Kent Wayne

Musings

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by

DirtySciFiBuddha
in

I once knew a writer who held back his best pieces, even when he had the opportunity to present them before a Pulitzer award winner.  As the years passed, he actually held back most of his pieces.

Hopefully, this “holding back” mentality will work for him, and in the end, he’ll knock it out of the park and force me to eat crow.  But I’d rather go with the opposite approach.  I’d rather bare my soul time and again, do my best time and again, and let my weaknesses wither away under the harsh light of scrutiny.  It may hurt in the short term, but in the long term, this will give me an accurate idea of what I need to fix, and will only make me stronger. 

I believe that getting better at writing is akin to exercise; the ceiling for “your best” starts to raise on a consistent basis, and you soar to greater and greater heights.  The idea of the “perfect piece” drops away, and then writing simply becomes an exercise in free-flowing harmony.

Comments

17 responses to “Musings”

  1. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    There is a difference between talent and skill. Talent comes with limits.

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. James Pyles Avatar
    James Pyles

    Off topic: I just finished re-reading Echo I so it’s on to Echo II.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Woohoo! I hope the action isn’t too much. Thanks for checking it out, brother!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. James Pyles Avatar
        James Pyles

        No worries. It only took me 26 months to get this far. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Mantra Avatar
    Mantra

    Hi! Thanks for following my blog SincerelyMantra. I followed you back, and I look forward to reading more of your posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Thank You! Good luck with your blogging adventures! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  4. Pavan Kumar Rambatla Avatar
    Pavan Kumar Rambatla

    I agree with you here. Our best keeps changing everyday and holding back something that we think is our best, is simply holding ourselves back.

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. cryptomathecian Avatar
    cryptomathecian

    It always takes some guts to release your creations to the critics among the public in general.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Von Smith Avatar
    Von Smith

    You need to choose who you want to please carefully. Writing by its nature is subjective. I do not mean shop critics until you find one that likes you. Rather be objective about the market your critic represents.

    I talked with a writer of teen fantasy. She had several successful books that I would not read because the characters were way shallow and the plots were so obvious. But that’s what teens wanted, something scary and romantic. You have written science/fantasy/tough guy stories. You might have to find out who has been successful in that genre, and ask who they go to for reviews, and maybe solicit some “war stories” about their experience as a writer. Nothing helps more than having good mentors.

    Another pitfall is reputation. You might experience an, “oh no, here he comes again,” with someone who found weakness in your prior writings. A person who is asked to review writers is likely to have limited time. They may talk to other reviewer and pass along judgments like, “don’t waste your time.” Experience can create bias, pro and con. Unless there is some demonstrable difference, you might get a cursory review, or at some point, refusal.

    I am not one to give advice, but I have been around enough people to pass on what I believe is human nature.

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    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      I think there needs to be an effort to pick the best option available, but in the end, as you’ve been in the military, I think you’ll understand it is better to be “default aggressive.” A so-so option executed proactively will, over time, beat out someone who continually waits for a perfect circumstance. In addition, examining the errors that arise from miscalculations will help inform future efforts, and with default aggression, the momentum, discipline, and mindset won’t be in question.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Von Smith Avatar
        Von Smith

        Feedback is so tricky, you can never know the truth.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        Plus it requires a big investment from beta readers. That’s kinda why I gave up on it; I think that I’d need at least ten people to even begin to trust it. I’d probably start getting comfortable with around twenty or thirty.

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      3. Von Smith Avatar
        Von Smith

        holding back is like never doing. Just don’t wear out your editors;)

        Liked by 1 person

      4. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
        DirtySciFiBuddha

        You mean my eyes? Too late—already melting from my skull, haha!

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Euphrates. Avatar
    Euphrates.

    Good post.
    This reminds me of a quote by Cardinal Newman,
    “A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. DirtySciFiBuddha Avatar
      DirtySciFiBuddha

      Exactly! Perfect is the enemy of good and all that.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  8. Susi Bocks Avatar
    Susi Bocks

    I agree with you, let it all come out. It’s the best way to learn.

    Liked by 1 person

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