If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I studied creative writing in college. Well, when I graduated, several of my former classmates found me on facebook and asked to stay in touch. We have a massive facebook group where we just post stuff we're working on and ask for feedback.
It. is. awesome.
So last fall, I posted on there asking if any poor soul would be willing to read completed manuscript #2. I know it is a little short and it needs more detail, but I didn't know what to add. I was too close to the work and I needed perspective that wasn't mine.
Now, I didn't actually think anyone would take me up on that offer. It's long, we're all busy, and I was asking my friends who had only ever read maybe 14 pages at most from me to suddenly sit down and read 230 pages. However, two lovely friends accepted!
After they finished reading, we met up during spring break and discussed the book. We sat there for hours talking about just about everything. Here are some reasons that this was a great experience:
1. Hearing other people discuss your work is FUN.
No one had ever laid eyes on this work before (other than me, obviously). It was all still in my head, even though it was recorded on a computer screen. But hearing other people talk about my characters, my setting, the plot, and so on was really fun. Watching them geek out over the romantic scenes, vent over the irritating characters, and laugh over the funny moments was fun. It made the whole thing feel real.
2. Writing friends have a unique perspective.
I've discussed this before, but writing friends are totally different kinds of friends. They understand the convoluted process in your brain. They know the struggle, the persistence, the frustration, the self-hatred, the excitement, and the nerves that are a part of writing. In this particular case, these were also friends that knew my writing style because I took several classes with them. There's nothing like friends who understand exactly how you feel and what you're trying to do.
3. They see things in a new light.
I've also discussed this before, but new perspective definitely helps. One of them suggested completely restructuring my novel format to better tell the story and avoid lag time. Her suggestion made me bristle initially, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I got for exactly how to do it. While I'm still not sure exactly how I'm going to do it, she gave me a lot to think about. They also point out your weaknesses that you know are there, but they offer suggestions for how to fix them. They even point out weaknesses you didn't know were there. I thought the time setting was clear, but they were confused. This is invaluable information.
I haven't actually started revisions on this yet because I'm a teacher and the end of the year was CRAZY (yes, that is my excuse), but I am so excited to start. I know the manuscript will only get better with this feedback. Consult writing friends! They are the best!
