I've recently had my work critiqued and annihilated twice. I've been eager to find a critique partner who writes the same genre as I do. I need someone to read my work with fresh eyes and give me an honest opinion. Unfortunately, I'm getting a little too much honesty. People can be downright cruel.
I try to take their advice under serious consideration; look at it with an open mind you might say, but when I go back and read my work, I fall in love all over again. I just don't see what is so awful. I love my writing. I think it flows nicely. I love the dialog (this is my strong point and I've never heard anything to the contrary.) I read it over and over and I simply cannot see anything that would constitute a public flogging.
Yes, I want to improve my writing.
Yes, I want other writer's opinions of my work.
Yes, I have every intention of taking their advice to heart and making the necessary changes to make my novels appealing to the masses.
But I have to admit, folks: I'm in love with my stories and my characters and as we all know, love is blind.
What's a writer to do when they can't see past the end of their keyboard?
I've actually got a rejection folder filled with rejection slips, and it's over an inch thick. I know where you're coming from. I once entered a novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, made it all the way to the quarter-finalist category and just went crazy with excitement. Publisher's Weekly was going to review my novel. They trashed that manuscript so bad I convinced myself to quit writing for about half a year. It's tough, putting your babies out for the world to see. Just keep on trucking and you'll make it.
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