I confess, I am a fan of the word feedback. It’s neutral. It can be either good or bad. If that makes me bland, so be it.
I joined the Online Writing Workshop for SF, Fantasy and Horror a couple of weeks ago in hopes of getting feedback on my writing, getting used to getting feedback, and getting better at giving feedback.
To dip my toe in, I posted a short story that I had submitted to three markets. With each submission there was hope, but the story never made the final cut. I had received some feedback (there it is again) which I planned to incorporate when I had a break in my everyday writing to do revisions.
In the meantime, I submitted it to OWW to see if the feedback would be consistent with what I had already been told.
In short, no.
Three people reviewed my story and I received three different sets of feedback. That’s not to say they weren’t all valid, they were just different. And maybe a bit contradictory. Where one person thought I overdid it with lyrical description while another thought that same description lent depth appropriate to the characters’ respective infatuations. Perhaps the best bit of observation was that the reader didn’t feel like there was enough at stake for either of the characters.
I suppose the moral here is that stories are different things to different people. It only serves to underscore the importance of matching up our work with the right people (agents, publishers) when it comes time to pimp our work.
In the meantime, my plan is to incorporate those comments as best as possible without sucking the life from my story.
Once I get this most recent draft of my novel finished and tidied up, I’ll be submitting chapters to OWW as well as beta readers.
Of course, to do that I have to earn points by reviewing the writing of others. I can only hope that I provide useful feedback.
Where do you go to get feedback on your writing?
We’re kind of on the same wavelength with our last two posts. (but, that could also be mostly in my head).
I have never done online workshops so I’m interested to read more insights into this. I think you’ll always get different feedback from different people and it is very hard to know what works best with your story. But you already know this.
My best advice is to read the comments of one or two people and see what else they’ve commented on and if you agree with what they’ve said about someone else’s work.
Or, join a real-life writer’s group. It’s INVALUABLE to me. I have a large 20+ group that I attend as well as a YA focus group with four people. I get the most out of the small group because we go more in-depth with the stories and honestly, I hand-picked them from the bigger group. It might be a little under-handed, but we each bring something different to the group and we’re all writing in the same genre.
Have a look around in your area or start a group of your own? I wouldn’t mind having a read of your first few chapters. 🙂
I live in a rural town of about 2,000 people. I know of a couple of writers, but fantasy and sci-fi are not their first choices. I think it’s important to have folks with those sensibilities to review what I’m writing. That said, it probably couldn’t hurt to get perspectives from the outside. I also worry that the personality compatibility may not be there.
I like the safety barrier of the online workshop. It makes it easier to sit on comments and process them in due time. 😉 Blah, blah, blah.
I sure appreciate your willingness to read some of my chapters. I’ll check in with you after this draft is polished.
Stephen King said, “Ties go the writer” when it comes to critiques. If one person likes it and one doesn’t, leave it alone.
Good luck with your writing!
No doubt. That Stephen King, he’s alright. I wonder how many writers were inspired by On Writing? I know I was.
Of course the writer’s doubt is always happy to undermine such truisms. Thanks for dropping by!
I have a group that meets once a month, and it is interesting to see how that feedback can vary. I find that if responses to something vary (be it a phrase, motivation, etc.), it often means it needs reworking. That said, we all have our preferences, and I agree, a fit has to be found. This was third group – the other were not for me. Best of luck, Jonathan.
I’m looking forward to receiving feedback from other writers, especially in the genre. In my naivete, I plan to assemble all the comments and sift through them for what I think is appropriate and what I can disregard. Hopefully I make the right choices. I would enjoy meeting face to face with a writing group, but, alas, for now that is not possible. Does once a month seem like often enough?
no, Jonathan it’s not enough. I would like to meet more, but given our other obligations this is what it is. Plus, the time given to read and critique…i don’t know if more than once a month is possible at this point. ultimately, I would love to do once a week meeting (one day.)
I’ve never done it, but I imagine prepping for a 1 or 2 hour a week commitment would be a good deal of work. It must be nice to have at least a toe in the water with the once a month thing, though.
I’m struggling to review enough stuff at OWW to earn points so I can post my work.
I’ve tried writing critique groups and I have to agree that having like-minded people around is a big help. There were no parameters for the people in either group and it turned out to be lots of poets and people who “always wanted to write a book,” but never got around to it and had no idea how. Not that there’s anything wrong with their insights, but I was hoping to get people in the group who were at the same stage of writing, anguish, rewriting, anquish, editing, etc. and get insight from them, no matter the genre.
BTW, I loved On Writing and reread it on occasion. Inspiring… (nice blog and nice to meet you!)
I think OWW will be a good fit if for no other reason that there are so many people on there writing sci-fi, fantasy and horror so that hurdle is already cleared. My hope is if I stick with it long enough, I’ll find a group of folks on there who share my sensibilities.
Have you found a group that suits you? What are the challenges in your situation? Mine’s primarily a function of population.
On Writing reads as easy as any King book ever did. It’s funny as hell, poignant and straight to the point. I’ll refer to it for something specific and then get lost in the pages for 15-20 minutes before I realize it 😉
The various forms of critiques you get on OWW can really be trying sometimes. Let me recommend this: watch for people who follow your writing consistently, then listen to what they say. It takes a while to build a solid group, but when you do, you can rely on them.
I think you have the right idea to work with the valid points and leave the issues of personal taste alone.
I had not realized you’d joined! If you can leave the post up for a few days, I’d like to critique it for you. I’ve also signed up to receive an e-mail when you submit. I’ll be watching for your novel’s chapters.
Thanks for the recommendation. Like all things writing, it sounds like getting what you want is the result of perseverance as much as anything. Are you planning to stay with OWW for the long haul or is there a point when you can see yourself divesting?