(The point)
SO I took the Hallows poem to the writer round up.
And while the response was positive, it was . . . cold.
Distant.
Unmoved.
It's the literary equivalent of an Audi R8. Mechanically splendid, yet lacking in passion.
If my reader walks away unchanged, unmoved, un-entangled, there's something I'm not doing right.
In the case of All Hallows, I left out the hook. I didn't jerk the line and set them into my world. I didn't even invite them into the parlor. I simply showed them a pretty picture through a thick glass porthole.
Which is fine. But the paintings you remember draw you in and wrap you in story.
I have to vent the atmosphere.
I must scuttle the ship.
Welcome to the island of my imaginings.
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7 comments:
Writing groups sometimes make me feel down.
I'm with Loren. Writers groups work great for some people, but they never really worked well for me for a lot of reasons I won't go into right now.
Suffice it to say, I would encourage you to not over-read the feedback you get from a writing group, particular not with something like your poetry.
Loren -
This writing group really is wonderful, and the collective taste leans toward the literary and fantastical so it's a decent fit.
But I agree. Especially if the fit is wrong.
Nevets -
We can very easily become more engrossed in the feedback than the original work. But I have always held that any sort of feedback can be constructive. Even if it's not what we want to hear.
Just as too much coddling can end up destructive.
The biggest problem I've found with this particular group is that it only meets semi-monthly and wants to include material from several peole. So if your writing is longer than, say, 900 words, you're pushing the limits of what the group can handle.
Which is not an issue for me, but for your prodigious output . . .
I would be interested to see you blog about your reasons.
B, I'll plan a post about that sometime next week. I think that would be a good idea.
It's not the negative or positive nature of the feedback that determines its quality in my book, it's more in its originating position and appropriate contextualization.
Certainly, I would not suggest you simply throw out feedback of any sort, just that you might want to think and consider before scuttling the ship.
And perhaps you already have...
I've just seen far too many writers get derailed and side-tracked by writing group feedback until they end up spinning their wheels forever.
I was in a script-writing group (before they kicked me out for not attending enough meetings. Bastards.) and I found it helpful sometimes and not so helpful other times, depending on the people who gave the feedback. Some people were very good about pointing out WHY something didn't work, and offer up solutions. Others would just state that they liked it or didn't without giving any reason.
If it's not a good fit, no matter how awesome they are, you shouldn't stay. But if the group consensus was that something about your poem needed fixing, and everyone agreed, then maybe it's a good spring board for which to tweak your poem a bit.
Best of luck - I know how down I can get when people don't like my stuff. At least you're brave enough to go to writer's meetings, eh?
Tracy-
The absolute worst is no response at all. A micrometer above that is the "I just like it / hate it, y'know."
You can't respond actively to a diffuse critique.
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