odd_buttons (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
odd_buttons) wrote2004-09-23 10:06 pm
odd_buttons) wrote2004-09-23 10:06 pm
Advice
Oh, my. This one has specific applications to fanfic. Well, I guess all these tidbits about writing do -- fanfic is, after all, writing -- but for instance, the first term, 'Accuracy' could be discussed as how it pertains to what we call 'canon', in fanfic.
'Advice' (and 'Workshop', too, though we'll see if these posts last that long: that's a lot of typing) goes to the 'beta' process in fanfic. An interesting difference I have noted is how I came to those people who have done betas for me through fanfic, as writers, rather than ask my personal friends or family (ogodno! not family!), and some of those very people have become personal friends. Has that been the trend for you guys out there? Or did you start asking advice from people you already knew for your fanfic?
The first two paragraphs about 'Advice' have little meaning to me: I don't share my writing with my family or with many of my friends. But the third hits the nail on the head. The second sentence, third paragraph, is a good definition for what I call 'cheerleaders' or 'handholders' (depends on my mood: if it's good I say cheerleader; if it's bleak I say handholder) and they do tend to be personal friends, beyond mere shared fandom -- but they also have similar styles or views on writing to mine.
As for the third and fourth sentences, third paragraph, I have encountered people just like that. Lacking a magic ring, I run for the hills when I meet them.
*
The following is an excerpt from Part III of the book Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern. The first two parts are very much worth reading as well. The book is available in paperback.
Advice
Naturally you want other people to read your work, but advice from others on your writing is a tricky business. Loved ones, friends, and acquaintances are often not reliable critics. Their love for you can make them think anything you do is wonderful because you did it. Even though you have begged them to be honest, they feel awkward criticizing your work. Another problem is more complicated. People close to you may want to believe you're a certain type of person. When your fiction violates that image, they feel uncomfortable and tend not to like those aspects of your work. Just because your friends have the good taste to like you does not mean that they can recognize or assess the strengths and weaknesses of your writing.
There's another problem too. You must deal with what friends say. What if someone you love tells you that you can't write and should give it up? Should you give up writing? Give up your friends? Get depressed? What if someone you love gives you advice that doesn't seem right? Should you follow it because there will be hurt feelings if you don't?
The advice you need for revision should come from people whose taste in fiction (not in music, art, or life-style) you respect. Encouragement is important. Some writers and critics use their formidable knowledge and sophisticated taste in literature as a stick to beat on others. Though such people can be perceptive, it seems as if they want to squelch all voices buy their own. The people who can help you are those who are sympathetic to the kind of work you're doing, knowledgeable about it, and supportive in their criticism.
See Reading, Revision, Workshops.
'Advice' (and 'Workshop', too, though we'll see if these posts last that long: that's a lot of typing) goes to the 'beta' process in fanfic. An interesting difference I have noted is how I came to those people who have done betas for me through fanfic, as writers, rather than ask my personal friends or family (ogodno! not family!), and some of those very people have become personal friends. Has that been the trend for you guys out there? Or did you start asking advice from people you already knew for your fanfic?
The first two paragraphs about 'Advice' have little meaning to me: I don't share my writing with my family or with many of my friends. But the third hits the nail on the head. The second sentence, third paragraph, is a good definition for what I call 'cheerleaders' or 'handholders' (depends on my mood: if it's good I say cheerleader; if it's bleak I say handholder) and they do tend to be personal friends, beyond mere shared fandom -- but they also have similar styles or views on writing to mine.
As for the third and fourth sentences, third paragraph, I have encountered people just like that. Lacking a magic ring, I run for the hills when I meet them.
*
The following is an excerpt from Part III of the book Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern. The first two parts are very much worth reading as well. The book is available in paperback.
Advice
Naturally you want other people to read your work, but advice from others on your writing is a tricky business. Loved ones, friends, and acquaintances are often not reliable critics. Their love for you can make them think anything you do is wonderful because you did it. Even though you have begged them to be honest, they feel awkward criticizing your work. Another problem is more complicated. People close to you may want to believe you're a certain type of person. When your fiction violates that image, they feel uncomfortable and tend not to like those aspects of your work. Just because your friends have the good taste to like you does not mean that they can recognize or assess the strengths and weaknesses of your writing.
There's another problem too. You must deal with what friends say. What if someone you love tells you that you can't write and should give it up? Should you give up writing? Give up your friends? Get depressed? What if someone you love gives you advice that doesn't seem right? Should you follow it because there will be hurt feelings if you don't?
The advice you need for revision should come from people whose taste in fiction (not in music, art, or life-style) you respect. Encouragement is important. Some writers and critics use their formidable knowledge and sophisticated taste in literature as a stick to beat on others. Though such people can be perceptive, it seems as if they want to squelch all voices buy their own. The people who can help you are those who are sympathetic to the kind of work you're doing, knowledgeable about it, and supportive in their criticism.
See Reading, Revision, Workshops.