Wednesday, May 2, 2012

All Those Voices in Your Head!

The day after my last novel workshop at Johns Hopkins seems like a good time to link to this piece by Debra Spark about how to sort through critiques and editorial suggestions:

Criticism?  Take it or leave?  How do you know what to do when someone suggests revisions to your work?  You can’t just take everyone’s advice.  You can’t try to write a story by committee.  If you do, you’ll get the very sort of thing that committee’s produce:  deadly prose.

My additional advice:  Wait for a while before tackling any revision—until the dust settles, your mind is clear, and any irritation you may have felt has faded.

Work-in-Progress

DC-area author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary.