Journals13
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Getting published for actual reals
2 min read
So it's been a long time, like a LONG time, since I've done anything with DA at all. It's actually kind of weird to have this account around, still. I think I want to keep it, but ... yeah. It's weird enough having samplings of my life from college forward floating around the interwebs; I can't quite imagine what it'd be like for people, say, 10-15 years younger than me to hit this point and find their entire lives have intersections with the online space here and there.
Anyway: so I mentioned, like, ten years ago that I got an agent for a novel I wrote. It didn't sell, sadly, and it took a very, very long time to not sell. I wrote some other stuff. Eventually I wrote something in a very different vein that turned into a Middle-Grade sci-fi adventure story stuffed with all the stuff I loved to read when I was, say, 11 or so. Last year (yes, nine years later), my agent started shopping that and sold it almost immediately. And it's going to be a real book in real stores this October!
Anyway, I'm posting to a DA account that never puts up new art and I'll bet literally no one will read this, but hey: check out my website if you're interested in the story. It is awesome. If you don't like awesome stories, that's okay. Not everybody does.
Peace :)
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... Eight years later
1 min read
So yeah, I haven't really put anything up in forever, but I am in fact still alive and stopping by once in a while, even yet!
So much has happened since then. Houses! Marriages! Toddlerses! Sheeshes!
The only problem for me with DA is that almost all my creative output has been novelses for a while, now, plus some 3D printing projects I'm not ready to share.
Bye for now!
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Agent agent agent ahh
1 min read
Howdy all -- thanks for stopping by!
I haven't put anything up in a while, and I'm sorry about that, but this state of affairs is likely to continue for a little while yet.
I got an agent for my novel in January!
It's a big deal for me, to be sure, and I'm ecstatic to be moving forward with the publishing process. On the other hand, I'm also knee-deep in revisions right now, prepping the manuscript so my agent can start pitching it to publishers, and that's sort of like a second full-time job right now. Work all day, get home, write until bedtime. It just means some things are falling through the cracks for the time being, like changing the oil in my car, or putting up (for example) the remaining Shadowfolk pages.
No worries, though -- we'll get there.
I haven't put anything up in a while, and I'm sorry about that, but this state of affairs is likely to continue for a little while yet.
I got an agent for my novel in January!
It's a big deal for me, to be sure, and I'm ecstatic to be moving forward with the publishing process. On the other hand, I'm also knee-deep in revisions right now, prepping the manuscript so my agent can start pitching it to publishers, and that's sort of like a second full-time job right now. Work all day, get home, write until bedtime. It just means some things are falling through the cracks for the time being, like changing the oil in my car, or putting up (for example) the remaining Shadowfolk pages.
No worries, though -- we'll get there.
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Rules for Taking Criticism
11 min read
The first part of a journal like this is where you say what inspired it. Answer: lots of people. GENUINELY NOBODY I'VE CRITIQUED LATELY. Mostly I'm taking a break from a long passage of editing. Long story short, many (most?) people have a tough time taking criticism of their work (this isn't about taking criticism about yourself, that's different). They don't want it, or they dismiss what they get, or worse still, they say they want it but they argue about why the criticism is invalid.
When I started my MFA 3 years ago (just graduated, thanks!), I was terrified of critiques of my work. I wanted to rebut the critiquers' assertions. I felt hurt. I didn't know how to give good critique, either. Over those 3 years, though, I learned to love critiques - the good ones, the bad ones, the tough ones, the harsh ones, and the kind ones.
You know what kind of critique I like the least? The kind sort. (Caveat: if it's coming from someone who a) is orders of magnitude better than me, and b) wouldn't hold back if they had tough stuff to say, then I don't mind). Why? Because I'm not perfect, and I definitely get as much wrong as right on a first draft. A good crit will tell you what is working, and what is NOT working - SPECIFICALLY. A bad crit will not be specific. A worse crit will be non-specific and only cover one of those two parts. In a good crit, you get what's working and what's not - both of these are important to cover, because sometimes you know what's working, but sometimes what your viewer/reader thinks is working is different from what you thought. You definitely want to know if you might be wrong about what IS working. (And if you knew what wasn't working, why'd you submit it without fixing it?)
Examples:
Good crit:
(Writing example) The climactic scene in this story really works - the tension was there between the characters and wasn't forced through the dialog. The description was really vivid, but it's giving too much detail in places, like (page/para) where the pacing needs to go faster.
(Art example) The control of the color in this piece is just right - great shading and skin tones, and it fits the mood. The anatomy leaves a lot to be desired, though - you should reference this pose and see how the weight should be on the other leg; watch out for putting tons of work into finishing a piece where you haven't laid down a good sketch.
Bad crit:
(Writing example) I really liked these characters, but something about the story just didn't work for me. I'm sure you'll improve it though.
(Art example) This piece is awesome but you should learn anatomy.
Worse crit:
(Writing and art example) Nice job!!
NOT crits:
I'm better than you; I love you; You suck; This reminds me of ___...
As you read the rest of this, bear in mind what I'm saying applies only to actual critiques (IE, from the Good, Bad, and sometimes Worse examples above), where someone sat down and thought about your work and offered you feedback. You must distinguish between comments, critiques, and, well, insults. They'll all happen. It's up to you to learn to recognize a useful (note I didn't say nice) critique when you get one.
On top of knowing what a good critique looks like, the skill (yes, SKILL) that takes real work is learning what to DO with critiques once you've got them. Often, if you're getting crits from several sources, they might make contradictory suggestions (I loved this scene, describe it better; this scene is redundant, so cut it). Which advice do you take? Good, well-reasoned critiques might see completely different virtues and vices in your work than you intended (or intend); like and dislike parts of your work that are not what you love and hate; and, let's be honest, some crits just aren't going to "get" what you were doing (BUT, this is not a valid reason to ignore them - I'm coming back to this point).
POINTS OR RULES FOR TAKING AND USING CRITIQUES:
1. Very important: DON'T TAKE CRITS PERSONALLY. You are not your work. If someone says your story or painting isn't very good, they're not saying YOU'RE not very good. This one is tough, but you'll never do anything useful with critiques if you're too busy taking offense. Guess what else you won't ever do? GROW AS AN ARTIST. Sorry. (Caveat: sometimes the crit is actually taking shots at you as a person, ie, "YOU SUCK MR/MRS ARTIST, GO DIE IN A HOLE". Take that personally if you want to, though personally, getting mad at someone never improved my day).
2. The most important: The problem(s) a critique identifies may not be the problem(s) you actually need to work on. This applies to writing in a HUGE way, but it's easier to illustrate from the art world: someone who draws a lot of figures might, for instance, get the advice often that their figures are stiff-looking, or that they need to work on drawing better hands, or there's something off in the way they draw heads, or (this is a very common case) they don't draw more than a handful of specific poses. You might hear that advice and say, okay, I'll make my poses more fluid, or I'll trace hands until I can get them right every time from this angle, but ALL of these complaints probably stem from the artist needing to study anatomy until they really know it, and then suddenly ALL of those problems will go away. It's like the critiques see the stems, but clipping the stems won't get the seed underground. In storytelling, the one problem of failing to write each scene with tension driven by characters who want something and don't get it can lead to all kinds of problems, from characters that seem boring to a story that just doesn't seem to be going anywhere, even if the writer thinks it is. BASICALLY: When you get a crit, figure out WHY you got that crit before you figure out what to do about it. Okay, this isn't basic at all, and you won't master this one until you are good enough at self-critique to be beyond needing most critiques. Still, once you're thinking about it, you are on your way.
3. There is no one way to fix anything. Usually there are many, many ways to do so.
4. Therefore, you do not HAVE to take anybody's specific suggestions. This is most often because of Rule #2. However, if something needs fixing, you should figure out how to fix it, and fix it. If it's not worth fixing because the piece isn't worth the time, then make sure you take the lesson away for next time.
4a. Figuring out HOW to fix a problem is where you will learn a lot. NEVER use a suggestion unless you understand it. If you don't understand it (and if it's a suggestion you really need, you probably won't, at first) then study it until you do. By then, you'll probably figure out a solution on your own that's even better. There are many "hard and fast" rules that you will hear over and over, and following them is fine, but do you understand why you should? If they make you mad, or you feel like they limit you, chances are you don't, yet. Once you understand a rule, truly, it won't bother you, and you'll know when it's worth breaking. Example: prologues. The general rule these days is not to use one. I struggled with this for a long time, because my prologue set up the rest of the story and provided a "hook" so I could start the main story slower. "Without the prologue the story starts so slowly," I said. "I can't NOT use it!" What I didn't understand? If I needed a prologue to hook my reader, there was something wrong with the opening of the story (a common one - it started in the wrong place).
5. What you meant to write/draw, what you actually wrote/drew, and what your reader/viewer sees are THREE DIFFERENT THINGS. This is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. As an artist you MUST understand your audience. If you are getting really baffling critiques, it might be because you aren't seeing your work as it really is. I mean, you won't, ever, because you made it, but some things, like time (weeks) away from it, or turning it upside down/inside out, might help.
6. Because of #5, you MUST NOT dismiss critiques from people that clearly don't understand what you intended to do. Because guess what? If they didn't get it, it's almost certainly not all their fault. WHY don't they get it? Probably because your work isn't making it clear, or it's contradicting itself, or it's shifting the reader/viewer's focus the wrong way. Somehow, they're not seeing what you see, and sometimes it's because your work doesn't make sure they're looking in the right place. (Yes, sometimes you're writing sci-fi and your critique is from someone who doesn't read sci-fi, and they don't understand the draw of the genre in the first place. In that case, it's not your work that's at issue. However, if you can get them not to dismiss your work outright, you can get some great insights from someone that is coming at your work from a totally different set of interests!). In the end, if you, the artist, are putting up work for people to see, then you are trying to communicate something to those people. If people don't understand AT ALL what you are trying to do or say, you should look to yourself before you blame them (This is how I imagine some fine artists work. They don't get it? Perfect! Let me say that this isn't invalid. If you don't want people to get it, or you want to provoke thought or something, why not? But this isn't a cop-out, and you don't want it happening by accident!).
7. If someone offers you critique, THANK THEM. Whether it's good, or bad, or you know you won't use it, they took the time to look your work over and THINK about it. If it's a bad crit, don't sit down and tell them why they were wrong. It's tempting, but if you are really embracing #1, you'll see why you shouldn't.
8. Don't be afraid of revision (IE, using critique, yours and others'). In writing especially, you WILL NOT, PERIOD, FULL STOP, get it right the first time. I've learned this the hard way. I've always loved my first drafts. Now I know enough to say, "I like it, and that's exactly why I need to sit on it until I don't any more." Furthermore: spell-checking and fixing grammar aren't revision. That's proofreading. Frankly, don't bother with it too much until you're done revising. (I learned this one the hard way too. I wrote a 250 page story and did spot cleanup and spellchecks for six months before finally realizing all the reasons I needed to re-write all of it. Next draft was 500 pages, and I spent a few MORE months spot cleaning and spell checking and getting each word just right. Then I learned more about storytelling, ripped out 175 pages of very nicely-written scenes, replaced them, and had to clean those up all over again. Point: don't start painting until the wall is clean, flat, and all the holes are patched!).
9. Eat all those crits up. Then find the work of people who are better than you, and read critiques of THEIR work. Learn from people that do it right, and learn from people who do it wrong in ways you only wish you could do right now. Critique other people with your newfound knowledge and help them. Then turn those skills around and use them on yourself. If you're a novelist like me, it's very tough to find people who have the time to offer critiques that are really useful. Learn how to critique yourself, because that way lies the road to mastery.
This is some of the most important stuff I learned over the course of my master's degree. Take these points and think about them. Hope they help you, because they changed the way I approach my work.
~James
PS. If you write, proofread your stuff out loud. Every time you want to say it differently than it's written, change it.
When I started my MFA 3 years ago (just graduated, thanks!), I was terrified of critiques of my work. I wanted to rebut the critiquers' assertions. I felt hurt. I didn't know how to give good critique, either. Over those 3 years, though, I learned to love critiques - the good ones, the bad ones, the tough ones, the harsh ones, and the kind ones.
You know what kind of critique I like the least? The kind sort. (Caveat: if it's coming from someone who a) is orders of magnitude better than me, and b) wouldn't hold back if they had tough stuff to say, then I don't mind). Why? Because I'm not perfect, and I definitely get as much wrong as right on a first draft. A good crit will tell you what is working, and what is NOT working - SPECIFICALLY. A bad crit will not be specific. A worse crit will be non-specific and only cover one of those two parts. In a good crit, you get what's working and what's not - both of these are important to cover, because sometimes you know what's working, but sometimes what your viewer/reader thinks is working is different from what you thought. You definitely want to know if you might be wrong about what IS working. (And if you knew what wasn't working, why'd you submit it without fixing it?)
Examples:
Good crit:
(Writing example) The climactic scene in this story really works - the tension was there between the characters and wasn't forced through the dialog. The description was really vivid, but it's giving too much detail in places, like (page/para) where the pacing needs to go faster.
(Art example) The control of the color in this piece is just right - great shading and skin tones, and it fits the mood. The anatomy leaves a lot to be desired, though - you should reference this pose and see how the weight should be on the other leg; watch out for putting tons of work into finishing a piece where you haven't laid down a good sketch.
Bad crit:
(Writing example) I really liked these characters, but something about the story just didn't work for me. I'm sure you'll improve it though.
(Art example) This piece is awesome but you should learn anatomy.
Worse crit:
(Writing and art example) Nice job!!
NOT crits:
I'm better than you; I love you; You suck; This reminds me of ___...
As you read the rest of this, bear in mind what I'm saying applies only to actual critiques (IE, from the Good, Bad, and sometimes Worse examples above), where someone sat down and thought about your work and offered you feedback. You must distinguish between comments, critiques, and, well, insults. They'll all happen. It's up to you to learn to recognize a useful (note I didn't say nice) critique when you get one.
On top of knowing what a good critique looks like, the skill (yes, SKILL) that takes real work is learning what to DO with critiques once you've got them. Often, if you're getting crits from several sources, they might make contradictory suggestions (I loved this scene, describe it better; this scene is redundant, so cut it). Which advice do you take? Good, well-reasoned critiques might see completely different virtues and vices in your work than you intended (or intend); like and dislike parts of your work that are not what you love and hate; and, let's be honest, some crits just aren't going to "get" what you were doing (BUT, this is not a valid reason to ignore them - I'm coming back to this point).
POINTS OR RULES FOR TAKING AND USING CRITIQUES:
1. Very important: DON'T TAKE CRITS PERSONALLY. You are not your work. If someone says your story or painting isn't very good, they're not saying YOU'RE not very good. This one is tough, but you'll never do anything useful with critiques if you're too busy taking offense. Guess what else you won't ever do? GROW AS AN ARTIST. Sorry. (Caveat: sometimes the crit is actually taking shots at you as a person, ie, "YOU SUCK MR/MRS ARTIST, GO DIE IN A HOLE". Take that personally if you want to, though personally, getting mad at someone never improved my day).
2. The most important: The problem(s) a critique identifies may not be the problem(s) you actually need to work on. This applies to writing in a HUGE way, but it's easier to illustrate from the art world: someone who draws a lot of figures might, for instance, get the advice often that their figures are stiff-looking, or that they need to work on drawing better hands, or there's something off in the way they draw heads, or (this is a very common case) they don't draw more than a handful of specific poses. You might hear that advice and say, okay, I'll make my poses more fluid, or I'll trace hands until I can get them right every time from this angle, but ALL of these complaints probably stem from the artist needing to study anatomy until they really know it, and then suddenly ALL of those problems will go away. It's like the critiques see the stems, but clipping the stems won't get the seed underground. In storytelling, the one problem of failing to write each scene with tension driven by characters who want something and don't get it can lead to all kinds of problems, from characters that seem boring to a story that just doesn't seem to be going anywhere, even if the writer thinks it is. BASICALLY: When you get a crit, figure out WHY you got that crit before you figure out what to do about it. Okay, this isn't basic at all, and you won't master this one until you are good enough at self-critique to be beyond needing most critiques. Still, once you're thinking about it, you are on your way.
3. There is no one way to fix anything. Usually there are many, many ways to do so.
4. Therefore, you do not HAVE to take anybody's specific suggestions. This is most often because of Rule #2. However, if something needs fixing, you should figure out how to fix it, and fix it. If it's not worth fixing because the piece isn't worth the time, then make sure you take the lesson away for next time.
4a. Figuring out HOW to fix a problem is where you will learn a lot. NEVER use a suggestion unless you understand it. If you don't understand it (and if it's a suggestion you really need, you probably won't, at first) then study it until you do. By then, you'll probably figure out a solution on your own that's even better. There are many "hard and fast" rules that you will hear over and over, and following them is fine, but do you understand why you should? If they make you mad, or you feel like they limit you, chances are you don't, yet. Once you understand a rule, truly, it won't bother you, and you'll know when it's worth breaking. Example: prologues. The general rule these days is not to use one. I struggled with this for a long time, because my prologue set up the rest of the story and provided a "hook" so I could start the main story slower. "Without the prologue the story starts so slowly," I said. "I can't NOT use it!" What I didn't understand? If I needed a prologue to hook my reader, there was something wrong with the opening of the story (a common one - it started in the wrong place).
5. What you meant to write/draw, what you actually wrote/drew, and what your reader/viewer sees are THREE DIFFERENT THINGS. This is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. As an artist you MUST understand your audience. If you are getting really baffling critiques, it might be because you aren't seeing your work as it really is. I mean, you won't, ever, because you made it, but some things, like time (weeks) away from it, or turning it upside down/inside out, might help.
6. Because of #5, you MUST NOT dismiss critiques from people that clearly don't understand what you intended to do. Because guess what? If they didn't get it, it's almost certainly not all their fault. WHY don't they get it? Probably because your work isn't making it clear, or it's contradicting itself, or it's shifting the reader/viewer's focus the wrong way. Somehow, they're not seeing what you see, and sometimes it's because your work doesn't make sure they're looking in the right place. (Yes, sometimes you're writing sci-fi and your critique is from someone who doesn't read sci-fi, and they don't understand the draw of the genre in the first place. In that case, it's not your work that's at issue. However, if you can get them not to dismiss your work outright, you can get some great insights from someone that is coming at your work from a totally different set of interests!). In the end, if you, the artist, are putting up work for people to see, then you are trying to communicate something to those people. If people don't understand AT ALL what you are trying to do or say, you should look to yourself before you blame them (This is how I imagine some fine artists work. They don't get it? Perfect! Let me say that this isn't invalid. If you don't want people to get it, or you want to provoke thought or something, why not? But this isn't a cop-out, and you don't want it happening by accident!).
7. If someone offers you critique, THANK THEM. Whether it's good, or bad, or you know you won't use it, they took the time to look your work over and THINK about it. If it's a bad crit, don't sit down and tell them why they were wrong. It's tempting, but if you are really embracing #1, you'll see why you shouldn't.
8. Don't be afraid of revision (IE, using critique, yours and others'). In writing especially, you WILL NOT, PERIOD, FULL STOP, get it right the first time. I've learned this the hard way. I've always loved my first drafts. Now I know enough to say, "I like it, and that's exactly why I need to sit on it until I don't any more." Furthermore: spell-checking and fixing grammar aren't revision. That's proofreading. Frankly, don't bother with it too much until you're done revising. (I learned this one the hard way too. I wrote a 250 page story and did spot cleanup and spellchecks for six months before finally realizing all the reasons I needed to re-write all of it. Next draft was 500 pages, and I spent a few MORE months spot cleaning and spell checking and getting each word just right. Then I learned more about storytelling, ripped out 175 pages of very nicely-written scenes, replaced them, and had to clean those up all over again. Point: don't start painting until the wall is clean, flat, and all the holes are patched!).
9. Eat all those crits up. Then find the work of people who are better than you, and read critiques of THEIR work. Learn from people that do it right, and learn from people who do it wrong in ways you only wish you could do right now. Critique other people with your newfound knowledge and help them. Then turn those skills around and use them on yourself. If you're a novelist like me, it's very tough to find people who have the time to offer critiques that are really useful. Learn how to critique yourself, because that way lies the road to mastery.
This is some of the most important stuff I learned over the course of my master's degree. Take these points and think about them. Hope they help you, because they changed the way I approach my work.
~James
PS. If you write, proofread your stuff out loud. Every time you want to say it differently than it's written, change it.
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Still trucking
1 min read
Because everyone visiting here cares about what I'm writing (what, didn't you hear?) I am still indeed working on my novel. I never knew how much work was waiting for me AFTER I finally typed THE END on the second draft. 150+ pages of rewritten scenes down so far. I think I finally have the story the way I want it, but now the writing itself needs a lot of peeling down. On the upside, I'm going to graduate with my MFA in four weeks, and by then I should be VERY close to having a sale-able book. Writewritewrite.
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