The Stages of Handling Criticism

Nobody's perfect. As writers, all of us are on journeys to improve our writing. The best way to do so is to have our current writing criticized. Knowing what works and what doesn't is best achieved through the lens of other people—your readers. While we can't please everyone with our writing, we can at least try to take relevant and constructive criticism to make more readers happy. Ultimately, there are two stages of criticism: before you release a book and after you publish this book. Knowing how to handle both is key to improving your writing. Use beta reading criticism to make changes. I've written about the four things I like my beta readers to provide for my drafts, but I'll admit that it stings a little when a trusted source comes back and gives some harsh criticism of my story. Your first reaction might be to get mad. "These beta readers don't understand what I'm trying to do!" you may tell...
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Writing shouldn’t be solitary

When people say "writing is a solitary activity," they do not refer to the entire process. Yes, nobody but you will sit down and put the words in your head onto the page. I know I've written a lot about how a self-published author can "do it all," but it's important to know the value of community as an author. The best-written works of all time hardly existed in a vacuum. Even if the actual process of writing can be solitary, it can become isolating if we don't connect with others who have this same experience. Writing should be an experience. Not everyone has the same process or hangups, but there are enough similar highs and lows that you can empathize with when you talk about your craft with fellow authors. We understand the highs of selling our work or getting a glowing review as much as we know the pain of writer's block or critical feedback. Sometimes a close group...
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2022: More of the Same

2022: More of the Same

Accountability has always been key for me. I feel obligated to finish projects when other people know that I'm working on them. 2022 will be the fourth year that I have posted in January about my writing goals for the year. Many of them may appear similar to the ones in 2021, but that's just part of long-term planning and short-term setbacks. Buried Colony Yes, I realize this is the third year in a row I've had this book on my "to complete" list. I have planned out solutions to fix these issues with the critical beta-reader and advanced reader feedback I received last year. Fortunately, I can still keep what I want to accomplish with this book intact. After I fix it up, I'll be sending the manuscript to a sensitivity reader for a final run-through to ensure I'm not unintentionally offending anyone with my character depictions. Buried Colony will be my primary project for this year, so—if all goes as...
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2021 Has All the Fun

2021 Has All the Fun

Another year, another set of writing goals. 2021 will be a bit different in that I've already been hard at work getting things prepared for publication—or merely fixing up the project that I delayed from last year. Either way, I do plan to continue my goal of self-publishing at least one book each year. With most conventions postponed or canceled this year, I'll certainly have time to sit down and work on these projects. Buried Colony Despite the setback I had last year, I still plan on self-publishing Buried Colony as soon as possible (before it becomes a reality). I'll be re-working the parts that need attention in January and will get a few beta readers to check my work before proceeding with the advanced reader copies again. Fortunately, a lot of formatting and design has already been completed, so it's really just the content that needs some polishing before publication. I also hope to release this as one of the first...
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Logic and the Suspension of Disbelief

Fiction writers have the most freedom to write whatever they want. After all, fiction is—by definition—not true. Thus, without the constraints of truth holding them down, fiction writers can write about things that don’t make any sense. This is how the more fantastical genres of science fiction and fantasy can get away with having aliens, dragons, and any other number of crazy things the author can think up. While fiction doesn’t have to hold to the tenets of truth, there is one fundamental foundation needed for this—or any other—writing. That foundation is logic. Even if readers can accept a world that has faster-than-light travel or a ring that can make its wearer invisible, if there isn’t a logic supporting these claims, the reader will begin to doubt the world the writer has created. The second that doubt creeps in, disbelief isn’t far behind. A hole in logic is a hole in the plot. Because there’s no need to write factual things in fiction,...
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The ABC+ of Beta Reading

A few months ago, I discussed how there are four essential edits that every author should perform on their manuscript. While the author can do half of these edits by themselves, two edits need the input of other people: editors and beta readers. Authors shouldn’t expect editors to ask what to look for during their review, but most beta readers might not know the types of useful feedback the author is seeking with their review. It doesn’t hurt to provide beta readers with a little guidance on what to be looking for when they read the author’s manuscript. The benefits of beta readers are due to the fact that they aren’t necessarily professionals reading your work. They won’t have the background to tell you if you’re using too many dangling participles (like your editor should). Instead, they have the “layman” view of someone who would pick up your book and read it for entertainment purposes. Consequently, the beta readers should be able...
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