#sharing your work

[starlitkai]

wanting people to read my work but also being deathly afraid of everyone hating it is not something i thought i’d be dealing with in my twenties, and yet here we are.

[promptsforthestrugglingauthor]

I'm working on writing a werewolf story at the moment, and I was wondering if I could borrow your ear (or eyes, I suppose?) to ask for some advice. I have so many ideas I want to do and I've finally settled on one I want to see to completion. Do you have any tips on how to finish a story, how to avoid being overly cliché and how to be confident in showing others your writing? I would absolutely love your input! Thank you, for even reading this - I know you've probably got tons of asks, haha.

Alright, that’s three things I swore I had previous posts on that I can’t find (”One of these days I’ll organize things better“ she says, but in fact, she will not.)

To finish a story:

Limit yourself to only writing one story at a time. If you want to start something new, you’ll be motivated by needing to finish this one first.

Make time for writing, or opt for a daily/weekly/monthly word count to stick to.

Don’t be afraid to come back to a scene/chapter and finish it at a later time. You can always go back and fill things in.

Accept that it’s okay it takes a long time/other writers may be faster/better/more experienced.

To avoid cliches: Luckily, I actually could still find that post. Check it out here.

To be confident in your sharing writing: Well, this one I’m honestly still learning myself. I think the most important thing is knowing that your opinion about your story is the most important. Negative comments tend to be a great fear, and pervade our comments, but it doesn’t actually always mean much. Unless a comment comes up consistently, it’s more than likely that person’s opinion is just that: an opinion. Love your work, whether or not people respond to/are kind to it! You’ve put in so much time into it, so it’s natural to want to share, and most people are looking for that! Don’t feel pressured to post if you’re uncomfortable with it, of course. (I often don’t myself)

[incandescent-creativity]

Sharing Your Work

In my sophomore year, my end-of-the-year English project was to make a presentation based on something personal to you, and connect it to one of the books we had read for class. 

Naturally, I did mine on writing.

And one of the key points of my presentation was that “You guys, something I can’t quite communicate to you, despite my years of writing, is that it is absolutely terrifying to have someone read your story.”

And people laughed, and I went on with my presentation, etc etc. But I look back on that moment fairly regularly, because that was years ago, and guess what?

It’s still absolutely terrifying.

I first started writing in the seventh grade. I let one person read that awful first draft, and when she sent me back a Google Doc of edits, it was twelve pages of single spaced criticism. I tried to read it all. I cried. And then I didn’t write for months. 

Years later, whenever I think of trying to get someone to read my work, I chicken out and I flake. How can I do it without sounding pushy and rude? HERE’S SOME IDEAS:

Read other people’s stuff. It sounds terribly obvious, but if you read other people’s stuff, and leave loads of comments and votes/kudos/stars/whatever, the writers notice. And some people get so encouraged, so intrigued, that they will click on your name and see what you write. 

Find clubs! Join groups! Enter contests! Participate! Even if you don’t win the contest, just having your book and your name out there is exposure that you didn’t have before. 

Don’t think of it as rejection; think of it as finding out what you need to do better. If you get someone to read your story, but they stop after Chapter Nine and say, “This isn’t really doing anything for me, sorry,” do your best not to shatter. Take a breath, and then send them a quick message saying, “That’s okay, thank you for giving my story a chance, can I ask you if there’s anything specific that turned you off to the story?” Being respectful and patient can take you miles, and not just in the writing world.

In the end, sharing your writing will practically always come with that specific blend of worry and apprehension. But I believe in you!

If there’s something you want to see me post about, a writing problem you’ve come across that you need help with, you wanna ask about my writing, or you just wanna say hi… Please feel free to send in an ask! I’d love to hear from you.

[koraesrambles]

The first novel I ever wrote was objectively terrible. I recently went back and looked it over and it made me laugh so much. My main character described herself in the mirror, it started with a dream, every cliche you can possibly think of, this novel had it. And I included a whole bunch of exclamation points to really hammer the point home. It is, from a quality point of view, objectively terrible.

But you know what? That objectively terrible novel touched my ex-step brother (our parents have since separated) so much, that he still thinks about it and re-reads it, 14 years later. He wrote music for it. He had the only surviving copy because I'd lost it years ago.

That terrible novel meant something to him. And that alone made it more than worthwhile. That makes me proud to be it's author. If I had never let anyone see it because it was "objectively terrible" then I would have deprived him of something that has become a comfort read to him. I would have deprived him of something he loves.

So write the novel. Draw the picture. Share your work. It doesn't matter if it is "good". Good means nothing. Who are you to deny someone the joy they'll get from reading your work? Who are you to tell someone if they should or shouldn't enjoy it? Please don't let the voice in your head deter you from making things. My first novel is objectively terrible, and I smiled the entire time I was reading it. I love it. Please love and share your work too ❤️

[startrailsiv]

Today’s Writing Tip Do you have a "elevator pitch" for your books, i.e. a catchy description you can give someone in the matter of seconds, such as someone you meet briefly waiting in line at the grocery store or in the doctor's office?

[writing-ideas-inc]

I told my friend about the book I'm writing and she wants to read it, but I don't have enough confidence to feel comfortable with others seeing it. Can you help me?

Hey hey, 

Sharing your work, especially your creative work, is one of the hardest parts of writing. While I have a certain group of people that I share my work with, I definitely still shake when I read out loud in workshop and get embarrassed when I talk about writing in front of like, my parents or something. There’s something about creativity, about metaphor, that makes us inherently vulnerable, and that’s kinda scary. So, know that your fear is valid and you’re far from the first person to be nervous about this. 

Most likely, your friend will read it, and she will like it just fine. She’s your friend, and she cares about your well-being, and if she wants to read your work, there’s a huge huge chance she’s going to think it’s great because it came from you and she cares about you. Hell, even if she doesn’t like it, she’ll still be gracious to you because she’s your friend. 

Every writer needs someone to whom they can present their first drafts, their first novels, their incomplete short stories, their weird ideas. Every writer needs to be validated. In fact, I’m pretty sure writers are up there for ‘people who need to be validated the most frequently.’  

When I was in middle school, I worked up the nerve to share my book idea with one of my best friends at the time. She ended up coming over to my house almost every day that summer and I would read my book out loud and she would listen. It was scary, sure, but she asked questions about my characters and cared about my story. It’s one of the fondest memories I have from childhood, and honestly, from life. 

Tl;dr: it’s understandable that you’re afraid, but your friends are there to support you, and it’s important for writers to have support. 

Good luck! 

--Gloria @gloriawriting 

[ravensandwritings]

Blogging Fiction/Thoughts

Since Tumblr’s been pretty fail about this...

Any platforms that AREN’T DW/LJ that allows controlled blogging (IE, private posts) for text? I need a platform that’ll allow me to store notes/ideas, allow people/beta readers I’m allowing to see the work to comment on it.

Anyone have any suggestions?