Have you ever worried about writing a novel by committee? I
have.
Week after week, recently, I a critter, who has an agent says,
“I’m having trouble with believability.” [I’m writing a romance.]
In a critique group, it is not recommended that you not
stick up for yourself, mostly because of time and slightly because of egos. So
I say nothing. I go home make corrections that I understand and then try to
guess what she meant. Is it that my 18 year-old black girl and my 20 year-old
white boy are somehow not attracted to each other or I’m writing them wrong?
What I usually do when editing from critique group input is fill in more story
via dialogue and interior monologue to make the story richer. [BTW. This type
of romance is called NA, i.e. new adult.] I look at setting, time lapses,
everything. This introspection has never been without value because it sharpens
the story.
I was nonetheless curious about what she meant about
believability. I asked her on a break and she couldn’t pin it down. So I
prompted her with an example that I knew I was going to change. She said, “I
don’t know if that’s the way the hero and his dad get along.” I do. The group
cannot be expected to remember what you wrote in previous weeks for many
reasons.
To name a couple:
1. They missed a week or weeks.
2. They forget. It isn’t their story.
A funny thing happens on the way to the weekly group meeting.
I write 3 to 6 pages max, 1 scene or chapter only. My writing is tight and sometimes
doesn’t cover some interior monologue that I felt might be helpful in showing more
story. I do this because of time limitations. Also, I never summarize previous
chapters and/or explain things that have changed because each scene should
stand on its own merits or so the experts say.
I remember a vice-presidential candidate saying many years
ago, “Who am I and what am I doing here?”
If I don’t understand the other writer’s story, I usually give
a pass because I’m not on top of every nuance. BUT. I can’t blame anybody else
for getting lost and offering a suggestion that my story in some way is
unbelievable. I just take it under advisement. You have probably heard that
phrase before in your own group(s). It usually means I’m hurt, I don’t want to
talk about, I don’t value your opinion, but it should mean, how can I improve
my story and could you be more explicit.
For those now curious, I’m writing the best novel of my life
and I have my critique group to thank for it. All of them.
When I first started writing, I was a member of a small, closed writers group. I needed it. I learned a lot about writing craft, giving and receiving constructive feedback, publishing rules and guidelines. We never had more than 10 members, met bi-monthly, scheduled and took turns (2 per meeting) presenting material for crits so people could read through the current submission and prior excerpts. Yep, we had a word limit (like 4,000 words or 12 double spaced pages) to streamline reading and discussion time. Our critique/feedback time was very focused on the work and author presenting at that moment. I felt it was quite productive.
ReplyDeleteAs I grew as a writer though, I felt constricted by the "group writing". It seemed I was writing to please the varied tastes of the group (all genre's were accepted), and not on the specific vision/premise I had for my novels or short stories. And, it was hard, as you say, to integrate all the differing perspectives on character and plot development. Its hard not to "defend" your writing choices and yet still accept constructive feedback. A challenge doesn't come close.
Now I trade crits and beta readings with author friends I have made both on and off line. Sometimes its a few pages or chapters, sometimes an entire draft. Its is less stressful than having a group looking over my shoulder, co-writing, establishing deadlines.
Well, I sometimes miss the big-brother deadlines, lol. I am a less diligent writer without the group, but what I do write is my own voice and concept, and I am more accepting of the overall feedback than scene by scene, chapter by chapter.
A lot of authors have turned their proverbial noses up at the description of my previous writers group. For me, though, the restrictions were actually a lot of help for those of us who had day jobs, were slow writers, and wanted to give as much attention to the fellow authors as we wanted to receive ourselves.