I used to be a total feedback junkie -- especially with short stories, I'd get into a conversation with one of my dedicated readers about the story, send them what I had so far, and get real-time, blow by blow feedback. I had two or three volunteer readers who were really quick to reply, and they got everything.
Post-Clarion, I've been a lot more hesitant to do that. Possibly that's a result of the trauma of finishing a story and sending it out 10 minutes later, because you're at deadline for the next day, and realizing half an hour later that everyone is going to be *critiquing* you on that plot hole that you knew about but didn't have time to fix, and you're going to look like such an idiot...
My first drafts are always really messy. I'm a good enough editor that I can clean the mess up, and I need to start doing that before I shop things around.
I'll tell people about plot outlines, or characters, or worlds I'm working on developing if I need to feel like I have an audience. But I'm starting to do that less, as well.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-11-21 02:59 pm (UTC)Post-Clarion, I've been a lot more hesitant to do that. Possibly that's a result of the trauma of finishing a story and sending it out 10 minutes later, because you're at deadline for the next day, and realizing half an hour later that everyone is going to be *critiquing* you on that plot hole that you knew about but didn't have time to fix, and you're going to look like such an idiot...
My first drafts are always really messy. I'm a good enough editor that I can clean the mess up, and I need to start doing that before I shop things around.
I'll tell people about plot outlines, or characters, or worlds I'm working on developing if I need to feel like I have an audience. But I'm starting to do that less, as well.