Tag: drafting story arc

Perfectionism

Anne Lamott says that perfectionism is the voice of the oppresssor. As long as you have tied yourself up in knots over the perfect choice, what happens? No choice gets made, nothing happens, and no actions are taken.

I’m close to the end of my work in progress. I’ve done about 220 pages since the end of November last year. but these last 80 are proving to be the very devil. Because I want to get it Right when I should be concerned with getting it DOWN. Plenty of time to go back and fix what might be wrong. But right now is the time to get it done.

So wish me well as I try to break the vise that perfectionism has had on my writing. Happy reading!

More on Beta Readers

So I found several beta readers after all for Hurricane Baby. One has finished reading and reported in that she does not like Mike and Holly’s storyline–the guy that has a huge crisis of faith. She said it reminded her too much of the Fireproof movie, where all they needed was Jesus and everything turned out fine.

I countered that I had wanted at least one story to turn out to have a happy ending. She wasn’t convinced. So depending on what other readers say, I may be back to the drawing board on that.

This sort of feedback is why you want beta readers. You need people who will be honest with you about how stories come off to them. Beta readers are not necessarily editors–their role is to tell you if the story hangs together or not. For this reader, who I’ve known since I was eight years old, it didn’t. It’s just one opinion. She loved the Wendy and Ray Magnum story and the James and Lori King story. But that other one just stuck in her craw; she couldn’t swallow it. It means more work may need to be done on it, or to maybe ditch it altogether. We will see what others say.