"Have you seen my glasses, hon?" I asked in frustration.
He looked up at me. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I've looked everywhere. Do you think one of the kids moved them?"
He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "Uh, Kasie, you're wearing them."
"What?"
Yeah, that really happened. And now I'm going to relate it to writing by saying--proof readers are important. They see things that we can't (or don't want to). So my advice, find at least a few people in your life that will be honest with you and yet encouraging. In writer's group today we talked about how sometimes it's easier to see things in other people's stories even though you might have made the same mistakes in your own. And as hard as it is sometimes to hear someone tell you that your baby has flaws, it is always better than looking around in frustration for something that is right under your nose. Objectivity is priceless.
Ooh! You're so right! i love that story! That's hilarious! LOL! And it's sooo true! i always thinks it's easier for others to find the flaws in my mansucript than it is for me to. especially when i could recite the darn thing--then it's really hard to know what shouldn't be there and what should be. I LOVE proof readers!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I have gotten to the point where the good comments done mean as much to me as the constructive criticism. I thirst after the input that will actually help me to grow as a writer!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true and I'm glad to have you spot the glasses on the end of my nose every time ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to know how your own writing sounds to other people. I'm at the point now where I would cut a lot things I probably shouldn't because they seem boring to me. I have to be reminded by readers that they need to stay because they are interesting the first time around.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of one of Jackson Pearce's hilarious YouTube tutorials about critique partners. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0qkN8KwcQ4
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for telling me when my dress is hitched up into my underwear!!! LOL!!