that gives you sound advice about your writing, thank your lucky stars, because they aren't falling off of trees like crabapples.  Accept the advice with a happy heart and use it to make your writing shine.

    As always have a great day and Happy Writing!

The Keys To Great Dialog

 

    So, you're character's conversations sound weird and stilted...  Dialog is one of the toughest techniques that we writers have to learn.  We aren't supposed to write words like "thundered" or "bellowed," while writing, but we must make it sound unique and interesting.  How are we supposed to do that when our literary hands are tied with "he said" and "she said?"  Well, that's where I'm going to try to help you out.

    The most important thing about written dialog is the flow.  When people are verbally communicating, there aren't usually long pauses or five syllable words thrown around.  Rule #1 is to keep it simple.  Use words that normal people use while talking.  A construction worker or a waiter would not use words like "preamble" or "hypothesize."  Even if they have the vocabulary, they would sound like they are talking down to people if they use it.  So, if your character isn't talking down to people and making an attempt to show off that vocabulary, keep the big words out, unless your she has a PhD in Literature.

    The next thing I'd like to emphasize is punctuation.  Punctuation is very important for the flow of the dialog.  A comma calls for a pause in the thought, and one that has been misplaced can change the entire flow of the conversation, and even the meaning of the sentence.  The punctuation is normally placed within the quotation marks like so:

    "See Spot run," Jane said.

    Notice that the comma is located within the quotation marks, and it marks a pause in thought.  It says that the character is done talking and the narrator is taking over.  If you are having a difficult time writing dialog, it wouldn't hurt to brush up on your punctuation.

    Our last topic on the subject will be on subjects.  The subject of sentence will be the person talking.  In the above sentence, Jane is the subject.  Naming subjects in our writing can become repetitive.  Having "Jane said" at the end of every sentence can get monotonous in a hurry.  I like to use descriptive words instead of names sometimes, to break up that monotony.  If Jane is the older of the two talking, I would say:

    "See Spot run," Jane said.

    "See  Red run," Sue said.

    "No, see Spot run," said the older girl.  

    The audience must already be aware that Jane is the older girl.  This technique can be used with any descriptive, such as, taller, shorter, wiser, impatient, or stronger. It is a good way to make your dialog varied, but still keep the reader aware of who is talking.  

    That's it for today.  Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.  Leave a comment, and sign up for the feed.  Also you can find me on Twitter at @murickansaga or Instagram @murickan_saga.  As always, have a great day, and happy writing!

Writer's Block, How To Beat It In 7 Easy Steps

 

Writer's Block is a phenomena that stops us writers from doing what we do best, writing.  There are as many different causes of writer's block as there are writers, and therein lies the rub.  Because there are so many different causes, there cannot be one sure-fire remedy.  For most of us, writing is our salvation.  Escaping into our fantasy world, and leaving behind the problems of the real world, is what keeps us going.  Therefore, being refused that escape by the elusive Muse, is frustrating to say the least.  What I will propose in this article today, is not a way to beat, or fix, writer's block, but a way to own and control it.  We cant control the Muse, or dictate to her when she will bestow her gifts, but we can control how we think and what we do about it.

So, I propose that the next time you suffer from writer's block, you answer these questions in as much detail as possible.  If you don't know the answer, then make one up.  If you do this every time, you are afflicted, you may, one day, even find yourself with enough material for a book on writer's block.  Enough rambling, let's get to work.

1:  How does writer's block make you feel?  Are you angry, frustrated, lonely, happy, or sad?

2:  What do you think is causing this particular block?  Pressure from work?  Pressure from a relationship?  Maybe it's just boredom or lack of interest.

3:  Write down some things that you think might help remove the block.  Jogging, video games, reading, meditation, anything that you think might help.  I'm not telling you to do any of these things, just write down your ideas.

4:  How do you think that successful authors have dealt with writer's block in the past?  Did they wait it out, power through it, or just give up and start another project?  You may not know the answer to this for sure, but I want you to write it down, even if you need to make it up.  Its about what you think they did, not what they actually did.

5:  Are you excited about your current project?  If so, why?  If not, what excited you about it in the beginning?  Why did you want to write it?  

6:  Write a few sentences about what is going on in your life right now.  This will be used as a reference later.  You can come back to these pages and look for similarities.  Be as detailed as possible.  Are you happy overall?  Is work going well?  Relationships, are they making you happy?

7:  Write about a book, a movie, or a song that you have enjoyed recently.  How did it make you feel?  What was it that made the work good?  Do you think that the person who created that work suffered from writer's block?  Are you glad that they didn't abandon the project?

You will notice that the main theme of this project is to write.  Writing is the only way to get through a writer's block.  Going through these seven steps and writing down your feelings will help you open the door to your imagination again.  I know that this will help some people, and I hope it helps everyone who reads it.  I know that it can help you, if you apply yourself and write, but in the end it's up to you.  Have a great day, and happy writing!