by Mario Acevedo
If you’ve ever workshopped your work-in-progress, one of the rules of the process is that you, the author, are not allowed to respond to critique comments. Your work must stand on its own legs, as it will have to do when it presumably lands on an editor's desk or in the hands of a reader. This is an effective process for a writer who's at a certain point in the process. But if you go there too early or when the ground's in any way uneven beneath your feet, too often you watch your manuscript shamble into public view like Frankenstein’s creation, to be poked and prodded by well-meaning but misunderstanding readers. Sure you can stitch the words together but overall...well, your story lurches and stumbles, rather than striding along like a graceful athlete.
I hear you, and I think there are times when you have to flout convention and talk, talk, talk.
After all, the key to good writing is to break the rules when necessary. Think about this--rather than critiquing your manuscript, how about getting together with a trusted group of peers--say a bookish think-tank--to work out your story? Instead of digging through the weeds (and flowers) of your prose, how about if you take an eagle’s eye view of your novel? What’s the theme? What are you trying to accomplish? What drives the story? Think over your characters: Who they are? What do they want? What motivates them?
But wait. There’s more. Also work through how you write--a bit of understanding that's just as important as what you’re trying to write. And equally important, what’s keeping you from writing? What are the obstacles between you and your word count? What’s the head trash that’s making your fingers curl away from the keyboard? One goal of "talking it out" is to unclog writer’s block, energize your creative juices, and make you eager to dive back into your manuscript.
Once you've talked it out, nailed it down, and given yourself the foundation you need, then you can go back and follow the rules of polite writerly society.
Interested in trying out Mario's subversive method? Check out his four-week workshop: Tell Me Your Story--The Premise of a Great Novel, starting Thursday, September 19.
