Well said, and I like the clear explanation of how it works in our heads. Thanks!

The limitations of linear language mean that we’ll never be able to get ideas onto paper exactly the way they are in our head, so that comparison is off to a bad start. If, somehow, we get something on paper that we think is a pretty good match (and thus a really great piece of work), that either means the idea wasn’t all that to start with or the words are triggering internal memories that won’t match somebody else’s.

Years ago my wife chaired a major space-related conference. Afterwards she was convinced that it had been horrible, things hadn’t turned out as she’d wanted, etc. Everyone else thought it was fantastic. Even though it didn’t live up to the expectations she had in her head, it met or exceeded most everyone else’s. I think it’s the same with writing (and probably many other undertakings).

There’s a saying about better being the enemy of good enough. There comes a time when one needs to stop tinkering with a project and declare it finished — and the Pareto Principle (aka 80-20 rule) suggest that that point is sooner rather than later, especially when that tinkering is more likely to break it than improve it.

She glared at me, said, “Shut up,” and left. She fixed the two nits and it’s already off to the editor. None of us ever get past this need to point a gun at our own work. But we can learn to not pull the trigger all the time.

Mort Castle is awesome, talented, and a legend. I was lucky to study under him. Obviously, any writer would be wise to listen to his advice. And yet…I still sabotage myself with my own bad judgment. It’s a hard habit to kick.

Even after all the evidence to the contrary. It wasn’t just Mort’s class. Almost every damn time I dashed off a writing assignment just to GET-IT-DONE, that was the piece my instructors felt worked best. Then I’d turn in something with the smug expectation of florid praise, and get a long list of suggestions for improvement.

I wasn’t going to do any New Year’s Resolutions, but after stumbling onto this site, I think it’s high time I changed the way I look at my writing process. And I think all those manuscripts sitting on my hard drive collecting virtual dust need to get sent out.

Thanks for the great advice. You very well may have saved my writing life.

Best,
Rob

“Stick that on a sign over your computer right along with “Dare to be Bad”.”

Just had to say that in our Master Class workshop, I put a sign up over my laptop based on something similar that Kris had said that morning. The sign read: “You are free to write something that sucks!”

Reason being, it was a way to remind myself to take risks and write the best damned story I could – and not worry if anyone was gonna like it.

Sure enough, I ended up doing some of my best stuff, and it’s moved my craft yet another step ahead.

Remember, the writer’s experience at writing the story has nothing at all to do with the quality of the story. Put that on your wall.

Cheers
Dean

The win at WOTF sealed it for me, both in terms of me not being a good judge of my own quality and re-writing.

I did very little re-writing on that story, and it didn’t go through a critique process either. I was rushed to meet the deadline, and afraid I’d been “lazy” with the story as a result.

In resignation, I said, “Oh well, I don’t like it, but this is as good as I can possibly make this story right now,” spellchecked, gave it a quick grammar proof, and dropped it in the mail.

I really need to stay away from writing forums. — Amanda

Y’know, I am starting to agree with Amanda on this. Seems to me there is a great deal of bad advice and “myth,” as Dean calls it, floating through the aspirant community. Especially on-line. Anyone who comes along and won’t imbibe the myth, tends to get thwapped by the group. Or at the very least, people all look up from the table as if they heard a very strange noise, or something, grumble, and go back to doing precisely what it was they were doing before.

The necessity — nay, the commandment — of re-writing is probably the biggest myth out there right now. About as big as the myth that nobody — nobody! — ever sells a first novel anymore without getting an agent first. These beliefs are iron-clad gospel in the aspirant community.

I certainly bought into the gospel a few years ago.

I’m slowly failing from grace, as it were.

The win at WOTF sealed it, at least as far as re-writing goes. I was so sure that story was destined for an HM, no more. I told my wife over and over, “Nah, this story isn’t doing anything, I am hoping the next one scores.” Voila. The story I thought wasn’t going to go the distance, went the distance.

I promptly re-read the thing and wondered why a story I myself wasn’t too sure of, had apparently been enough of a hit with K.D. and eventually people like Kevin Anderson and Jerry Pournelle, to Place with the Contest. I still can’t figure it out. It’s not a bad story, but I think I have done better. But the ones I think I’ve done better, haven’t sold, and don’t sell.

(shrug)

Gotta hand it to you, Dean, this is some mean-wicked heresy you and Kris are putting out there.

Cheers
Dean

I’d post small excerpts from stories I was writing, usually the openings, get some positive feedback, then lose interest in what I was writing. Sure, I could use some feedback, I’m positive, but at the expense of losing interest in something I was writing? No. Not worth it.

It was a great forum, too. FictionAddiction it was called. For whatever reason, Apryl decided to close the forum down. Great people — I still stay in touch with a number of them via email or Facebook — but I get the feeling that a great many of them are no longer writing, while my own productivity has picked up greatly since I stopped visiting forums.