Today we have debut author Traci McDonald sharing her thoughts on writing, revision and critique groups.
A few years ago, I was listening to a series
of audio books, while recovering from a kidney transplant. These particular
novels were topping the best seller lists and taking the country by storm. I
hated them. The characters were underdeveloped, the story line was too slow,
and I was not engaged in the plot…blah, blah, blah.
I can do better than this, I told myself. If I know what’s wrong
with these books, then I can write better ones. Armed with my sure knowledge of
how to be a great writer I set out to write a series of stories that would top
this pathetic group I had been reading.
A year and a half later, I can’t
read what I wrote; it is so bad.
What was I thinking? Well, I was
thinking that a little talent and determination are all you need to write good
stories. While that may be true, being a great writer in your own head leaves
your stories good for… only you.
Learning how to be a good writer
takes patience and hard work. More importantly, it takes readers who like what
you write. If it doesn’t make sense, capture, or entice a reader; it is
worthless. One of the best tools I have found in my quest to be a better author…is
a thorough critique.
I am part of a critique group. A
group of writers who listens to my work and then tells me what does and doesn’t
work. The other members of the group get the same feedback on their work and
then each of us has more than just ourselves to impress.
I also send out short stories, essays
and shorter work to on-line critiques, and to members of the three writing
groups I belong. The feedback of other writers is invaluable. Not only do I get
to hear what readers will be thinking, but also I get the talent, expertise and
know-how of an entire universe of great writers. It’s like living in the
library and having the books converse with me.
My critique group made it
possible for me to get Killing Casanova
ready for the publisher. Thanks to the hard work done by the critiques, edits
were minor and the manuscript was immediately accepted for publication.
That original set of stories I
wrote all those years ago, are being critiqued right now. I hope to get them in
to publication sometime this next year. Rescuing my writing from my own flawed
perceptions of what works is the reason I love critiques.
If you want people to read your
work and then gush about how brilliant it is, give it to your mom or your best
friend. If you want to be a great writer, not just in your own head, join a
critique group. You won’t be sorry.
About the Author:
Debut author Traci McDonald has been a writer since she
figured out how to make words on a page. Traci wrote for English classes like
most people, but she wrote everything else in between. Traci won minor competitions
with short stories, poetry and lyrics before becoming visually impaired. That
is just a political correct way of saying Traci McDonald is blind. Traci lost
her eyesight 17 years ago, but it never stopped her from living life and
following her dreams. She has struggled with her health and raising kids, prior
to the publication of her first novel. Traci is very excited to see
her dream in life coming true. She lives in a small cozy town in the Mojave
Desert, less than 150 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Traci McDonald has four other books in the process of
becoming published and a whole list of others she plans to write.
You can find out more about Traci McDonald and her debut
romance novel during her World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/8nejedq