Comments | nancyfulda: Writing Secret #1

nancyfulda

Writing Secret #1

Jul 22, 2013 23:15

Ok, folks, here's the biggest secret I know about writing: A passionately divided audience is preferable to one that is lukewarm ( Read more... )

Comments 4

ext_678724 July 23 2013, 04:24:32 UTC

I agree with my whole heart.

I took an experiment to my writers' group. The group included five members of SFWA -- two professional editors and three writers. The editors panned my piece and started telling me what was wrong with it. Wannabees piled on.

Then one SFWA writer said, "I like it." She liked the experiment. She like the sing-song style and complex sentence constructions. A wannabee said, "I like it, too."

And then the fight began.

The fight got loud and all the rules of order got tossed as the two sides went at it. The odds were two-to-one against me. But I did not write for the two. I wrote for the one. I had an audience.

At that moment I knew I could be a writer.

nancyfulda July 23 2013, 13:09:59 UTC

Bravo for resisting discouragement! I'm glad you were able to listen to both sides of the debate and see the value within your story.

bondo_ba July 23 2013, 15:47:02 UTC

Yes. I completely and totally agree with this! I think too much writing tries to pander to everyone nowadays.

jorrocks_j July 23 2013, 21:37:24 UTC

"When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself."

--Oscar Wilde