Reflection – Page 5

Surprise! #IWSG 08/07/2019

August 7, 2019 By ravenofiernan 10 Comments

This is my second post for The Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

Before we get to the monthly post, I want to first apologize to all the people who wrote to me in June, which was my first post for IWSG. My brain apparently took a leave of absence. I had written the post and posted it early in May so I wouldn’t forget, and somehow thought I would receive email notifications when there were comments. But I didn’t get any email notifications and instead of actually checking here (the smart thing to do), I just assumed no one had responded. Late June/Early July was crazy, so I missed that month’s posting, but did do a blog hop at the end of July and found all the responses waiting for my approval! So, first of all, thank you for writing, and then second, please forgive me for not seeing/responding to them until last week. I will be more responsive this time now that I know I won’t be getting email notifications!

I will also plan to check out some of the other blog posts this time, too!

Anyway, on to the question:

August 7 question – Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you’d forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming?

I’m always surprised when I am writing, to be honest, and it doesn’t seem to matter how much or how little outlining I do. I’ve done detailed scene-by-scene outlines of the whole book, and also jumped in with only a line or so and no plan at all. Obviously, I’m surprised when I have no idea, but even when I outline, I start diverting from the planned plot about a quarter of the way through and by the time I am half-way through, the plan no longer works. As a result, I now do broad plotting, if any (having an idea of where I want the story to go and some main points I want to get to), for the whole book, and if I want, more detailed planning of the beginning, and as I go. I think the “as I go” planning is called headlight planning.

So that’s sort of a process question, but let’s get to a specific moment of surprise. I have started writing Prime Tower*. It’s basically an epic science fantasy dystopian novel about an amnesiac. Think Bourne Identity mixed with something like 1984 or Zamyatin’s We. The plot is more spy novel/epic fantasy than dystopian, but the setting is pretty dark. And it’s both futuristic and has magic.

While I was developing the magic part of the world, I had a flash of insight, and I saw the whole climax play out before my eyes. It was just amazing and perfect, and it linked the characters and the world and the plot in a way that resonated with the theme of the story. I can’t wait to get there!

*You can read about Prime Tower and other works in progress on my Works in Progress page!

INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP

FOUNDED BY

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

Writers supporting, encouraging and learning from each other. Post on your own blog about your struggles, your triumphs, and your successes. Talk about your works in progress the good, the bad and the ugly or some other writing relating topic on your mind. Read others, interact, comment, and grow within this wonderful author community. Every month there is an optional question for those who may need help figuring out what to post about.

Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

Join in yourself!

IWSG Website

And here are the awesome co-hosts for the August 7 posting of the IWSG!
Renee Scattergood
Sadira Stone
Jacqui Murray
Tamara Narayan
LG Keltner

Genre Confusion #IWSG 06/05/2019

June 5, 2019 By ravenofiernan 14 Comments

So, I have just joined the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, which is fitting, since I am a writer and very insecure!

INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP

FOUNDED BY

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

Join in yourself!

IWSG Website

JUNE CO-HOSTS:

DIANE BURTON / KIM LAJEVARDI / SYLVIA NEY / SARAH FOSTER / JENNIFER HAWES / MADELINE MORA-SUMMONTE

QUESTION FOR JUNE 05, 2019: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why? (Always optional)

This is a good question for me. I don’t really have one favorite genre to write in, or to read in, for that matter. Sometimes I need light fluff. Other times I want something intellectually dense, but not too emotional. Other times, I yearn for emotional intensity. So, when it comes to writing, I want to have books like those out for others who read. It doesn’t help that ALL genres have books on all ends of this spectrum, for the most part.

That said, as my subtitle suggests, what really draws me is the weird. Usually, this means some sort of paranormal, fantasy, or science fiction element. I also love puzzles and mysteries, the sort Agatha Christie is famous for, so most of what I write includes a mystery, either as the main plot or as a subplot. And I love solving problems in ways that are a little unconventional: thievery and spying and assassination are really fascinating to me, as are serial killers and secret organizations.

So, what genres do I write in, then? Cipher, the novel I am revising, is an urban fantasy. As the first book, it sets up the world of vampires, and other paranormal creatures. I’m also planning on including a secret society, and most of the plots will be intrigue or mysteries.

The Neighborhood Witch Watch series is paranormal cozy mystery: the premise is a neighborhood watch made up of witches and other supernatural beings. I’ve flirted with putting them in the same universe as Cipher, but have decided not to. The supernaturals in this series are more flavor than core elements, so the mechanics are more simplistic. I’ve written the first book, but have not yet revised it, nor planned any more yet.

Prime Tower is a standalone science fantasy. The main plot is a mystery in that the main character is amnesiac. Think Bourne Identity with future technology, dystopian government, and natural magic. So, it’s not mystery in a traditional sense (no one is solving a crime), but it is a puzzle, with secret powers and spies. I’ve started writing this.

And then, I am hoping to write a series around The Rookery — a Renaissance-esque fantasy about a monastery of thieves and spies who can turn into ravens and use chess pieces as messages. Lots of play on the word “rook”.

As you can see, while I write in many different genres, the core pieces always seem to come back.

What genres do you like to read and/or write?

My Review Guidelines

April 26, 2017 By ravenofiernan 1 Comment

I will try to remember to link to this every time I write a review, to let you know the guidelines I set for myself.

1. I will recommend everything I review. Basically, the point of a review, even if I discuss problems, is to share things I love. I have no desire to spend time writing about or discussing things I don’t love.

2. I will state where I obtained the item, and if it is legally available online, I will provide a link where you can get it.

Why you don’t need “thick skin” to be a writer

December 22, 2014 By ravenofiernan Leave a Comment

A lot of you have probably run into the expression that if you want to succeed as a writer, you need to have thick skin. The idea is that since you will get critical feedback from others, you need to be somewhat impervious to that criticism. Having thin skin, on the other hand, means letting the criticism “get to you” in some way. There are some major problems that can only happen if you let criticism “get to you” emotionally, which is why people advocate “thick skin”: if the criticism doesn’t get to you, you won’t react in a way that will harm your career.

So, here are some of the problems with “thin skin”:

1. Unprofessionalism. The most obvious reason people tell other writers to get “thick skin” is that they have seen an example of a writer doing something unprofessional. Some writers have lashed out defensively at people offering criticism, often their own readers. This alienates readers, publishers, other writers, other professionals, and the general public, including other potential readers.

2. Hubris. Another problem with letting criticism “get to you” is that it might keep you from making changes to improve your writing. If you feel the criticism too sharply, it’s easy to retreat into the idea that the critic is stupid and that therefore, the criticism is useless. While it is important to be confident as a writer, ignoring useful feedback is dangerous, even if you do it privately.

3. Writing paralysis. The most dangerous problem is that you’ll become paralyzed and not be able to either sell your current work or not write new work because you are upset about the criticism. According to Dean Wesley Smith, the only way you can kill your career is to stop writing. So if the criticism stops you from writing or selling your work, it is harming your career.

Obviously, having “thick skin” avoids these problems. However, there is an alternative, at least for writers. Almost all criticism comes to writers in the form of writing. This usually means that you are in a private place when you receive it. Maybe family is present, but the critic himself usually is far away. This privacy is why I say that you can still have “thin skin” and avoid the three problems above if you are a writer.

That alternative is to develop resilience. This is my method. When I receive criticism, it does get to me. For anywhere from an hour to a day, I am overwhelmed with the emotional impact of the criticism. But because I know I have thin skin, there are two things I don’t do during that period: 1) I don’t make any decisions concerning my work, and 2) I do not react to the criticism in any way the public or the critic can discover. I keep my reaction private, and I usually remind myself and others that this will pass. It always does. And then, I think about the criticism rationally, and I deal with it as if I had thick skin.

Only I don’t. And there are advantages to using the resilience approach rather than the thicker skin approach.

If you actually have thick skin, it means you aren’t letting the emotional impact hit you, or you are softening the blow before it hits your core. This makes it much easier to avoid giving up on writing, ignoring useful feedback, and behaving badly in public. That’s good. But it also means you aren’t feeling as deeply. Since a lot of good writing comes from intense emotion, having thin skin allows you to draw on emotion much more easily.

What about you? What are your strategies for dealing with unpleasant criticism?