15. December 2009 by Gore Wehner.

Novice writer: Would you critique my story? It’s about a man who loses everything; his wife, his kids, his job. But he turns his life around after a meeting with a soothsayer.

Experienced writer: Sounds interesting. Is it finished?

Novice writer: Yep. Just wrote the last half of it this morning.

Experienced writer: You just finished it? Have you edited it?

Novice writer: I don’t need to. It’s fine. You’ll see.

Does this exchange sound familiar to you? If you’ve been in critique groups for as long as I have, I’m sure it does. Personally, I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t you read over your work a multitude of times, sometimes out loud, and find places that need cutting, reworking, or more detail before having someone critique it? If you don’t, you’re wasting the critiquer’s time and your own time. They’ll point out problems you could have found on your own. The level of the critique won’t be as deep because the prose won’t be written well enough to flow.

So why would anyone give someone something to critique that they haven’t edited themselves? I have a few reasons:

1) They were in a hurry and there was a deadline for the critique (They could solve the problem by rescheduling the deadline or apologizing for the fact the manuscript is not polished, advising the critiquer to ignore grammatical and spelling errors, and concentrate on the plot line instead).

2) They’re cocky about their work (We all are to a certain extent, but some people seem to think their work would float on water indefinitely).

3) They don’t know how to edit their own work (Let them know there are several great books on how to self-edit out there).

And last but not least:

4) They’d rather have you do their work for them (This, I’m afraid, is all too common).

Experienced writer: You need to go through your manuscript with a fine toothed comb before I can look at it. I’m sure it’s very good, but I’d like to read it when it’s the best you can make it.

Novice writer: What makes you think it’s not the best now?

Experienced writer: How are you at playing the piano?

Novice writer: Huh? Uh…I can play “Chopsticks” on it.

Experienced writer: Would you be interested in playing a concerto for an audience tonight? My place?

Novice writer: (laughs) How could I? I haven’t practiced for it.

Experienced writer: Think about your manuscript as playing “Chopsticks” for a discerning audience. Wouldn’t you rather be able to play “Moonlight Serenade”?

Novice writer: (after a beat) How about you look at my work next month, after I’ve revised it?

Experienced writer: Perfect.

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15. December 2009 by Gore Wehner.

She gives you compliments. Explains things in great detail, trying to gain your respect and attention. She calls you every day to tell you what’s been going on in her fascinating world. Every word she utters seems to come from a well of desperation. “Like me, please!” she seems to say.

I feel fairly confident we’ve all met a person like this sometime or another in our lives. Annoying, isn’t she?

Yet many of us one time or another create a story that tries too hard to get the reader to like it. We throw in metaphors and similes and decide, “Yes! Now the reader will understand what I’m trying to say and I’ve created an ingeniously creative way to say it!” Or we give the reader so much description we drown the story in detail. Or we make sure the reader understands our point by repeating our message, stating it a different way each time, as if we feel the reader will get it eventually. After all, if you can’t swallow a pill, you can split it into pieces and take it bit by bit, right?

Annoying, isn’t it?

Take a look at your work from an objective point of view. Are you trying too hard to get the reader to like what you’ve written? Is the story lost in your prose? It’s a delicate balance, using beautiful imagery and lyrical narrative. Rick spoke about gorgeous writing, but it takes years of practice to get right. Five metaphors in one paragraph might be too much. And your reader might decide to turn you away after all your hard work trying to get him or her to like you.

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15. December 2009 by Gore Wehner.

As a member of various writing critique groups I often get wonderful feedback on my stories and novels. Most often I’m asked to change the way a sentence sounds, or given examples of ways to shorten (or lengthen) my sentences. Choppy sentences? Add words. Cumbersome detail? Take away words. Like a madman with a pair of hedge clippers, I trim away at my work until all I see is a mass of twigs and a hunk of leaves. In other words…it’s no longer the piece I’d been aiming for.

The truth is, it’s possible to lose the story in zealous over-editing. So what is a writer needing feedback to do? Here’s what I’ve learned along the way…

1) Know the critiquer’s style of writing. If your critique buddy likes short, succinct sentences and your prefer run-ons and long trains of thought, you will probably not see eye-to-eye. As long as your style remains fluent throughout your piece and you are able to write it well (not clumsily), give your partner a nod, but don’t start tossing every adverb and adjective you’ve spent hours to get just right. There’s room in magazines and on bookshelves for all types of voices and styles. Don’t change yours to suit a critique member, unless you agree with them whole-heartedly.

2) I’ve heard more about passive voice versus active voice, and get rid of all -ly adverbs no matter what than I have about pacing or characterization. Why? Because these are so much easier to focus on. Having someone point out where you’ve used telling instead of showing is important, don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful everytime someone underlines these on my manuscripts, but taking these away at every turn can also change the voice and the flavor of the work. Sometimes an adverb is easier and helpful (as in very young children’s books) and sometimes it’s okay to write “She was interested in all thing ethereal.” In other words, don’t change these based on a critiquer’s opinion alone. Think it over. Is there a better way to phrase it? Or will it change the way your work reads too much?

3) Sometimes critiquers don’t like the genre you are writing for. Or you are writing at a different educational level than they prefer to read. They find themselves bored. They might even (horrors!) have ideas on how to rewrite your story to make it more interesting. Eventually, their suggestions begin to take on the tone of the last novel you critiqued for them. You may find yourself believing they might be right. After all, their ideas sound compelling. But ask yourself…is that the story you wanted to tell? Don’t allow yourself to be carried away on the wave of someones else’s creation. Swim to shore, back to solid ground where your story stands, the way you want it written.

Of course you want to take someone’s critique under serious consideration. They are, after all, your audience. If they don’t understand what you are trying to say or find your sentences awkward, their advice can be invaluable. But in the end, this is your story. You make the final decisions. As they say, too many critiquers can spoil the manuscript (okay, I made that up.) Whatever you do, don’t clip those hedges until you know how high and wide you want them to be. Don’t cut for the sake of cutting.

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