The Critique of the Editor

I have learned one thing in my writing life: don't ask for criticism unless you are willing to get it. The second caveat is "don't ask for criticism from close friends or family."

Well, you could find a professional "Book Doctor." But for me, it is not an option at this point in development. Once I'm to the point when I am ready to start shopping my book or story around to publishers, I might consider this option. So, what am I looking for in someone I trust with my manuscript to look at with a critical eye?

First of all, I am looking for someone who realizes this is my manuscript, not his/hers. I am looking for someone who will look at my story or poem and make "suggestions." I look for criticism that couches the critique in terms like, "what would happen if..." or "I am not sure what you are trying to say here." The critic is, first of all, owning his/her criticism. S/he is not telling me what I should do. S/he is looking at the entire poem or manuscript with an eye for clarity. After all, I am trying to communicate with my reader and want to know if that communication is successful.

The next thing I am looking for is someone who recognizes both my strengths and weaknesses. I learn not only from what needs to be improved but also from what I do well. By couching criticism in these terms, the critic lets me know what is working and how I can use this success in other places. Besides, all negative comments tends to shut me down. No, I don't want all pats on the head. That is as bad as all negative. I learn nothing from this, either.

I also want someone who is capable of commenting on my craft...how I handle character, place, setting, structure, etc.

My next problem is where to find such a critic. For those of us in larger communities we can generally find a writer's group. But what if you are in the middle of Alaska or on top of a mountain in Colorado? Well, if you are reading this online, you have a computer connection. Use that computer. There are all kinds of groups all over the Internet. Go ahead and subscribe to a few. Watch the critiques that appear in the posts. If that is the kind of criticism you are looking for, post something you would like to have looked at critically. Give it more than one or two tries. Keep in mind, if you don't get the kind of feedback from one group, you can find a hundred others. Ask others where they have found good critics for their works. Don't give up.

Finally, when you have your manuscript to the point you are ready to start shopping it around, now it is time to hire a good editor. This can save you months of time and disappointment. I can guarantee that editors will automatically toss out that manuscript that is poorly written and presented. Yes, spelling and grammar do count. If I have to spend hours as an editor making high school type corrections to a manuscript, I am very unlikely to spend the time needed to do that. If the story has more holes than swiss cheese, I will reject it out of hand. This is what the final edits by either a Book Doctor and/or editor are for. Get that manuscript in pristine condition to impress the editor, who will then impress the publisher, who will then sign a contract (hopefully) with you.

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Point of View

Whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, sometimes finding the right point of view is hard. If you find yourself in this situation, try telling the story from different POV. Not only can you change people, you can change age. If you are telling your own story and are having trouble getting it out, tell the story from the child or whatever age you were at the time.

I was having trouble getting a handle on my grandmother. She was there, she was supportive. But as an adult I just cannot write about her without cliche. As a child I can write about her with the sincerity only a child can have. Also, when I change that story from past tense to present tense it takes on a whole new vitality. Now, as an 8 year old child I can tell the story I remember of grandma.

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Truth or Fiction?

The official census tells me that Great-Aunt Minnie was born in Canada. Family history and legend tell me she was born in Minnesota. Family stories also tell me the family traveled back and forth in cattle cars because the fares were too high in passenger cars. It was a common practice at the turn of the last century. So, can I imagine?

The family is headed back from visiting relatives in Michigan. Great-Grandma Elizabeth is about to give birth in 1906 to Minnie. They are traveling back to Canada and her time comes. Is Minnie born in the cattle car? Do they stop along the tracks to allow Elizabeth to give birth?

Can I use the same imagination to develop a story about Grandpa Will? I found him in the 1891 census in England living with his uncle. Why was this one child living with an uncle rather than the rest of the family? He was 8 years old. What had happened that this one child was separated from the rest of the family? Then I find him again in Canada in 1906. He tells the census takers he immigrated in 1892. He was at most 10 years old! What happened to make him, all alone, immigrate to Canada? How did he get along on his own? What makes the story more intriguing is by 1906 he was a preacher. How did he come to this path? He never told. In fact, we know precious little about how he made his way to America.

If I use these facts as starting points, does it become fiction or creative non-fiction? Just how much do I have to create. How much can be based on general history of the time? How much can be representational? These are questions I will have to answer...or not, as the case may be.

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Writing Creative Non-Fiction

No, it's not a memoir, but that falls into that classification. I have spent the last two days reading and writing. The first writing assignment is due Wednesday and I think I have a piece written for it. It's supposed to be in rough draft form. Something happened when I was in high school that reminds me of how closely we are connected to each other. 6 Degrees of Separation. So I'm taking something from my past and making that point. I think I have the idea.

The new column will be up at IPS. That one could also go into the memoir class. My boss' grandson died of SIDS last Monday. It took me back 25 years ago when the same happened to my neighbor's child. It is nothing a parent should have to live through. It seems writing about those things helps me get a handle on the incomprehensible.

Back to reading.

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Nothing Is Where You Think It Is

Here's a little interesting bit of fluff for a Saturday morning. This comes from one of my favorite shows that no longer exists: The West Wing:

I'm In for a Rough Semester

Wednesday was the first day of class. I'm taking a Creative Non-fiction class. Don't ask me to define the term. I'm not exactly sure what it is. In fact, I don't think those who write it have come to a definitive agreement. But my hope is that it will help me write some of my columns with more insight. I have an idea I have been writing creative non-fiction for a while and just didn't know it. So, for those of you I know, be prepared to have my memories of our times together dissected and examined through my myopic vision of us.

The final project has to be about 3,000 words. I don't write that much in any given column. My longest ones average 750 words. That's a long, long way from 3,000. Along the way I have a couple of shorter papers of about 300. That's another problem, getting the word count that low. Well, I guess the revision skills will be put to the test on both ends of the spectrum. I have an idea for this week's writing. I may post it after I get it down to the 300 limit.

In the meantime, I am recovering from some bad news for the week. My boss' grandson died of SIDS this week. That flipped me back to about 25 years ago when another friend's daughter died. Added to that was the news that one of my former students died on a hunting trip to Wyoming this week. People younger than I am should not be passing away.

I have found a couple of new writing sites this week and added them to the links on this page. For writers they might be of help. I think a couple of them will be useful to me, especially this semester. I'm still looking for more poetry sites. They seem to be in the minority.

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Bad Day at Black Rock

The day itself wasn't all that bad. It was what happened after the work day was over. Well, maybe it started last night with the bizarre dreams I had. Then, when I tried to call a friend after acupuncture I found my cell had been cut off. After 7 years of never missing a payment, it seems one was missed in the switch over to online payments. Did they call me? Noooooooo. I just started to use the phone tonight and was connected, instead, to the bill pay department. Can we say not happy? This is not the way to treat a customer. With a history like that, can we stop and think maybe something happened? All the bills were paid before May and all the ones after were paid. No contact. No questions. Just cut off. It should be back on by tomorrow, but I may be cutting THEM off soon.

Then, about 10 PM I start to have a bowl of cereal. My temporary crown, put in last week, broke...on soggy corn flakes.

I'm going to bed.

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Searching My Roots

Vacation time was time for me to do some things I have been putting off for months. I am an amateur genealogist…at least for my own family. I am not all that good at it, but I do like the research. And I found my grandfather and great-grandfather! It was an exciting discovery. I have been looking for them for over 15 years.

Thanks to distant cousins and older siblings I had some basic information. I knew the year and where in England my father’s father had been born. I knew my grandfather had lived in Canada. I even got copies of his marriage invitations. He and grandma were married in Alberta in 1906. We knew that they moved to Washington state shortly after that because both my Uncle Ted and my father were born there. I also know that as a child my grandfather had lived with his uncle as a child. Last weekend I found him in the 1891 English census living with his uncle. He was 8. I also found his father and mother. Working backward I also found his father and mother in the 1881 English census. It seems there were two children who did not survive childhood. Why? Using the census records, I was able to follow Grandpa Will’s movements.

My father had told me a story of being attacked by a gang of young men while he was living in Las Vegas. I was able to locate the family in the 1920 census in Vegas! But I also had a few surprises. Grandpa Will stated in the 1906 Alberta census that the immigrated in 1892. Oops! He was about 10 years old! That raised a lot of questions for me. Was he a run-away? I know no other family members immigrated. How did a 10-year-old child get from England to Canada alone? And what did he do to get across the Atlantic? and how did he survive? This raises lots of questions and answers why he was not really willing to talk about family history.

Grandpa Will married Mamie in 1906. Her father was another family member I was looking for 15 years. I found Great Grandpa Harrison! I had heard stories of the family traveling across the prairies in cattle cars because they couldn’t afford the fares for the passenger cars. I had been looking in all the prairie states. Finally last week I found Great Grandpa in Nebraska with seven of the nine children! And I found them again in Alberta with all nine children. Great Aunt Minnie was only 3 months old, but they were all there. This family brought out all the problems of doing research. Great Grandpa had different spellings of his first name in all but one census. And Grandma Mamie was known variously as Mary and Marnie.

Why had these people moved around the country and into Canada? I have the facts they were there. I know where Grandma Mamie and Grandpa Will moved over the next fifty years. But now I want to know why. And I may never know that answer. But, the information I have gives me lots of material for some creative non-fiction. Maybe I can satisfy myself with some imagining and writing about their travels. I now have a connection with the westward movement and settlement of the vast prairies. OK, I can imagine the reasons. And I was simply excited to locate these people in my history. It was a high last weekend, and I may do some more research this weekend before I return to the day job.

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Sometimes you just have to have some fun...