Anubo

That tubby jackal who also writes. Sometimes a pool toy or drackal.

[cat-boots]

big fat son of anubis

[commission]

[athingofvikings]

“But let me give you the dark side of writing groups. One really dark side of writing groups is, particularly newer writers, don’t know how to workshop.

“And one of the things they’ll try to do is they’ll try to make your story into the story they would write, instead of a better version of the story you want to write.

“And that is the single worst thing that can happen in feedback, is someone who is not appreciating the story you want to make, and they want to turn it into something else.

“New workshoppers are really bad at doing this. In other words, they’re really good at doing a bad thing, and they’re doing it from the goodness of their heart. They want you to be a better writer. They want to help you. The only way they know is to tell you how they would do it, which can be completely wrong for your story.”

—Brandon Sanderson, Lecture #1 Introduction, Writing Science Fiction And Fantasy

[polizwrites]

And this is why many writers (including me) don’t ask for concrit on their published  stories - they’ve told the story they want to tell. 

If that’s not the story you want to read,  you are welcome to write your own version. 😉

[sarah-sandwich]

He goes on to say that to give good feedback, tell them how the writing made you feel. Don’t say, “instead of that you should do this.” Tell them, “this part confused me.” Or, “my attention drifted during this scene.” Your job isn’t to tell them how to fix it or even that it needs fixed. Your job is let them know what impact their story had on you, the reader. Then they can determine if it’s accomplishing what they want it to and if not, they know which parts need attention.

[absolutelynotclassicusernam-blog]

It isn’t just young writers who do this! Until last fall, this is what I did because this is what my teachers taught me to do. And I hated writing workshops. I kept going to them because I needed to learn how to be a better writer, but…did I actually learn? Mostly what happened was that my work got picked apart and I became depressed and left the story behind because I no longer thought it was any good. My teachers were operating with the best intentions in the world too, but with their help, I ended up with the world’s worst case of writer’s block and a chronic lack of belief in myself.

Then, last fall, my very last semester of college, I took a class with a professor who told us that we were not going to use the classic workshop format. Instead of writing down everything that we thought our classmates should do, we were assigned to ask them questions. And as writers, we were assigned not to sit passively while feedback was fired at us, but to ask questions, to explain what we had been going for and ask if it worked, and if not to brainstorm together how we might make it work.

It was miraculous. Instead of shutting my mind down, this workshop process blew it wide open. Instead of going home after class dispirited, never wanting to touch my story again, I went home inspired, with a hundred new ideas.

So I am a big advocate for this method–and I think it is important to underscore that it isn’t just students who need to be taught it. Writing teachers need to learn it too.

[cleverthylacine]

This is so important! And it’s also the reason 90% of “concrit” sucks ass. I have been ignoring “concrit” cheerfully ever since 2003 when people were actually awkward enough to say things like “I’d like this story so much if there weren’t any slash (or het) in it!”

Telling people to write what you want to read isn’t concrit. It’s begging.

[ettelene]

Speaking from a past life in journalism, that also counts for changes of style. Maybe you wrote a sentence and used the words you wanted, but an untrained editor might try to change that the words they would use instead; to say the same thing but not in your style - or, as we say it, “calling six half a dozen.” Only suggest change of style if the sentence gramatically doesn’t make sense, as it’s often the case with non-native speakers (like me, but I’m blessed with the best friends and betas!)

[actionmartini]

Sketchmission for Anubo

[anubo]

It's National Root Beer Float Day! No better way to celebrate it than with good friends and belly-bumps!

[actionmartini]

Commission for Anubo

[anubo]

Something I did for National Hot Dog. I do love me a good hot dawg!

[anubo]

It was National Ice Cream Day and a 112 F the other day. Nothing like a hose of ice cream to chill a jackal off.

[actionmartini]

For Anubo

[anubo]

A gift for the sweet DragonTzin!

[anubo]

Nothing quite like lounging on the beach as summer comes. Happy pride all, and take strength in yourself. Do not let others try and wear you down for you are you. Especially to my fellow Aces.

[actionmartini]

For Anubo

[vanillayoteart]

Sun’s out, Tum’s out

“Nothing quite like a trip to the beach to hark in summer as my heavy belly and chest are proudly out for all to see! Although, it seems like some of my ice cream has failed me and decided to canvas my front. Oh whale, just means I need to get more, vehee!” A sketch for anubo from my weekly sketch streams! Mirror Post

[actionmartini]

[actionmartini]

For Anubo

[anubo]

Nothing quite like enjoying your own soft chest. It’s the soft sign of great prosperity! Art by Rain/VanillaYote @vanillayoteart

[texansoda]

Needed a quick little ref for my fox, Tex!

[actionmartini]

Coyote Aurin (Alternate Universe Arin)