Great Expectations

The first weekend of August, I went to the Oregon coast with my family. When we went to the beach that Saturday morning, it was grey and misty--typical for the Pacific Northwest. Since we're all born with webbing between our toes, we didn't let the damp get to us. Rain or no, the ocean was amazing as always.

As it happened, the skies parted that afternoon and we had a sunny drive down the coast to another small tourist town. We stopped along the way to enjoy the beautiful day, because we know they don't come along very often.

Later, while in a tourist shop, I entered a conversation between the clerk and some tourists. They wanted to know where a certain restaurant was, and she happened to give the wrong answer.

"Actually, that's in Newport on the historic bay front," I corrected.

"We were in Newport earlier and we didn't see it. But then, it was so busy we didn't really stop to look around."

"I'm not surprised, on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon like this."

The wife then looked at me in shock. "Really? It's a little windy, isn't it?"

"I suppose, but look at the sun! At least it's not cloudy or raining."

Her jaw literally dropped then, I kid you not. "Is it usually like that here?"

After holding in my laughter and reassuring her that yes, it does usually rain on the Oregon coast, I started thinking about expectations. The weather disappointed her because she expected sunshine, no wind, and (presumably) slightly warmer temperatures. Meanwhile, 70 and sun thrilled me enough that I'd have put up with gale force winds.

When we write, do we let our expectations get in the way of the joy we can take in the process? We expect our book to automatically be as good as one that's been edited and revised multiple times. We expect to have the same mastery of craft as someone who's been writing for years.

Let's take a step back. Are we writing? Is our story coming together in a way that at least bears a slight resemblance to our original idea? During the rough draft, that's all we can expect.

I am not for a moment saying you should settle for that in your end product. Writing, and even self-publishing, is not about slapping a cover on a shoddily written and edited manuscript and calling it a book. However, writing is a process, and you can't expect the product at the end of stage one to look like it will at the end of stage fifty. Manage your expectations, and you'll be able to enjoy each part of the writing process.

Confidence

I blogged about critique last Thursday. Accepting critique is a funny thing; it's part humility and part confidence.

The humility is obvious. We all want to believe we will be the first author to cough up the perfect rough draft. Any time someone--no matter how much we trust them--points out flaws in our manuscript, it can be hard not to take it personally. However, we can't let our instinctive pride get in the way of our desire to have a better story.

That's where the confidence comes in. Looking over a long editorial letter can be disheartening. "You did well here, but maybe here you should try..." It's easy to overlook the positive comments and start to wonder if you really have what it takes to write a publishable novel.

When you receive critiques, you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that no matter what suggestions they may make, you are capable of implementing them. You must have enough confidence in your vision for your novel to know how to do that without compromising the story you want to tell.

It's not an easy line to walk, this balance between humility and confidence, but it's something all writers have to learn at some point, or we go a little mad.

Now, to make you smile, here's a video... with a surprise ending.

Getting Critical

Critique is an important part of the writing and self-editing process. As authors, we are rarely the best judges of our own work. We know it too well to be able to look at it objectively.

I have two separate groups of friends reading HIS GOOD OPINION. The first is a group of three critique partners. After I finish three edits on my own, I send a section of the story to them. They look over it, pointing out things like transcription errors (I dictate my novels), poor grammar, and places that need more detail work.

By the time I receive chapters back from them, at least three weeks has usually passed. I've pushed on with the story, and both the distance of time and narrative allows me to look at their suggestions with a more objective eye.

I'll be honest: At this point, I accept pretty much every suggestion they make. Their job is to point out the things that would take my story from good to great. I chose them because I trust their judgment, and they have not disappointed me.

After I've gone over critiques, I let those chapters sit for a few weeks. Then I go back through yet again and add some polish. I check for things like -ing verbs and unnecessary adverbs. When the story is as good as I can get it, I send it to my beta readers. Their instruction is to point out anything that takes them out of the story.

Once again, I follow the bulk of their suggestions. To be blunt, I see no reason to send my story to people I don't trust. If they question something, they are probably right. My only true exception to this rule is when making the change would not fall in line with my writing style, or that of Jane Austen.

Bottom line: Remember these people want your story to be the very best it can be. Trust them, but don't lose sight of the story you want to tell.