Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

You’ve been working on your WIP. You love it. You’ve poured your heart and soul and passion into it, every breath of your inner fire, striking the words you command into the heart of your enemy, whether it be that of your main character or your own Inner Censor.

You let it sit, leaning back to breathe. And then thoughts and doubts begin to surface. Is it any good? Will my readers like it? What will they think?

You can’t second-guess yourself in the rough draft. Constantly worrying about whether or not your WIP is any good will do nothing more than block you. Worrying about what people might think will do the same.

In the rough, you have to pull out the stops. Write what’s right for your WIP. Don’t censor yourself. If you’re afraid that your characters aren’t sympathetic, you might talk about them to someone else and get a second opinion. It helps to talk with other people and get opinions on what you’re writing. Support, especially from other writers, can make a difference. When I was writing Sanctuary, my first full-length novel, I went into chat at my writer’s group and talked about my MC, the plot, and when I got stuck, I brainstormed.

Just describing your character to another person might not be enough. A skilled writer can make almost any character sympathetic. I’ve read works with incredibly sympathetic characters that just by their description alone, I might have gone “Ick” at. In my erotic romance novel, Resurrection, my main character, Shaiandral, is forced to tantrically resurrect the Dragonlord by the evil demon who’d possessed him. When I first talked about the book, people tended to be put off by it; the ones who actually read it later commented to me that they were surprised I could pull it off.

An unsympathetic character or iffy plot element can work. I would have lost a great book if I’d censored myself when I was first talking about the idea. I went with it out of weirdness, despite original comments, and pulled it off. It can be done.

Self-censoring only works against you. If you worry about what people might think, you can end up toning down the good things about your WIP. Donald Maass, in Writing the Breakout Novel, describes novels that “break out” as having controversial and risky elements. “Safe” fiction stays midlist.

Be true to your work. Write from the gut. Write from the soul. Don’t censor yourself. Someone may tell you that they don’t like something in your work, that they don’t think that it works. It’s a good thing to evaluate their comments rather than dismissing them out of hand, but it’s important not to take what everyone says to heart. I’ve gotten crits from people that I disagreed with, because their idea of what my book should be wasn’t what I wanted to write. Critiquers can have theme differences with the author. It boils down to preference much of the time.

For example, let’s say I have an erotica piece I post for crit. It’s got heavy male-dom and BDSM elements. The majority of critiquers love it and have stylistical comments and line edits. Then someone else responds with “Eww, gross!” and says they like the story minus those elements; that’s not necessarily a comment on the skill of your work. Male-dom and BDSM may not be that critter’s flavor; not everyone has the same tastes.

What’s difficult is when that crit comes from someone you trust, whose opinion you care a lot about, or someone you look up to, or even an editor. When a respected individual has problems with your work when everyone else loved it, it can be very difficult not to alter your work to her preferences.

Stay true to your work. If you get a crit that you violently disagree with, don’t let your inner censor talk you into believing they’re right. Don’t sacrifice your work to someone else’s vision of what it should be. Don’t tone it down. Don’t cut its legs out from under it, because that’s exactly what can happen when you rip the heart out of your work to please another.

Don’t worry about whether or not your work is good in the rough. Write from your soul. Write what you want. Write the book you want to read. That’s the only way you’re going to finish. You’re not a slave to your critiquers. Write what screams to be written.

Once the book is finished, then you can react with some concern, after giving it time to cool off. You can look at it objectively and ask yourself if the book says what you want it to say, and see if your crits come back reflecting that. If all your crits indicate that it doesn’t, then you might want to look at it. If the majority don’t, though … then don’t fret.

Also keep in mind the group you’re targeting. Don’t post a heavy BDSM, non-con story to Regency romance writers and expect the majority to like it. Choosing the correct audience is important.

When it comes to editors and readers, the same applies. When you’re submitting your work, if you get a personal response from an editor, do keep that in mind. I had Resurrection rejected by an erotic romance publisher saying that I had too many different themes and the characters weren’t believable. After looking at it, I realized I probably was targeting the wrong market with that book, because it played the edge too much and had a distinct fantastic bent. A speculative fiction editor probably wouldn’t have thought that the characters were implausible. Rather than try to slaughter my book to fit that market, I’m going to be trying to place it at the right markets for it, and send that original one something more to their tastes.

No matter what, it’s important not to worry. Care about your work. Dedicate yourself to producing the best work you possibly can–and keep in mind that for some writers, it takes many drafts in order to get it right. That said, be careful in rewrite. It’s possible to over-rewrite and ruin the book. I’ve known writers that cut all the good bits out of the book in the rewrite, rather than improving it. Pay attention to your inner vision. Don’t censor your work.

Stay strong. Don’t surrender to censorship. Be the best writer you can be. Let it rip. Let it fly.

And drop me a note when you sell. I know you will. I have faith. Rock on!