intothewood (
intothewood) wrote in
writerslounge2011-06-28 08:20 am
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(no subject)
Sharing. When do you determine who, when and how?
I'm very wary of sharing any of my writing beyond silly little things I care nothing about. It's like a native fear of picture taking - if they see it, they will steal my soul!
But there are precautions in sharing, especially things you're currently working on - or at least I think so, anyway. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I can't imagine I'm the only one who feels this way. Of course, I am a little extreme - I can't seem to let go of even one sentence. I was going to ask people to share a sentence from what they're currently writing, something that may sum up the gist of the story, but I don't know if I could reciprocate. Yes, yes, that is paranoid, isn't it. But I don't know you, you don't know me... we could all be soul stealers, who can say?
So how do you know when to share, with whom, and at what stage?
I'm very wary of sharing any of my writing beyond silly little things I care nothing about. It's like a native fear of picture taking - if they see it, they will steal my soul!
But there are precautions in sharing, especially things you're currently working on - or at least I think so, anyway. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I can't imagine I'm the only one who feels this way. Of course, I am a little extreme - I can't seem to let go of even one sentence. I was going to ask people to share a sentence from what they're currently writing, something that may sum up the gist of the story, but I don't know if I could reciprocate. Yes, yes, that is paranoid, isn't it. But I don't know you, you don't know me... we could all be soul stealers, who can say?
So how do you know when to share, with whom, and at what stage?
no subject
Also, some people suck at critiquing. It's a skill like most others. Someone at Critters said that 1/3 of the members were helpful, 1/3 were at least trying, and 1/3 were way out there. Sadly, that's true with any open writing group. (And the reason you see a lot which are invite/application only.)
In an ideal world, I definitely think that finding a few perfect critique partners is best. But finding them can be incredibly difficult. And it tends to only happen through interacting with others in a writing community. (Which, of course, include things like Critters, Critique Circle, Absolute Write Water Cooler, etc.)
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no subject
Critiquing is definitely a time invested thing. I've found that you tend to get out of it what you put in. (i.e. the very active members tend to get more and better crits). It's like any hobby, really. ;) I'm glad it helped, regardless. I always recommend critiques (and crit groups), but over a decade of them has given me some idea as to both their strengths and weaknesses!
no subject
You're right, and I do value investing my time into beneficial relationships.