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SECOND PLACE
On Writing Advice . . .
By Fred Venturini
Patoka, Illinois
My piece was the focus of the writing
group. It was the first time that people would be openly
discussing
my work in front of me, and I was nervous and excited
at the same time. The story was called “Songs
of the Bird,” which can be read on the TBT website
in the January web contests.
The simple, quiet story of a lonely old man was quite
moving to some of the girls in the class. They seemed
to really like it . . . but.
There was that word. One by one, the students in
the class began their deconstruction of my work with
a
great compliment, and followed with a “but.”
The but was sometimes followed by a nugget that I thought
I could really use, such as developing the bond between
grandfather and granddaughter to make the story have
more impact.
But . . . most of the advice was useless. As they
went through my work, one of the students sitting
near me
leaned over and whispered in my ear—“You
know what this story really needs to liven it up? A
car crash. That’s why she didn’t come
over. She got in a flaming wreck. That would be cool.”
I’ve come to learn that occurrences like this
in a writing group are not uncommon. As writers, most
of us feel the need to please as many people as possible
with our work in order to make it successful. However,
this isn’t the case.
The bottom line is this: when taking advice on your
writing, be very choosy. Do what’s best not for
that particular reader, or even for yourself. Do what’s
best for the story and the characters that you’ve
created. Be true to the work that you started.
Many times, once a character is created and a plot
set into motion, they take on their own lives and
plot their own course. It shouldn’t be up to a stranger
that doesn’t know that piece of work as intimately
as you to make a decision. It’s ultimately up
to your character—should you move your omniscient
pen in such a fashion that moves them away from the
consistency of the existence you’ve given them,
it will not ring true and will turn off readers and
expose your weakness as a writer.
Taking bad advice, both from yourself and from others
in an environment such as a writing group, can be
one of the greatest pitfalls. However, the fact remains
that seeking feedback is very important. It’s
just very difficult to extract from the mountain
of rubbish that is piled upon writers who seek feedback
on their work.
Of all the valuable skills, being able to cull the
quality, constructive advice from the myriad of suggestions
and interjections is one of the most valuable in
a writer’s toolbox.
I’ve often found that asking questions can
be helpful:
Is it true to the characters? Is it true
to the story that I intended to create?
Will it make
my story better and clearer? Will it intensify and
sharpen the focus instead of just shifting it?
Does
it improve my story’s structure? Solidify
the foundation? Make it stronger?
These seem like
obvious questions, but asking them out loud will help.
I used them when considering
adding a car crash to one of my stories. The answer
was a
resounding NO.
So beware of advice writers. Always seek it . . .
but only follow it when your absolutely sure of it’s
worth! Copyright (c) 2003 for the
author, all rights reserved.
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