Writers can sometimes get too close to their work, losing the ability to objectively see how readers might respond to the obviously brilliant phrases they're throwing down on the page. This can be a good thing ... getting bogged down in what's wrong with your story is the quickest way to slow down your daily productivity.
It can also be a bad thing. Ignoring the 'gut feeling' that something needs fixing can result in chapter after chapter of flat, dull narrative that doesn't move the story forward.
Fortunately for me, I married a reader. I had that gut feeling that something needed fixing in Chapter 4 of the book I'm working on, so I asked Lisa to read the chapter and let me know what she thought. Unaided, she pinpointed the nagging concern I had as needing work.
Writing Tip O' The Day:
Marry a reader, join a critique group or kidnap your best friend and force them to give you objective feedback on your work from time to time. Then suck it up and listen to what they have to say ... though the edits might be painful to make (goodbye, brilliant phrase on page 37), they will ultimately help improve your story.
About Me
- David Eric Tomlinson
- David Eric Tomlinson is a professional copywriter and aspiring novelist who has an unhealthy relationship with caffeine. David has an undergraduate degree in creative writing from the University of California, San Diego. He can usually be found huddled over his keyboard in the coffee shops of north Dallas furiously finishing his first novel.
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