Rethinking Your Writing Goal by Emily Conrad

The problem first developed as I collected critiques on my work.

It didn’t strike me as a problem, though.

Instead, this problem masqueraded as a goal: To write submissions so good, my critique partners had as few comments about weaknesses in my manuscript as possible.

The more positive comments I could win, the better.

As I advanced in my writing career, I took those goals with me. Only, then, in addition to wanting to avoid constructive criticism and earn praise from critique partners, I also hoped to achieve the same from editors and readers.

Why do these tandem goals—avoid criticism and earn praise—now strike me as problematic?

Critiques: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Christa MacDonald

Christa MacDonald

It’s tough to receive criticism on our work, and it can also be difficult to offer constructive comments to other writers. There’s a risk that someone’s feelings will be hurt. So, what do we do? Author Christa MacDonald offers some great tips. ~ Dawn

Critiques: The Good,

the Bad, and the Ugly

Every book needs constructive criticism. Nobody drafts, and then edits their work perfectly. Nobody. All writers require an analysis of their manuscript to turn it into the best book it can be. One of the kindest acts authors can do for one another is to read their work in progress and provide feedback. You may already belong to a critique group or partnership. If you don’t, I highly recommend finding one. They are incredibly helpful when done well. So, what sets a good critique apart from the bad (or the ugly)?

• The Good: Constructive criticism balanced by praise that leaves the author ready to go to work to make the necessary changes. Maintaining a neutral tone in crits, no snark. Find something to cheer. End on a positive.

• The Bad: Too much praise, too little criticism. Failing to point out where the book needs work to avoid hurting the author’s feelings.

• The Ugly: All negative, no positive. Pointing out all errors without noting any passages that are good. Condescending or critical tone in crits. Ending without finding a positive to highlight. 

Have you been on the receiving end of ugly feedback? Have you received an email or doc and what you read made you want to open a hole in the floor and drop through it to your doom, never to write another word? That feeling is less about the thickness of your skin and a whole lot more about how that criticism was presented. I’m not saying edit letters are easy. Quite the contrary, they can make an author cry even when they’re done well. I know this from personal experience. But if what was sent makes you want to give up, that’s the ugly stuff. 

How do you avoid giving ugly feedback? Personally, I take a page from my day job. I’ve been a manager for years, and the first skill I honed was how to give constructive feedback that gave the staff member receiving it the motivation to improve. Crushing someone’s spirit isn’t going to get you their best performance. Neither will coddling them. It’s a balancing act between praise and criticism. When providing feedback to writers, the same rules apply. Never end on a negative. Never cast doubt on their ability to write. We all know that writing is maybe 10% talent and 90% practice. Don’t be the person that tells someone they don’t have what it takes.

And do have a checklist. Most critique groups will have their own, but there are loads online to use as well. Be thinking about the theme, character arcs, setting, word choices, etc. as you go through the MS. And when noting what’s not working, be sure to type a comment that you’d want to receive as an author.

What to do when on the receiving end of an ugly critique? Remember that it’s one person’s opinion. Go get more. Don’t give up. Keep writing!

At the Crossroad

At the Crossroad

Erin Sullivan has had to endure the rumor mill of Sweet River, Maine grinding through her family's scandals for years. Being a single mom and the subject of small-town misinformation and judgement had taught her not to hope for good things. No matter how strong her feelings were for Pastor Dan Connors, she planned to keep them buried for the sake of his reputation and the good of her own heart. 

Dan Connors had become pastor of the Calvary Church thinking it would be temporary, that his mother would recover from her stroke, and he'd be back in the mission field in a matter of months. Three years later he is struggling in a job he never wanted, waiting for direction from God, and questioning his calling. 

When Erin sees that Dan is alone in his trial she reaches out to help and he comes to rely on her quiet strength and kindness. Erin tells herself it's only friendship, but it quickly becomes more and she has to reckon with a man in the midst of a spiritual storm. As his turmoil takes its toll on them, it may be more than her heart can take. Dan is determined to find his way, but it may have to be without the woman he's come to love.

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction. She began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook with poems and short stories. After publishing a few short pieces in her college's literary magazine she took a long hiatus during which she embarked on a few different careers, got married, had three kids, and renovated an old barn masquerading as a house. The Broken Trail, published by Mountain Brook Ink, was her debut novel. Her second novel, At the Crossroad, released in October, 2017.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty. She and her family live along the coast of New England.

To connect and learn more, please visit:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Christa-MacDonald/e/B01GGIU8D8    

Author website: https://christamacdonald.com/   

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538432676468229   

Criticism and Candy by Marie Wells Coutu

Criticism is like M&M candy in reverse.

I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t like M&Ms. But I have one friend who prefers the red ones, and a relative who will eat any color—except the brown ones.

I used to work with a man who would bring M&Ms to meetings at work. He would take a handful and line them up in front of him by color, eating all of one color before starting on the next color. But since he shared the bag with the rest of the group, we enjoyed watching him organize his own stash.

As writers, we need to treat criticism like M&Ms. What’s that? We should eat the words from someone else?

Not exactly. But we do need to be selective in how we take in the criticism.

Like the brown M&Ms, what one reader, or judge, or agent/editor hates, someone else may love. It can get confusing when our critique group tells us to do things one way and a publisher seems to prefer a different technique.

One of my friends recently received low scores on her unpublished manuscript from judges of one writing contest, then ranked as a finalist with the very same manuscript in a different contest. It could have been differences in the contest or simply subjective preferences of the judges. A work-in-progress I entered in a different contest finalled, garnering raves from the three initial judges, but the final judge didn’t care for the story.

And that’s okay. I told my friend—and myself—to take the criticisms with a grain of salt. Because reading is subjective. Some people will love your writing and others will hate it—or at least, not care for it. So if the critiquer offers constructive criticism, listen to it and then decide for yourself which of the comments fit for your particular story. Pick and choose the “colors” of the criticism that is important to you.

As for the positive comments, those might be your red M&Ms. Be encouraged by them, enjoy them, but don’t overdose on them. As a writer, you can always improve but you need those encouraging words to keep you going. (Of course, if your mother is the only one who likes your writing, you might need to do some serious thinking about your calling!)

Consider the source, learn from the criticism but don’t stress out over it, and be encouraged by those who like your work.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103

Meanwhile, take a handful of M&Ms. Peanut or plain?

About the Author

The Secret Heart
by Marie Wells Coutu

Marie Wells Coutu’s new novel, The Secret Heart, will be released in late August from Write Integrity Press. Follow Marie on Amazon.com to be notified when it becomes available. The Secret Heart is the third book in the Mended Vessels series. Books in the series are contemporary re-imaginings of the stories of biblical women, including Esther and the woman at the well.

Her debut novel, For Such a Moment, won the Books of Hope Contest. Thirsting for More, the second book in the series, was a finalist in the 2016 Selah Awards Contest. You can find more about Marie and her novels on her Facebook page (Author Marie Wells Coutu), at her website (MarieWellsCoutu.com), or follow her on Twitter (@mwcoutu).

Marie retired after 15 years with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and she and her husband now divide their time between Florida and Iowa.

The Secret Heart

Beautiful Shawna Moore married Hunter Wilson, the governor of Tennessee, after a whirlwind romance, only six weeks following her first husband’s death in Iraq. Now, she wonders if the governor loved her at all or only hoped to avoid a scandal.

An investigative reporter—and friend of Shawna’s—is asking questions. If he discovers the truth about Shawna’s baby, Hunter’s chances for reelection could be ruined. But keeping the secret is destroying their marriage. Will Shawna convince Hunter to choose his family and drop out of politics, or will he continue to put his career first?

The Secret Heart, will be released in late August from Write Integrity Press.

A Man's Perspective on Writing Romance by H. L. Wegley

H. L. Wegley

When I started drafting my first novel, Hide and Seek, I ran headlong into a big problem. My heroine was a woman. Showing what was going on inside her head, and her resultant reactions, would be difficult. And showing romance from a woman’s perspective, well … my wife just laughed when she heard I was taking on that challenge.

My initial approach was to minimize the problem, make my heroine very unusual, not a typical woman. I opted for a woman, let’s call her Jennifer, with a 200 IQ and one so beautiful that her beauty gave Jennifer another whole set of problems, stalkers and other sorts of unwanted attention. This created a yet another problem. Most women could not identify with Jennifer. While they might put up with her for one book with an interesting plot, minimalism was something I could not continue using if I wanted to have women readers.

It was time to learn to think like a woman. So how does a man do that, particularly where there is a lot of romance in the story?

The answer starts with acknowledging not only the basic differences between men and women, but also the extent of those differences. In my first draft of Hide and Seek I wrote a scene where my hero meets my heroine for the first time. I split the scene showing half in his POV and half in hers. My women test readers thought the guy was either immature and silly or perhaps even immoral. They thought the woman was neurotic or, at a minimum, overreacting. What an inauspicious beginning!

So my problem of writing romance became a double-edged sword. On one sharp edge, I had to portray my male protagonist in a way that appealed to women. On the other side, the woman had to seem real, likeable, a person women enjoyed identifying with.

From my test readers and my understanding of men, I learned that the strong male responses of my hero must be toned down, only showing a subset of his thoughts, the ones women want to see. The bare truth here is that most women handle the fully exposed male mind about as well as a 25-year-old man handles re-runs of the Golden Girls. The good stuff women want to see is present in his mind, but the other things residing there can cause a lot of misunderstanding.

The other side of the sword, showing what happens in a woman's mind and how she reacts to words, actions, and situations, was an intractable problem for me. I needed help, transcending what a test reader can provide.

I was polishing my fourth book. More than half of this story comes from the heroine’s point of view. It was time for me to learn to write a woman's thoughts, actions, and emotions, including a lot of romance. Again, my wife rolled her eyes and laughed. I understood why.

The way I saw it, I had two choices. 

One was to read a lot of books written by women and study the heroine’s point of view—a long process. But I had taken up writing fiction after retiring. My years of writing are limited, and I certainly didn’t plan to get a PhD in women’s psychology before writing a romantic novel. I needed a short cut, a really short one.

I met an author-editor, a woman, at a writing conference and scheduled a session with her to help me through a couple of problem pages in my WIP. Immediately, I saw that she was a person who could help me. 

I hired her to do a thorough, in-depth critique of the entire manuscript, with special emphasis on the romance scenes. When she sent my MSS back to me, it had detailed comments throughout, explaining what my heroine should do, feel, and think, and explaining how I had made her sound neurotic or immature at times. I learned more in the month of rewriting this manuscript than I would have learned in five years of reading other people’s novels.

The editor who helped me is Christina Berry Tarabochia.

For the writers who may be reading this article, if you struggle with writing romance, especially characters of the opposite sex, my recommendation is to find someone who will critique your book deeply enough to show you the problems in the way you portray the opposite sex. Pay them—it’s well worth it. You can learn a lot in a short period of time.

It would've been interesting to put in this post some of the before-and-after scenes from my heroine’s POV, but it would've simply become far too long. I’m sure it would have gotten some laughs.

Dora here. What about you?

Have you encountered a particular challenge in your writing?

How did you overcome that challenge?

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A computer security breach within a US defense contractor’s firewalls leads investigators, Lee Brandt and beautiful, brilliant Jennifer Akihara, onto the cyber-turf of terrorists, where they are detected and targeted for elimination. Lee leads them on a desperate and prayer-filled flight for survival into the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Will Jennifer’s pursuit of truth about the conspiracy, and the deepest issues of life, lead her into the clutches of terrorists, into the arms of Lee Brandt, or into the arms of the God she deems untrustworthy? 

H. L. Wegley served in the USAF as an Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. He is a Meteorologist who worked as a Research Scientist in Atmospheric Physics at Pacific Northwest Laboratories. After earning an MS in Computer Science, he worked more than two decades as a Systems Programmer at Boeing before retiring in the Seattle area, where he and his wife of 46 years enjoy small-group ministry, their seven grandchildren, and where he pursues his love of writing. 

HLWegley.com

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The Weather Scribe

A climate of suspense and a forecast of stormy weather