Monday, February 14, 2011

Experimenting & Bravery

Today, Domey Malasarn at the Lit Lab is following through on an experiment for which I have volunteered to participate. I have offered up Daydreams, the piece I wrote last week, to be critiqued--Tiger Mother style. I wrote this bit of fiction quickly and then, over the course of several days revised it. I considered it polished enough to post and put my name to, without overly vesting myself emotionally.

Domey's experiment coincides with a post that The Lit Lab's guest blogger, C.N. Nevets wrote about writing bravely, and his subsequent post on his own blog which develops the theme, but differentiates between bravery and recklessness--very thoughtful. These are issues I have grappled with for some time. I am not brave by nature, but neither am I complacent. That said, I am often given to moments of impulsiveness which I indulge because, although I am fraught with fears, I fear stagnation even more. I want to grow as a writer and a person, and so I put myself and my writing out there.

While I believe it took some bravery on my part to put Daydreams out there for a rigorous public critique, I think it was equally brave for Domey to conduct such an experiment, accepting the first three volunteers, not knowing just how brutal he might have to be...

Having read his critique, I have to say, it didn't sting as much as I anticipated--perhaps because I trust Domey, perhaps because I am so aware of my own weaknesses and assume everyone else can already see them. What stood out to me, and made me grin, was his assessment that my work was "too safe" and 'lacking originality'. There is actually some comfort in knowing that someone concurs with what you already know about your own work, and that the principles for improvement can be applied across the board. Thanks for the critique, Domey!

I hope my next post on my continuing watercolor prompted series is an improvement...

16 comments:

  1. That was a bold step you took! Interesting reviews given by 'Tiger Mother' of the three works.

    I feel your piece titled "The Chair Ajar" would have been the better candidate for that experiment. It is a an original sounding, and cleverly worded piece. But, from what I gather, you do have an emotional connection with that piece. However, that's part of what the reviewer didn't feel with "Daydreams".

    Still though ... bravo! with your bold new step. :)

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  2. Yes, Craig, I was playing it 'safe' for sure, with offering Daydreams.

    If The Chair Ajar didn't have someone else attached to it--someone who is even more private and tender than me--I might have put that one up. But in a way that would have been a bit of a cop out, too, because I already knew Domey liked it.

    Yeah, look at me taking leaps and bounds these days...yikes! (Just don't look down, right?)

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  3. Just don't look down. Very well said. We all need to step out of our own boundaries every once in awhile. You may not like it, but at least you did it. That says something about you. Courage, my friend.

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  4. Anne, it may not surprise you that I do a lot of deep breathing throughout the day, and you might hear me chanting "...happy place, happy place, happy place..."

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  5. This discussion reminded me of what I did with my own writing when I was trying to be braver. I opened up a new folder in my computer, and I promised myself that everything I wrote in this folder would NEVER be seen by anyone. No matter how much I loved it, no matter how much I wanted feedback on it, I would never share it. This really freed me up to write what I wanted.

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  6. That's actually a great suggestion, Domey. I am curious, though--did you ever show anyone any of what that folder contained?

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  7. I would not know what to do with a criticism like "lacking originality." How do you "add" originality? Where does it come from? Then again, my writing has not grown out of a community of writers, except the influence of all I have read. I have a spark and begin writing and see where the story goes. Editing is technical correction, smoothing out awkward sentences and such. The content rarely changes.

    What do YOU do about a criticism like that?

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  8. There are worse things than writing safely. Writing badly, for one. I don't think you're doing that.

    At least with "safe" writing, you can flex and push at the boundaries a bit. With bad writing, you'd have much farther to go. :)

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  9. Michael, I think the idea of originality is very subjective. We are all influenced by what we have seen and read a hundred time. I think there is a precdictability that goes with unoriginality. I think if anything adds originality, it's our own particular way of looking at and expressing a thing.

    What do I do withabout a criticism like that?
    Well, on some level, I think Domey has in the past read just enough of my writing to know that I veer toward safe, and I think he offered that advice based not solely as a shot in the dark. I feel gratified that someone has taken enough interest in my little journey to offer something I can sink my teeth into.

    I don't think Domey is looking to have me write something earth shakingly original, but to dare to put a little more of myself into it. Perhaps that's how the originaliyt comes through...

    ...of course, I still need to process what originality really means...Thanks for getting me to really think about that...

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  10. Simon, I think you've hit on something that made it easier to take his feedback. I have worked so hard for the past several years, trying to figure out what makes for decent writing, and I believe I have come a long way.

    That Domey chose not to highlight where I might have written badly makes me feel as if I can finally concentrate more on content than nuts and bolts.

    I hope that I will continue to progress in both areas...

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  11. Good for you for putting it out there. Writing safely is probably one of my biggest problems too.

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  12. Susan I think it's something that afflicts a lot of us. I don't see any harm in starting off that way. We need to learn the craft in a safe environment. I suppose growth never feels particularly safe...

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  13. Bridget,

    This experiment was fantastic. I was so glad to see that you and I were both being critiqued at the same time. Finding confirmation of what we already know gives us a push to work harder, to make sure every sentence counts. Domey did a great job and you are right. He took the biggest risk!

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  14. I'm glad we both participated, Liza, and interesting to see his remarks compared to what others said when we first posted our 'excerpts.'

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  15. Congrats to you for getting it out there... I know how hard it can be, but you took and deep breath and jumped :)

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  16. Nut, The plunge was brisk at first, but I've acclimated...not so bad if I keep my moving about...(I'm sure there's an apt metaphor to be drawn there...)

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