How do you consider your readers and stay true to your soul?

The first Wednesday of every month is officially InsecureWriter’s Support Group day! It's a wonderful way of supporting other starter bloggers, like myself, on this new, exciting journey into the world of blogging.

 

I had an interesting conversation this week with a friend. I’d regaled her with the story of how my original idea for my book, Aden Weaver & the Or'in of Tane Mahuta was for the setting to be an ‘alternate version of earth’ (a la Philip Pullman’s, His Dark Materials trilogy). However, not a single person in my critique group thought the setting in my story worked. They felt ‘pulled out of the story’ by references to earth, and they suggested I create a more fantastical setting. The good folks who receive my newsletter weighed in by casting their votes on a number of potential names I gave them for a fantasy world. End result: a new setting called Planet Chiron.

My friend was aghast. “What I’m getting is that you should stick to your vision for the story,” she said, “your critique group is not writing your story, you are. So stay true to you.”

Talk about instant conflict!

There’s a fine road to tread between considering the reader, and staying true to oneself.

In my fiction, I write a lot about non-humans. My early picture book manuscripts were about bugs. I sent these to a well-respected assessor, whose response started out with, ‘Great stories. But lose the insects.’ I asked one of my writing teachers, Kate de Goldi, about this advice. She said, ‘Don’t think about getting published, write whatever your compulsion in your soul is to write. If you’re writing about insects, you’re there for a reason.’

In the end, I decided on a compromise. I'm sticking with my beloved insects, and my own vision for these books. However, I have also heeded my critique group's advice that the setting wasn't working. It felt like a small 'wiggle' which didn't detract from the heart of the story. This is after all, what a critique group is for, to give you the sort of feedback which might come from a cross-section of the reading public. It's a way of testing how well you've delivered your ideas. It's a way of 'considering the reader'.

Yet the core has to be your personal truth.

Go with what feels natural to write, I say, if it's animals for you, or monsters from Wackakazoo go for it. My characters in the Aden Weaver series are an ancient insect species that can change their shape from insect to human, thanks to their alien ancestors. I'm expecting it not to be for everyone! However, I really do believe in writing what you're drawn to write. 

Anne Rice ~ Protect your voice and your vision . . . Do what gets you to write, and not what blocks you. And no matter where you are in your career, whether you're published, unpublished, or just starting out, walk through the world as a writer. That's who you are, and that's what you want to be, and don't take any guff off anybody.

 

Thanks for reading. See ya' in the funny papers!

Tell me, how do you 'protect your voice and your vision'?

Yvette K. Carol