First off, this is not me losing faith in my own writing. I want to get that out there right away before I give people the wrong impression. Contrary to what some reviews have said, I have faith and confidence in my writing style.
This is something I thought of now since I got a 3-star recently and it mentioned the style was difficult. This is a constant complaint, but it typically ends with ‘I got used to it’. This review ended with the reader saying that they might not read my stuff again, but they also hated Hunger Games, so I know where the ‘problem’ lies. Anyway, this is just the set up for what I’m thinking of.
As a new author, I’ve been finding myself concerned with the ones that are getting away because I think I’ll learn how to improve through them. I’ve read the reviews again and all I get are the following:
- My style is difficult to read.
- Readers get used to it if they give it a chance.
- You can’t please everyone
Even when I was getting irked by my negative reviews, it never crossed my mind that I should change my style. It crossed my mind that I’ll have a tougher road because of my present tense style, but I’m really at the point where that adaptation is on the head of the reader. Sorry, but I’m not going cookie-cutter and against my instincts to try to snag a few that I probably wouldn’t have in the first place.
This faith and confidence in one’s style is something that should be retained even through the times where you feel like you got punched in the heart by Hulk. That feeling passes and you move on. Yes, Ionia, I’m starting to learn that. 😉
I’m curious though if any author has hit that point where they reconsidered their core style of writing. I read about authors that threw aside what they were working on to write something that fits into what is popular at the time. I forgot the name of the young woman that got some fame for doing this with her eBooks, but I also noticed that I haven’t heard anything about her since 2011. Did she get the chance to write the books she always wanted or did she trap herself in a genre she never truly liked? Did she care about the genre she wrote in anyway or did she want to simply be an author? All questions that I doubt I’ll find an answer to without remembering her name and talking to her.
So, how about all of you? Has your faith and confidence in your faith ever waver? If so, how did you recover? I’ll apologize in advance if this is a sensitive subject for some.
Legends of Windemere 
I’m at that point now, reconsidering my core style of writing, but it’s not because of any other influences beyond my own dissatisfaction with Self. My faith and confidence seems to waiver daily… My own fault, though. How do I get over it? By reminding myself that I intend to outdo the Marquis de Sade and Stephen King at the same time, and that this is achievable. Or otherwise just reflecting on my goals.
Which reminds me…I’m still stuck on the prologue of my work…
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Those prologues are killer.
I can understand changing one’s style if you feel it should be done. As long as you do it of your own free will then it’s all good. I’d be careful going up against Stephen King. I hear he has demons (fans) that will hunt down all his enemies and offer their sanity as a dark sacrifice to him.
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Marquis de Sade and Stephen King haha sahm you have vision!
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Reblogged this on The Arkside of Thought | Poetry, Philosophy, Politics & Life and commented:
Any inputs, folks? How do you get over the now and then occurrences of lack of faith and confidence? And why does my lack of faith disturb Darth Vader?
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Write in the way you are most confident in. You will be known for this style. Improve on it, instead.
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Good advice.
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Truly, When I got my first one star review the reviewer was kind enough to say “I hated everything. The characters were stupid the plot was boring and the writing style was just awful”
I fumed for days and considered pulling down the book and redoing it. Then I realised you will never be able to please everyone. It was one one star to ten five stars. If I please that one person and make myself unhappy in the process then I will upset someone else who might have liked my work before I changed it.
Some people may find me beautiful, some may find me to be a troll, I am who I am.
so is your writing.
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We should all aspire to be beautiful trolls. 😉
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crap. Now I have to be nice to you again. You literally made me spit coffee.
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I hope your computer is okay. Coffee can be horrible on keyboards.
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I spat it on the dog. We’re good
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Hyperactive dog. Not a good thing.
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She’s a chihuahua she is naturally caffeinated
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Uh-oh. Be ready to get her off the ceiling fan.
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Along with the kids
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Be strong, my friend. Be strong. 😉
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Whiskey in the jarro
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I try and write the things that I would like to read, if it turns out to be something that others enjoy reading too, then it is a bonus. If you are not happy with what you have written, it is unlikely others will be. If I write something I am not keen on when it is finished, I shelve it for a later date and tweak it until I like it but only to satisfy my own demands and reach the high standards that I expect of myself (and I am a LOT harder on myself than others). Everybody has a different oppinion, different tastes and desires for required reading. Welcome constructive criticsm, sure but don’t allow creative differences or emotional despots to knock you back. Hope this helps, kind regards, Baldy 🙂
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Thanks. I know there’s a debate out there about writing for one’s self and writing for readers. I’ve met both sides. One says exactly what you said while the other says a writer must forget their own enjoyment and write what the fans like. I’m with you that I can’t stand behind anything that I don’t like.
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It is during times like this that you have keep writing. I’ve said it before – one book cannot be all things to all people. Take constructive points (if any) from the not so stellar reviews and keep going. Writers who are writing for the joy derived from it are not interested in writing with the mere objective to sell books. Write the book you want to write in your authentic way. I love present tense novels – the immediacy of everything. Most of literature texts have unconventional styles and they left a footprint for the rest of us. Work to improve your work, continue to flex your writing muscles but own your style and keep on writing!!!
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At some point everything was unconventional if you think about it. That’s the first step in creation of a new style.
You mention the constructive points in not so stellar reviews, but none of mine really have that. That’s why I wonder about them and can’t learn anything from them. I wonder if a few of them were made simply to throw off my confidence and get me to quit. There are reviewers out there like that. They won’t succeed with a fight and I’m too crazy to lose, but they could always try.
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Well, for a start, I bought your book a few weeks ago (sorry Charles, I literally haven’t had time to settle in to reading it yet but its on my list to start properly this weekend)..but when I got it I read the first few pages and thought it was really and immediately engaging and I liked your style and so for what it’s worth, I think what people find difficult is very much a personal thing.
As to doubts about writing I presume we all have them. I read some of the other bloggers I follow and their writing/poetry is so intricate and unusual and individual it makes me often feel quite workmanlike in what I do. But then there is also something to be said for being accessible, and I think my writing is that for the most part, at least. Not that the others I mention are not accessible, but their writing is probably more literary in many ways than mine, if that makes sense?
And again, one of my favourite blog writers is solothefirst at http://solothefirst.wordpress.com , – her writing is sci/fi and humour…a Joss Whedonesque way of writing that has this superb lightness of touch I would love to have, but really don’t – even when I write humour it tends to be far darker.
So apart from the vagaries of reviews there’s always that thing where appreciating others can at times make you think about what you perceive as lacks in our writing, but I’m sure others are looking at your writing, Charles, and wishing to be able to write like you. So take heart, we all feel it! 🙂 🙂
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Don’t worry about not starting it. Just means you’re out of the will until you finish. 😛 😉
I never thought of your writing as workmanlike, but you’re right about accessibility. That’s the hard road that I have because my style requires some adapting from most readers.
I do get a lot of compliments, which keeps me going. Part of me wonders at times how many authors have lost faith and faded away because of cruel reviewers. Almost like there’s a graveyard of broken author dreams out there somewhere.
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LOL, I will definitely get reading this weekend then, LOL! 😉
Thank you re my writing – I’m not really concerned if it is workmanlike (that may not be the best word) – overall it is good if people can relate to it, which seems to be the case. I just look at some poets on wordpress, though, and I’m just stunned by the uniqueness of their voice – like Estella Aquilar or mindlovemisery, for instance (and there are many others)…I’m kind of in awe of them. 🙂
You deserve the compliments Charles – great writing in your genre and also one of the best blogs to visit for its variety, honesty and generosity to others. 🙂
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Thanks. I’ve read Estella’s book and she is really good. I think you’re in her league too because of you write poems that I could never pull off.
Workmanlike probably isn’t the best word and I can’t think of a word that would work for what I’m thinking. Poetry is poetry to me. Every person seems to have their own style, so there isn’t a single work to describe more than one of them.
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She is one of my favorite blog writers too!
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Solo? Absolutely – she’s a gem!! 🙂
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Yes, Solo! I really enjoy her writing…she sucks me in every time!
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Do what you do best. So a few people reviewed it and said it was a bit difficult to get into and then they liked it – isn’t that the same for a hell of a lot of books anyway? When you first start a book it can take a lot of pages before settling into the story, that’s a story thing not a style thing. I can’t imagine your style is such that it detracts from the story itself.
I haven’t published yet but I can picture bad reviews rolling in. The thing to remember is that A LOT of people who review are those type of people who are really snobby and scathing anyway. Same with restaurant reviews and any number of things. If 99 people read your book and like it and then 1 person comes along and leaves a bad review it seems disproportionately bad only because the arsey types tend to review (a sweeping generalisation!).
Keep on typing.
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It is true about reviews. People that review are typically those that were moved to an extreme while most people will read a book and move on.
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First, I have been very fortunate in the reviews of Catskinner’s Book, I have a couple of three stars, but mostly fours and fives–no ones or twos. So what I have to say about reader complaints is relative.
First off, a lot of people complained about the ending, and I do agree with that. July of last year was a very bad time for me personally, and I was starting to get scared that I would never finish the book or get it out to the public. That fear drove me to get it published before it was entirely ready–I didn’t end it so much as just stop. So that is a criticism that I took to heart and I am trying to change how I plot in order to give Cannibal Hearts a more satisfying ending.
Secondly, some people complained that my narrator, James, was unlikable. Well, I can understand people feeling that way, but I don’t agree with it. I like James very much, and I relate to him, and the majority of my readers said they did as well. So I am sorry that some people didn’t care for him, but I am not going to change to suit them.
Third, the number one word used in my reviews is “strange”. Almost every single review calls the book strange. Mostly it’s used positively. That is what I guess you would call my “core style”, I deliberately set out to build a world that was different from anything else out there. I do try to let people know what they are getting into in advance–I list my major influences as William Burroughs and Phillip Dick, for example. This is a strange book–you don’t like strange, you ain’t gonna like it.
Would I see better if I wrote about a vampire detective and her werewolf boyfriend? Almost certainly, but that’s not me. I’m not interested in writing what everybody else is writing, and it doesn’t interest me, then it’s going to bore my readers to tears.
@Sahm King, having read both deSade and King, I would say that, stylistically, surpassing both of them is a fairly modest goal.
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Very good points. Common words in reviews is an interesting approach to analyzing reader response. For me it’s ‘difficult’ and usually something about the immediacy/action of the story. Most of my reviews are 5 and 4, so I think I’ve been lucky with that.
It’s been suggested many times over the years that I try to write what’s popular. One friend even told me to write in a specific universe to get my name out there. It was Warhammer 40K or something like that. I pointed out that it could trap me in that world, which he claimed wouldn’t be a bad thing because it’s money. Guess he missed that point of why I’m doing this. I just can’t bring myself to write in a world or using characters that I don’t believe in.
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Yes, I know the feeling very well. I always question my own writing, and have still difficulties believing that anyone actually likes my little poems!
Also, lost my faith for a short time when I got my first rejection from a publisher for my first book. That hurts! You are working so hard on something just to receive a little note that they are not interested! Ouch! But, like a wise man once said: You have to develop a thick skin and THEN become a writer! 🙂
And to use your words: You can’t please everyone!
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I remember those rejection letter days. I do think I lost faith for a summer because of a rejection. It wasn’t a letter, but a family member critiqued my work in such a way that I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. It was a long-winded analogy to the human body. Apparently, I only had the skeleton and was missing every other organ. Took me a summer to realize the person was talking out of their butt.
Even if we get knocked down, we should always try to dust ourselves off and get back up. Maybe wear more padding next time too.
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I get feedback on my writing that it is too choppy, disconnected, etc. But that is the style I most like to read, like an Anne Enright postmodern style. I agree with Renxkyoko–that we should all write in our unique style and make it rock.
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Unite in uniqueness against the trolls of snobby standards!
But first, a nap and some coffee. 😀
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Fragmented sentences will be the life of me!
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* you said punch instead of punched* thought you might want to know. I hate typos on my blog and I hate it even more when people don’t tell me!
Hmmm that’s an interesting question.
I just started to respond to you and it was the length of a post so I am going to turn it into a post instead. 🙂 I will respond to your question through a blog and link back to this post if that’s ok with you?
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Thanks. Fixed it. I tend to just go off and do a cursory glance over my blog posts. When I write them, I’m typically tangling with a toddler or taking a 10-minute break from novel writing. Though, I think I was going to write the sentence one way and then switched it at the end. Nasty habit that came with the Abby Normal brain.
Sure. I’ll keep an eye out for the post tonight. Hopefully, I catch it before passing out. Going to have a non-computer weekend.
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Oh, I probably won’t write it until Monday. I’m at work until 10 and then family time.
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I’ll keep my eyes out for it then. I should be awake by Monday. 😀
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My style is stream of consciousness. I just do it, you have seen my work, and without an editor it’s hopeless! But I also know that my stories are solid, and if the only complaint I ever get it “it was too short, it should be longer” [something I have gotten on every ‘short’ I have shown any human being and a couple of publishers] I must be doing something right.
of course “Author Juice” and having friends that like to read and are honest with their feedback and criticisms helps!
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Definitely. It’s hard to find friends with honest feedback. It’s too easy to be too nice or ‘toughen up’ the author. I think being told it was too short is a great compliant. It means people want more.
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Honestly, I am a write your truth kind of person… why write for others? I write only for myself. I actually really think many writers feel that way, some may be too afraid to, but it is usually what they feel.
Confidence can only come from ourselves and not the “reviews” we get. Does it feel good when people like what we create? Oh heck yeah! But one could drive themselves crazy trying to worry about that all the time. Sides… it is a show of lack of self, and disbelief in ones own abilities to scuttle off and change things cause someone didn’t like it. Stand out, be different! *grins* hey… I am all for breaking that mold! We don’t need them! The beauty of this day in age is if people are so desiring, they CAN break the molds that are out there and redefine things, in their own way, with their own truth… (huh… I just realized, I am never going to end up publishing traditionally, which is what I wanted… well durn it!)
My confidence in myself doesn’t waver, I love who I am… but, sometimes… sometimes I would love to have the approval of another. But in those cases, I don’t care about the average joe schmoe who doesn’t know me, I want the approval of friends and loved ones, and that is who I go to. (of course, recently I started realizing from my blog that I might actually have something… as I only have two followers who know me personally)
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There is nothing in there that I don’t agree with. Though, a path to tradition publishing could always be to self-publish and prove your style is worthy of attention.
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That is very true, and it was a bit startling to me to realize that I wouldn’t be, **grins** one of the things I have come to love the most about blogging and its community! We learn and grow so much from each other!
But my biggest issue is I have issue with self-publishing… I feel that it has brought down the standards a bit too much. When you read stories that are obviously just off of NaNo… **shudders** yeah…
I love that self publishing has allowed so much out there! That GREAT stories, that were just not “right timing” can be found, but… yeah… I guess I may never publish and just continue to write for myself **smiles**
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I understand, but I think that’s the inevitable side-effect to creating a system that allows authors to take things into their own hands. There are always going to be people who take advantage of the system and bring things down for those of us that take it seriously. I might never go traditional publishing and spend my days as a self-publisher. Yet, I try very hard and hope that it shows enough that my book rises through the muck.
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yeah, and I really do believe that it is good for authors to take things into their own hands!!! Always a flip side, right? *smiles*
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Yup. No path is perfect.
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I’ve also learned that it is difficult to write when you’re worried about what people will think. I find my self tuning out the world, shutting down the reviews and social media to box myself in. Though there is that isolation that equates to being anti-social, I find I can write without caring about anything but the story. Let the reviewers have their say, eventually your audience will find you.
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I think I have let it effect me a bit. One complaint was that a lot of characters monologued to help explain things. In a present tense story, there are explanations and world information that can only be done through a character talking. So, I’ve realized that I’m limiting what some characters say in the later books. I haven’t lost anything yet from what I can tell.
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True, the reviews can help us evolve in our writing if we carefully consider what is being said objectively. However, when it get to us, makes us doubt, that’s when it becomes dangerous. Everyone is allowed their opinion whether we like it or not. It’s up to us how we absorb it. Oops I went sage! Walking off stage now…
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Don’t worry. It’s open mic night on WordPress. 😉
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I haven’t questioned my style yet, and I can’t see changing it because of a bad review. I think it’s fine to try to make things more accessible if people find your writing really disjointed or unreadable, but that doesn’t sound like it’s the case for you. I have trouble getting into a LOT of books; that’s just my brain, I don’t blame the writer as long as I’m not actually confused about what’s happening. As other people have said, you can’t hope to please everyone. Obviously a lot of people love your work.
I do experiment with my style, but I don’t think I’d ever make a change in the middle of a series and risk losing the voice of it. I have one series that’s first-person past tense, and now one that’s first-person present. I’m finding it an interesting challenge (as you said, working back-story in, etc). I know that some people will like it, and some won’t. Present-tense can be harder to read (I think I’ve mentioned that I’m one of those people who has a hard time getting into 3rd person present, but can enjoy it), but the people who like the story will get past it. If people are sticking with your story for long enough that they can say they “got used to it,” I think that says something really great about your abilities as a storyteller. If the story wasn’t good, they wouldn’t stick with it for that long. 🙂
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Present tense is definitely the source of the ‘difficult’ label that I have around my neck. You’re right though that something has to be right if most people are sticking around. I’m curious to see how your 1st person present tense story comes out.
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Short excerpts are getting good reactions when I post them on WIPpet Wednesdays on my blog (the last 3 weeks), but that’s first draft stuff, and the story’s not done. I’m going to finish before I try to judge it for myself. VERY different, though! Did you find that it came most naturally to you?
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Apparently, it’s been my natural style since high school. So, I run opposite most writers and need to focus on using past tense. Funny how none of my college professors brought up the present tense ‘issue’.
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I think everyone has probably already given you great advice here, but my advice is that you have to write what comes naturally to you. Reading is such a subjective activity anyway; the way I put it in perspective is that you can take any of the novels that are considered “great” by normal standards (heck, even pick the ones that won the Pulitzer) and you will still find plenty of people bitching about them. If you stay true to your style, you’ll enjoy what you write and that will show in your writing. My style is not for everyone, and I know that. I write what I would want to read, and my writing is inspired by authors I’ve read the most. When I get feedback that goes into the “style” bucket, I take it with a grain of salt because I know its not going to make everyone happy. If its useful in a structural/storyline/consistency way, then I take it to heart and try to learn and grow from it.
tldr version: Do what you love. Eff the haters.
And for what its worth, so far I love your writing style, and the present tense is working great for the story. I’m usually not a fan of it, but you’re making it work for you.
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Yay! I’m turning someone to the dark side of writing. 😀 I really like the term ‘Eff the haters’. Sounds so cool and it doesn’t get bleeped.
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I think you style is unique, Charles which means that people will remember you. I read a lot of fantasy books and sometimes the authors all run together, but it is the unique ones that I keep buying again and again. Don’t comprise what your heart and gut are telling you…you are uniquely you and rememberable! (not sure if that’s a word but it fits my meaning! lol)
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Thanks. The unique style is what I’m banking on.
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I have complete faith that your unique style is going to take you far!!
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Thanks. 😀
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Reblogged this on Bastet and Sekhmet and commented:
More considerations on writing, from a great blogger…have a look…the comments are copious too! 🙂
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I dont have a great deal of experience to share, but my facing and working out all my doubts happened by pushing myself in to them, just like my dad used to do when I was scared… make me face it. I have taken on ambitions that I used to de-consider immediately. And poof… many of the fears dissolved by doing do.
JIm
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That’s why I keep going. Facing fears works for just about everything. Fear can make a person avoid something that would be a great experience. Besides, I can always say that I tried even if things don’t work out.
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ha yes, the bragging rights of having tried. I have a lot of those. 😉 No process continues without pushing thru a little dim site and loose grip, I am finding. And the wounds created in facing fears close up around the event and strength happens afterword. It’s kind of cool. Anyways thanks.
Jim
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That sounds a lot cooler when you say it that way. I have to remember that. Thanks.
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no copyright 😉
just keep writing good copy, I say!
JIm
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Public domain it is. I get to keep my quarters a.k.a. laundry money.
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hahaha amen then. 🙂
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Hello Charles – I have purchased a copy of Beginning of a Hero. Please give me time to read it. I am always happy to exchange ideas with you. Thanks for visiting and supporting my blog and my work. I commend you for putting your work out there to even receive feed back! That is a huge decision to have made. I know how difficult the outcomes of such a decision can be.
“First off, this is not me losing faith in my own writing.”…is how you opened this post. Sometimes it’s just so effin hard and seems so futile – this writing gene. It’s not a matter of ‘cookie cutting’ your story or your style in order to be somehow one day accepted. It’s a matter of perfecting a style. That takes a very long time and lots of tears. Very worth it – keep on keeping on,
Until next time,
Ellespeth
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Thanks and I hope you enjoy the book. Honestly, I didn’t even think of the feedback when I put it out there. I was so focused on self-publishing and the marketing that the reviews didn’t dawn on me until the day after I put it out there. Kind of like leaping into a cold pool and realizing you left your socks on. Please tell me I’m not alone on doing that. 😀
It’s unfortunate that many people want the cookie cutting stories. They want the next Hunger Games or the next Twilight. Not the first Legends of Windemere. I will admit that writing fantasy gives me some leeway and Hunger Games helped open the door for present tense writing. Still, there’s always that pang of ‘dang it’ when a critical review comes in. Thankfully, this one was a 3 and in the middle. I’m glad that they found it exciting and read it through to the end. I’m a little down that they might not give the sequel a shot. More down because I think they’re going to miss a better book with more action and humor and the debut of one of my favorite characters.
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First, negative reviews are hard. I’ve received some of them. They always feel awful. Second, I changed my approach to writing ONLY when a caring advisor sat me down and told me, “You’re not taking this seriously enough.” She knew my strengths and weaknesses and wasn’t fooled by the BS I constantly threw at her. So I had to make a bone-deep change in the way I wrote, but only because I knew she was right.
But I think you have to consider the source. Someone who said he or she hated Hunger Games? While I can’t say that book is for everyone the author sold over 70 million copies of her series. So she’s laughing all the way to the bank even as this person grouses about her book. There have been award-winning books that received one-star reviews on Amazon. Some people just like to criticize. Critizing is easy. Writing a book like you did is hard.
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The reviewer loved the series ‘Legends of the Guardians’. I think it was the present tense writing that through them off, but I got some points for being exciting. He/she found Hunger Games predictable, which I can understand if you get all the hype first. This makes me think that something with a ton of hype can be hurt by that hype. People expect perfection from popular things and that never goes well.
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Your writing style is your identity, its what defines you as a writer. No one can tell you what you should do to fit the needs of others. I hope you continue your work the way feel its right. Steve
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I will. Mostly because it’s the only way that makes me happy. Doing it any other way wouldn’t feel right and the writing would suffer.
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I don’t know how one can write in any other style than their own. If you were to do otherwise, it would be forced and, I think, that would be apparent to the reader. Whether it’s Dan Brown, writing for the masses, or Julian Barnes, writing literary fiction that may be less popular but better received by the critics, everybody has a style. Yours is yours. Mine is mine. We each have a voice. We each have a way we put our words together to tell the stories we have in us. Do I write in the same “style” or “voice” every time. No, but, there still is a particular style to everything I write. I can see it in there and as much as I’d like to do something differently, I can’t. That’s how I write. Ignore the negative reviewers. That you have some means you have arrived.
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Thanks. That’s the plan and I hope more aspiring authors do the same. Met many a fallen author.
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