Style Depends On How You Express Yourself
Marlayna, who writes the blog It Is The Little Things, has done it tough today, so please visit her and show her that you care. She emailed me a couple of days ago to say: ``So here I thought I was done with my manuscript (58,000 words), and sent it to a fellow blogger, who reviewed it and came back with some excellent points, mainly: 1) Why do I want to care about this character and 2) I need more detail.’’
Her big issue is: ``Now I'm looking at it and thinking it's all wrong. Yet it is what it is. It's written from the heart, and changing it will ruin it entirely.’’
It's always valuable to get someone else's opinion on a manuscript. But it's also really important to sift through that feedback and only take what is important and relevant to you.
At first it can be rather confronting to be told that a labour of love has to be re-written or must have segments added or deleted. Generally, all advice is good advice - but you have to choose what to follow and what to ignore. You and your instinct are the best judge of that.
Walk away from your manuscript for a day or two. Concentrate on other things. Then carefully assess whether (in your specific case) more detail is needed in terms of characterisation or description. If you honestly feel it'll add value to the book, then go ahead and do it. If not, follow your instincts and believe in the fact that you have written from your heart and produced the best possible manuscript.
But here’s my take on your writing. I haven’t seen your manuscript, but I’ve followed your blog closely enough and for long enough to realise that you write with great passion, power and feeling. You have the ability to carry your readers along with any of your posts. I’m sure this crucial ability, so evident in short bursts of writing on a blog, will be reflected in long chapters and a full-length book.
Her big issue is: ``Now I'm looking at it and thinking it's all wrong. Yet it is what it is. It's written from the heart, and changing it will ruin it entirely.’’
It's always valuable to get someone else's opinion on a manuscript. But it's also really important to sift through that feedback and only take what is important and relevant to you.
At first it can be rather confronting to be told that a labour of love has to be re-written or must have segments added or deleted. Generally, all advice is good advice - but you have to choose what to follow and what to ignore. You and your instinct are the best judge of that.
Walk away from your manuscript for a day or two. Concentrate on other things. Then carefully assess whether (in your specific case) more detail is needed in terms of characterisation or description. If you honestly feel it'll add value to the book, then go ahead and do it. If not, follow your instincts and believe in the fact that you have written from your heart and produced the best possible manuscript.
But here’s my take on your writing. I haven’t seen your manuscript, but I’ve followed your blog closely enough and for long enough to realise that you write with great passion, power and feeling. You have the ability to carry your readers along with any of your posts. I’m sure this crucial ability, so evident in short bursts of writing on a blog, will be reflected in long chapters and a full-length book.
I’ve been a professional editor for 30 years and quite honestly, I would not make major changes in anything you’ve written so far. The key, for me, is that any writer should produce work from the heart. That way, writing becomes totally instinctive. That’s the sort of writing that shouldn’t really be tampered with.