Don't be shy....show it all.

Not many members post work in Work in Progress.
I read many books. It has been my main means of learning to write. As I am reading a book I take it apart. I do an outline of the plot the author used. I graph breathing sections. How the author moves along, and how he/she slows down and lets the reader take a breath before the next rush. I note how the characters come to live over the length of the story. I look for major points the author has hidden within the story. I also mark sections that are weak.

Please post sections of your work. It's not a contest to see how strong, or weak your writing is. It not only helps you, it helps those reading it.
When you post, forgive me if my comments hurt at times. I feel a pat on the back to a new writer does more harm then good.

The Work in Progress section should be the apex of a writers forum.

There are 54 threads on the WIP board (just less than one per week since the first thread was started on February 14th 2008). The highest number of replies on one thread is 66. Those requiring feedback seem to receive the help they seek.

Domenic,

Those sound like some good things to look for.

I'm thinking of posting something.

Carol

I'm sure my textbook WIP would make thrilling reading for you, lol.

The pub sent my initial chapters to three university profs for review. I recently got them back and have more feedback than I ever wanted.

Domenic - Not everyone works that way. The only person who sees something before I send it out is my wife. She proofreads for missing punctuation marks or a sentence she doesn't understand. I correct those, go over the story another half dozen times changing or omitting words and then off it goes. The only person whose judgment matters is the editor. I like to have half a dozen stories in circulation at any given time.
If posting incomplete work is beneficial to you, then by all means do it.

Dick,
I don't have a wife, or an editor. As to making corrections myself, I just make the same darn mistakes. I have a program on vista that prints out what I speak. But, I have been raised on both east and west coast, so to be understood, I would have to be in the mid-west. I can't ThiMk of any other way...are you suggesting I get married?

Couldn't hurt. *grin* (To get married that is.)

Sue,
Women need to be married full time. Me I only need to be married part time.

Ahhh Now you are lumping all women into one category. What makes you think some women wouldn't like part-time marriages too?

Good point, Sue!!

I have offered up something for you to take a look at. I could not post the entire chapter. This site continued to say my post was to large. I posted an excerpt from chapter two of my new book. It is a work in progress and like others here I edit, edit and re-edit. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. It is titled Shadow People

I'm a little different. I like to work in a vacuum and clear my mind of distractions. I think better that way and when something is near a stage of coherence, then I bounce it off my wife and one other close family member.

Then I edit, revise and update. When I think it is done, I trust my own judgement. By the way, I feel something is done when adding or changing anything doesn't make a difference.

Marie wrote:

Quote :

As for marriage, some of us women are probably
better off unmarried. Some (not all) men have control issues and want
their spouses to do everything their way. That doesn't go over very
well with someone as independent as I am. Eventually, I rebel against
the criticisms and restraints.

I love being in relationships
where responsibilities are divided based on ability and each person is
encouraged to expand their own talents and interests, but those can be
difficult to find.

Ditto

Ann

Sounds good, Marie and Ann. As I have little ability and resist learning new tricks it should work out well.

dtpollard wrote:

I like to work in a vacuum

Most writers do.

Writing is a solitary endeavor that demands disciplined concentration. It is not a team sport.

Folks who post works in progress do so at their own risk. Praise for pedestrian writing is counterproductive. More often than not, however, criticism is met by bruised egos and open hostility.

Want praise? Show it to someone who loves you. Want constructive criticism? Show it to a wordsmith who doesn't know you and doesn't give a hang about thin skin or ego.

Still, why anyone posts unpolished work is a mystery to me.

W. Lane Rogers wrote:

dtpollard wrote:

I like to work in a vacuum

Most writers do.

Writing is a solitary endeavor that demands disciplined concentration. It is not a team sport.

Folks who post works in progress do so at their own risk. Praise for pedestrian writing is counterproductive. More often than not, however, criticism is met by bruised egos and open hostility.

Want praise? Show it to someone who loves you. Want constructive criticism? Show it to a wordsmith who doesn't know you and doesn't give a hang about thin skin or ego.

Still, why anyone posts unpolished work is a mystery to me.

Still, why anyone posts unpolished work is a mystery to me.

I am an expert in this area. Let me solve the mystery for you.

It is because we are stupid...we think it's polished, and we need help in that area. If it were not for people like you, we would remain stupid.

Lane, you should swim every day. Over time the water will round out the roughness of your personality. People will come to know what a great guy is beneath that skin of granite. You will be like the stone one finds in a high mountain stream.

W. Lane Rogers wrote:

dtpollard wrote:

I like to work in a vacuum

Most writers do.

Writing is a solitary endeavor that demands disciplined concentration. It is not a team sport.

Folks who post works in progress do so at their own risk. Praise for pedestrian writing is counterproductive. More often than not, however, criticism is met by bruised egos and open hostility.

Want praise? Show it to someone who loves you. Want constructive criticism? Show it to a wordsmith who doesn't know you and doesn't give a hang about thin skin or ego.

Still, why anyone posts unpolished work is a mystery to me.

I wouldn't call where I work a vaccum.

I just call it my own little world. But it is full of all sorts of wonderful things.

I very much agree it is NOT a team sport. Well, except maybe in the cases of co-writers. But I can't imagine co-writing. I am the solitary type.

As I mentioned before, I don't post my work.

However, the people I share it with are honest. Though they love me, they know they can tell me the truth about my work ... and they do. My sister (and nieces) have no problem telling me "I hate that!" or "that is just dumb". My brother and mother are spelling and grammar police. My manuscripts come back from my few trusted family and friends marked up pretty well. I consider their honesty very valuable. (Of course they also included some praises and they are also honest about what they LIKE.)

My daughter is a technical writer at the university, but she always wants lots of emotion and personal experiences in the nonfiction I write. She is a good critic, and corrects the grammatical errors as well as putting in creativity.

I also pay her. She is a professional at this.

Carol

domenic Pappalardo wrote:

Lane, you should swim every day. Over time the water will round out the roughness of your personality.

Or water log my brian.

See, there, Marie. Just the mention of all that water did me in.

LMAO...Ah, you are human after all! Lets go for a swim.

A shattered image over a lone typo. What a crushing blow.

Sometimes a typo brings a bit of reality. It happens to all of us.

Something that happened yesterday gave me some delight.
I have a promotion going on my book and had sent books out for review. With this one exception, all the reviews (so far) have been very good. I received an email yesterday from this one reviewer providing the website of her review post. She says in her review that she had noted several grammatical/typo errors in the book, was not pleased with the build up of the characters, etc. In her description of the book she wrote the word "Gaghdad," instead of "Baghdad." I sent her a nice note pointing that out.
My book was professionally edited and I haven't seen any typos, but I suppose when someone is looking to find fault, they will find something. It felt good to point out the error in her post.

W. Lane Rogers wrote:

A shattered image over a lone typo. What a crushing blow.