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Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officiallyInsecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. JULY 6 QUESTION: What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing? The awesome co-hosts for the July 6 posting of the IWSG will be Yolanda Renee, Tyrean Martinson, Madeline Mora-Summonte , LK Hill, Rachna Chhabria, and JA Scott!
Wow, today's question really hit me. As an editor I spend a lot of time saying things about a lot of people's writing, and I often wonder if writers know just how difficult and often lonely it can be on the other side of the red pen.
As an author, and fellow critique partner who tries to openly discuss observations, I know how it feels to have your favorite scene, phrase or description cut or ignored. What is the best thing anyone has ever said to me? I wish I had written that! of course. That's why I try to note it in a manuscript margin, no matter how busy I am, from time to time. A simple, "Well said, great scene, love that!, nice!" goes so far toward building back up the writing confidence of an author whose manuscript has been redlined or marked up with a dozen notations of revisions to be made. How do I know? I'm an author, and as an editor I'm probably even more insecure as an author wondering if people critique me with unfair (however secret) overinflated expectations. As an author I sometimes need to have a sloppy, rough draft with brainstormed freewriting and choppy ideas. I wear a lot of hats. Sometimes they get baggy and slip a bit, from being changed too often. But the more I wear them, the more comfortable they are, and the more they become an integral part of my eclectic personality...
29 Comments
7/6/2016 06:01:44 am
As with a spoonful of sugar and medicine, compliment and critique work hand in hand. My last manuscript came back with red marks on almost every page (a great thing) but sprinkled intermittently throughout were honest comments about small things that worked. Easy to swallow and helpful.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 09:58:04 am
You got it, Gail! The dosage is the thing...careful measurement!
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7/6/2016 06:39:13 am
Couldn't agree with you more! Even on really rough MSs that I've critiqued I like to say some positive things--even if it means I have to search. I also try to reread my criticism and make sure if I were the author reading it it would sound positive and not condescending. I also make sure it is a correction needed to better the work, not me inserting my own voice or changing it to how I would write it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 09:59:54 am
Good points, Mary! Thanks!
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7/6/2016 09:16:12 am
As a former teacher, I know how important it is not to so overload the writer with so much negative that he or she stops listening.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 10:01:24 am
Oh, you know it, Roland. I couldn't agree more. I wore that hat a couple decades too! LOL!
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7/6/2016 10:57:01 am
I back you wholeheartedly. My line editor is fabulous and letting me know I've done something right, but my content editor is all about business. I have to put on my big girl pants when dealing with him.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 01:25:01 pm
We writers sure do have to develop thick skin in a hurry, don't we, Crystal? Thank goodness for IWSG!
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7/6/2016 11:47:13 am
Excellent post! I hadn't really considered it from this perspective before.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 01:33:27 pm
Thanks, Madeline. It wasn't until recently, and until this group helped me have the confidence, that I felt able to admit to being both an author and an editor. It's rather silly though, since most editors are writers before they ever become editors. Both come with a unique set of duties and perspectives....
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7/6/2016 05:50:57 pm
I wish I'd written that! Seriously, never underestimate the power of a kind word.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 08:39:13 pm
LOL! Thanks, Nancy! I try...you're good at it. I have to try!
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 08:41:30 pm
Thanks for the kind words, J.Q. IWSG is the best!
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7/6/2016 08:16:52 pm
I don't envy you the task of editing. I've done a little content editing for others and always try to do the same. It's hard to be critical and I admire anyone with the ability to be constructively so!
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/6/2016 08:43:48 pm
Thanks, Yolanda!
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7/7/2016 01:13:54 am
Agree with you, as a creative writing teacher I have to balance both the criticism and feedback so that I don't hurt any student's fragile ego.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/7/2016 02:08:19 am
So true, and creating a community of writers so the students learn to find positive feedback for one another is so important too. Thanks, Rachna.
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7/7/2016 07:49:09 am
Although I'm not an editor, I teach writing classes and edit my student's papers in feedback sessions. As I'm working with them, I try to focus on one main skill I want them to improve and then I try to point out two or three parts that I think are good. I've had a few writing students who have come to my classes far below grade level in their writing so sometimes I have to ask for multiple improvements, but I still try to find one or two highlights.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/7/2016 06:42:43 pm
Isn't it amazing how much one learns from teaching, Tyrean?
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/7/2016 06:47:19 pm
True, Lisa. Probably have to weigh my heart on a scale to find out... ;D
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7/7/2016 02:31:34 pm
Love hearing this from "sort of the other side" :)
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/7/2016 06:50:22 pm
I love living on the edge, it seems, S. Katherine! Thanks!
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Diane Burton
7/7/2016 06:14:09 pm
How great to see you here with the IWSG. This is such a supportive group. Best wishes.
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Elizabeth Alsobrooks
7/7/2016 06:55:56 pm
Thanks, Diane! Nice to see you here, too! Yeah, I really like these folks! Quite a few familiar faces, too!
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7/8/2016 09:13:56 am
I bet it's doubly tough being an editor. Showing appreciation for well-crafted words is definitely a good thing.
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7/8/2016 04:19:49 pm
Interesting to see the perspective from the other side of the pen.
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