Yesterday I got feedback from everwalker on the draft of the novel I’m working on, Fire in the Blood. This is the first time I’ve had feedback from anyone on a draft of the whole story, and though I was nervous about what I’d read – a good critique should be at least a little uncomfortable to hear, as it reveals things you could do better – I was also quite keen to dive into it.
I stopped myself.
Why? Because this is only one perspective, and if I read that one perspective in isolation it may skew what I take from the others. There are five people reading this draft for me, and as far as it’s practical I want to read their comments at the same time, to get a balanced and varied point of view.
I know that this is going to be insightful and helpful feedback, because everwalker is an insightful and helpful person who really knows her writing. But I don’t want to take it in on its own.
So now those documents are sitting on my computer, like presents beneath the Christmas tree, and I have to wait to unwrap them. I’m pretty excited.
I, on the other hand, am clearly a beautiful princess.
Meanwhile on to other things. I’m trying to polish off the biographies of British monarchs I’ve been working on for weeks, and a science fiction story whose first draft was a bit of a horrible rush – that’s one edit I’m not looking forward to.
How about the rest of you? What are you writing this week?
Picture by Pascal via Flickr creative commons.