Monday, May 23, 2016

Thanks, Witch Dawg!

I'm feeling the rejection again. Trying to write, teach, etc., and am getting some not-so-positive feedback for a couple of projects, (but some is constructive criticism on a new project, which is to be expected, so I don't mind that!). But when put all together, it can bring you down a bit, so I loved this quote I found on Twitter from Sean Gardner @2morrowknight:

The best way to avoid criticism: never do anything. Or, do what you love, have a great life & let others spend time criticizing

 ~Ricky Gervais

Today one of my friends told me about the name calling used in some criticism of her work, which was so outlandish it was hilarious. So thanks for sharing, Witch Dawg!

I was also reminded of an article I wrote many years ago that an old editor hated. She asked me if I was in a coma when I wrote it. Said I needed to rewrite it, etc., to be fit for print, yada yada. The same article was scheduled to run in a sister publication, so I went to that editor and told her what had happened, and that I was going to rewrite it and would send her the revised version.

The (second) editor said "It's fine, I'm running it as is."

So opinions and evaluations and critiques are subjective. And that's good to remember. If I had given up after the first criticism, I never would have written a book about writing (Strengthen Your Nonfiction Writing), or continued to work on my two (unpublished, but not for long) novels.

Write soon, (regardless of what the critics say)


Mary

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Advice from a great songwriter


Although I wasn’t familiar with Guy Clark, the singer-songwriter from Nashville who died today at the age of 74, he had some great advice for writers disguised as advice for songwriters. In a 2013 NPR interview with Melissa Block, he said what’s not in the song is as important as what is in the song. “Less is more,” he said. “Don’t clutter up the English language. Leave people with the ability to become part of it.”

Many others artists were influenced by Clark, including Lyle Lovvett, who said Guy’s first record helped tell him what a song could be, should be. Emmylou Harris said Clark embraced the human condition. There was no judgment in his music, everyone is equal – everyone has been on a rough road.

Good advice when writing a song or a story.

Write soon,

Mary