Critique Groups

Firstly, I'd like to apologize about falling off the face of the earth this week. At Sunday River it was Kid's Week, which meant that I was and am one exhausted instructor. (But, it was an amazing experience, and my kiddos were awesome, so it was totally worth it)

I'm going to need this many energy drinks tomorrow to function like a human being...

Now for the post. I had an interesting learning experience this week, and thankfully, it was writing related...

About a month ago, I'd joined a critique group. We kind of all stumbled through how we wanted to set things up, corresponded through e-mails, and swapped about a chapter a week (or...whatever we could get done, whenever we could get it done).

Round one, I was a bit apprehensive. The person 'in charge' of the group sent me his work, and it was a LOT of telling rather than showing. I wasn't being drawn in, at all. I went through, did some line edits, highlighted paragraphs, said "You're telling me, bring me in..." etc. I tried really, really hard to find tactful ways to tear his work apart.

And then I get his edits back. It was about two-three sentences of 'I really like the plot set up here, I only have one suggestion'. I balked. There were no line edits, no "I'm lost here" "Strengthen this section". Nothing. Just two or three sentences that didn't really say anything. I had worked sooo hard on his story. And what did I get in return? Two sentences? Really, man??

Still, we continued along, I found myself repeating my edits over and over, as though he wasn't forward editing, as though...he wasn't trying. I'd work really hard on his, I'd get back three-four sentences.

This last round, he sent his work (another paragraph), and I sent mine, which started doing line edits, but (after a really long day with a million kids) I had to stop. I could no longer continue reading his story. I finished reading (no longer line editing), and did what he'd been sending to me, thinking it'd be okay, "There's still a lot of telling here, it's really hard for me to get through this because as a reader, I'm not being drawn in, at all."

The following day, I received and e-mail ending our correspondence.

I was a little sad, but after I stepped away from it for a second, I was really okay with it. Why? Because I hadn't getting the feedback from him that I'd hoped for. I was looking for more in-depth criticism than he was willing to offer, and I feel that he, too, may have been looking for something else out of the group, out of me.

The truth:
You're allowed to be in more than one group. You'll find people you like, and people you don't. The good news is, with mine I was still able to secure a reader, whose novel seems fantastic thus far, and also gives amazing feedback, so, I'm incredibly grateful for that. She's not afraid to tell me something is weak, what needs work, where I'm losing her.


So, my advice for the day:
Be aware of what you want out of critique groups. Do you really want people to tell you what they think, or are you just trying to see if your story makes sense? If you're not getting what you want, find a new group.

Great Comments Award

Huray! I got another award (is this really considered a blog award? I'm not sure, but I sure like getting stuff! Comments, especially!)

To me, getting a blog award, or heck, even getting comments, is like Christmas Day (if you don't believe me, check out THIS blog).

This award was given to my from Hope Roberson, check out her blog at My Proctor: The Calling. Thanks bunches!

It didn't seem like the typical tell peeps about yourself, so I'll avoid that and have a quick pass off. The following people are people who have had great comments, and have had fantastic things to say (Hope picked five to pass it on to, so I will, too:) ):

Krista, at I Take the Pen
Gene Pool Diva, at Diminishing Gene Pool
Ninja Girl, at Ninja Girl Reads
Peggy Eddleman, at Will Write For Cookies
C. Lee McKenzie, at The Write Game

I would also like to give a shout out to Cassie Mae, who I know already got this award, J.A. Bennett, who just recently closed her blog, as well as Hope. You guys rock!

Thanks for commenting on the blog!

Withdrawing A Submission

Whew, that was a long weekend. At some point, my roommate's dog ran away, but the good news is, he spent the night with some friendly people from New Hampshire and arrived safely home this afternoon. (I made sure to cuddle Baxter extra tight because I couldn't imagine him being gone for any length of time.)

Other than that, I received an e-mail yesterday from a gentleman asking if I had any advice on how to craft a letter that withdraws a submission. (This is kind of the flip side of Nudging an Agent :) )

So here's my advice (Fancy style):

Dear Baxter* 

 It is with great regret (or some very eloquent word here) that I must withdraw my query/submission/etc, The Night Baxter Slept on the Floor**, from your agency. 

Thank you for your time and consideration (this is always my favorite closing),

Lynne Schmidt


Another way (Super simple):

Dear Baxter*,

 I would like to withdraw my submission/query/etc, The Night Baxter Slept on the Floor**. 

Thank you so much for your time and consideration,

Lynne Schmidt

*Baxter is not actually an agent. Well, I mean, I do read some of my stuff out loud to him, but in all reality, he is my dog (see his page above?). So, with that--Be sure to address it as Mr. or Ms. Agent, but use their actual last name.

 **Include the name of your submission


Here's the key:
You don't actually have to say why you're withdrawing it; you just need to tell them that you are withdrawing it. You can thank them for their time, you can wish them a great day. It doesn't really matter, just be sure to get it to the correct agent (and agency), make sure they know which work is yours, and that you're withdrawing it.

I hope this helps :)

Reading Critiques

"I think this sentence could be stronger if...."

"Awkward sentence...."

"I don't get what you're saying here...."

This is the look I tend to give the computer as I read critiques

I have a moment when I read what my critique-ers wrote and say, "Psshh, that sentence is fine, you don't know what you're talking about." I will actually start talking to my screen sometimes (which I did in front of a friend the other day, oops!) and say why what I wrote is fine, and why what my beta reader is saying is crap. And it's for this reason, and this reason alone, that when I get my edits back from people I read through them...don't make any changes, make the face you see above, and close the browser.


Honestly, I think we're all entitled to this. I think it's okay to defend your work, your writing, and get mad at the edits people give you. But give it time, go back to it.


For me, it's usually two days later. I re-read what I've written, and then with a face more like this:

A little more submissive...

I open the edits, and with a little less confidence and a little more openness, I read what they wrote, and find that 8 times out of 10....they're right. That sentence DOESN'T make sense. I DID use Barley instead of Barely. Oh...and I did forget that I mislabeled a chapter/changed a character name except in that one spot...etc. Once I start opening to that, I open myself to scenes I should have added in, things that I can clarify. This is why we need people to read our work, and why we need to be willing to change things.


As writers, we're protective of our work, and we should be. We've put in a lot of time and effort for those sentences. But, at the same time, step outside of yourself; sometimes outsiders (especially when they're readers) are able to see things that you can't because you're too involved. I know I'm guilty of this. Are you, too?

On Blogging

As you write, a lot of people tell you that the best thing you can do is read, read, read. Why? Because you get in tune with what's selling, what you like in other people's work, sentence structures, what carries a novel, etc.

But blogs aren't really all that different. When I started The Submission Process last year, I kind of just....blogged. Then...I started learning.

I followed agent and editor blogs. I started looking around at what else was out there, and I found Books of Adam. (If you haven't read his blog, you should, it's hilarious.) Just one read, and he made a follower out of me. Why? Because it's down to earth, it's real, and it's spit your milk out funny.

I also started thinking...what else drew me in?

Right....There were stories, and yet there were pictures. It wasn't just pages of endless text. I found myself paying more attention to blogs I followed; the ones with a lot of text, I'd read the first few sentences and then stop. Mainly because I was bored and overwhelmed. The ones that had pictures, I'd actually read. Thus, I started posting pictures, too. Like this one:

Because every step you take, is a step in the right direction :)
Climb those mountains!

Plus, pictures make it personal, you know?

I also found that the more I spanned and commented on blogs, the more people commented on mine. The more I put my posts on twitter, the more people stumbled across me.

So my advice of the day? Read other people's blogs. Figure out what you like about them, and implement it on your blog.

Recap: 2011

Overall, I would say that 2011 was a productive writing year for me. I didn't get published, and really, I'm okay with that. Here's why:

Confessions of an Immortal Heart advanced to round two of Amazon's Breakthrough Young Adult Novel Contest. Not only that, but I also got a full manuscript request by an agent. It was rejected, but it gave me intense amounts of hope. (Now that I've had time to digest and attend more conferences, I know EXACTLY why it was rejected. Oh....too much telling and not enough showing... :) )

I wrote Igniting a Firestarter in 28 days. I wrote Character Defects in just under a month. And My Sister's Memories took just over a month.

I had three agent requests for Character Defects (rejections, but the hope keeps piling on), and two editor requests (still waiting to hear back).

In the last year, I also read my work out loud to a crowd of people at an open mic night. I joined a critique group, and landed some stellar beta readers. There were also conferences. Lovely, lovely conferences.

At this point, I'm really okay getting rejected in 2011, and I'm really stoked to be getting requests. Why? Because it means I'm doing something right enough to get people who say "I'd be wiling to take a look at that," and something wrong enough to push me to take another look at what I've done.

Remember:

Each rejection is a step in the right direction. Be brave, keep pushing, don't give up. 

Writerly Wresolutions

Yay!! My first post of 2012! How exciting!

Anyways, enough rambling...I've posted a bit about having goals (see HERE, or HERE). I think in every aspect of your life, you should always make goals. They help to keep you on track, they help you to look at where you are and then....






..Where you want to be (see how big that distance can be? Yikes!).


So, it is officially 2012, and yea, the world may end. But...my car also may not start in the morning. The world is full of "What if"s and really, we don't have time to sit here and worry about what's going to happen. This is what I know right now:

*I want an agent
*I want to get published
*I want to attend as many writing conferences as humanly (and budget-ly) possible
*I want to write another novel. At least one.
*I want to be able to edit more of the novels I have written
*I want to be better at speaking in front of crowds (or reading out loud)
*Blog more (sorry I was slacking this year!)

So...Those are my goals.
Now, I'm gonna say they're my Writerly Wresolutions. Because...we all need something to keep us focused.


Happy 2012, guys. Hope this year is better than the last!