Thursday, August 28, 2014

They hated my writing and I couldn't be more grateful

Last month I spent a week at a writer's workshop at the University of Iowa.  I have the bones of a detective type book and want to do whatever it takes to finish the damn thing.  Going into the workshop I felt pretty confident about the 15 pages offered up for criticism. 


Apparently my perspective of good was not shared by the group.  Unanimously not shared. 


It was a humbling experience.  My most common writing mistakes:


- Stop telling, show action.
- More dialogue
- Shorter is sharper
- Speed up the story


No punches were pulled.  One male classmate suggested I not refer to the Texas GOP so negatively.  It will put off readers.  To which a woman in the class wrote on her copy of my manuscript (which opens with a rape): "Weird that a potential slam to GOP is offensive but not brutal rape."  So true.


All in all, their generous criticism has changed my writing.  Hopefully for the better.  I won't, however, be deleting the gentle jabs at the GOP.


   




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