There are people who crave it. People who look for it. People who spend week-ends wallowing in it.
Silence can be a good thing -- but not after you've read your first chapter of your MS to a critique group.
I went to a new one tonight. They do not require a period of waiting, as some groups do, so I brought Ch. 1 of 'Blue,' and read it to them.
There was silence. A long period of silence. Longer than I had anticipated. In fact, I had not even expected silence.
Oh dear God! There is that expectation thing again! Back to the Four Agreements, Sharron......
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only seconds, someone thought I should add a bit more description. Another comment or two and then a very polite, thank you for reading to us.
I am trying not to be....
Hell - I'm discouraged. I want to chuck 'Blue' and chuck writing and chuck just everything.
I'll get over it. Thank God.
Writing sucks. Not real writing. Real writing is fun and suspenseful and euphoric.
The writing process - the part after the book or the chapter or the paragraph is written - sucks.
You know I do not like to plunge into darkness here. So I won't. I'll go on writing 'Blue.' I have spent way too much time with it and have had many positive comments regarding it.
This new group was super friendly. I felt comfortable with them - til a point - but I will go back. I'm not sure if I'll bring something else to share - at least not for the next meeting. *g*
I am working on Ch. 20 of 'Blue.' There's a few things that need fleshing out. (I wish the ice cream store was open.) *g*
Life is silence.
Sometimes the reaction to a writer's work has very little to do with the quality of the work and everything to do with the audience and their expectations. When people encounter something that is even a bit out of the norm for them, they don't know how to react. It could be that you simply read something to them that was not the familiar kind of thing they had been hearing up until that point, and they couldn't see past that to the quality of the work. It's hard not to be discouraged when faced with silence, but I pray that your confidence in your own worth and your writing -- as well as the approval of those who have already pronounced it good -- will help you overcome this temporary hump in the road.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, a little ice cream might help, too. ;-)
Still haven't had my ice cream. But words of comfort from such a friend are better. Bless you and thank you.
ReplyDelete