A Reason To Finish Your WIP

A Reason to Finish Your WIP

Until you finish it, you're the only member of your fandom and can't share jokes, headcanons, or fan art with anyone else. Nobody's going to get your shit posts or character memes unless they've read/watched it. No one is going to ship your OTP, write fluffy fan fics, or create their own OCs if they can't get ahold of the material.

this is so important! <333

if I can also add something:

Remember Who is Critiquing You or Who You Asked

Like if you're writing romance and you give a person who solely loves horror and doesn't really like the romance genre, then most of their feedback won't be... useful, maybe? Or if someone dislikes (and I'm saying, dislike) contemporary, it might be better not to ask them to read a contemporary fic because they'll be struggling to get through it and provide the best feedback. Like I'm fine with reading mystery/thriller, but I struggle to give feedback for it because it's not my go-to genre, and because it's not a genre that I'm used to/like reading.

That being said, this advice should also be taken with a grain of salt haha. And this shouldn't always be an excuse when you get harsh feedback. But do keep in mind who's reading your WIPs and giving you feedback, because genres do matter!

How to Take Constructive Criticism Better

When I started taking my creative writing serious, handing out my short stories became a much scarier experience. I wanted their honest feedback, but I knew it would hurt deeply if someone I loved sliced my stories to their bones.

Now I take constructive criticism for a living and I have to say—it's never fully painless, but it does get much easier.

Here are a few ways to overcome the fear of constructive criticism and learn how to strengthen your writing with it.

1. Focus on Your Desire to Improve Your Craft

Writing something deeply personal is cracking your heart open on the page. It's impossible not to feel intimidated and nervous when someone reads it.

If they mention something constructive, take a deep breath. Remember that you gave them your story to experience it through a reader's eyes.

Focusing on that purpose helped me turn helpful notes into positive action. After making edits that strengthen my work, I always give myself a mental high five because those changes will better showcase my themes, characters, and plot points that mean so much to me.

2. Take a Break Before Giving Anything Out

When I finished my first novel, I cried. They were tears of joy, sadness, and relief. It was an incredibly emotional moment, so my heart wasn't on solid ground when I immediately handed it to my best friend to read.

It's okay to pause for a while after finishing something. Let the story sit with you. Process everything it took to write it and when you feel ready to talk about it from a less-emotional standpoint, you'll receive criticism much more easily.

3. Consider Who's Giving the Advice

Your loved ones want the best for you. They love supporting you, but that doesn't qualify them as the best beta readers.

It's better to give your work to someone who knows how stories work. Those would be avid readers, trained writers, and people who communicate for a living.

You don't need an agent and editor to polish your work. But it's crucial to remember someone's perspective when they give you feedback. I take advice from my writer friends seriously, but the feedback from my family members who otherwise hate reading ends up farther down on my list of priorities.

4. Remember the Positive Notes

It's difficult to remember the positive things people say about your work if their more negative notes hit you straight in the heart.

When you return to your WIP, dedicate some time to remembering what they loved about your story. Write it in the margins. Post it on your wall. Doodle it on a sticky note and tape it to your monitor.

Writing is hard work. You're essentially on your own, so there's no creative team cheering you on (unless you're a published writer with a support system helping get your stories to readers).

Practice the art of self-love and be your own cheerleader. With time, you'll instinctively ground your identity as a writer in your strengths and not your mistakes.

5. Weigh How Useful the Criticism Is

People may say they'd love to give some constructive criticism, but comments aren't always constructive. Sometimes they're not helpful for your story.

Let's say you've written a short story about a dog who buried his bone in the backyard and can't find it anymore. The neighbor's dog helps him sniff out the bone and dig it up. You wanted the story to teach kids about the importance of accepting help when you need it.

After giving it to a friend, the friend says the story is good, but wouldn't it be stronger if the dog found the bone by itself? After all, both dogs have the same ability to smell where it is.

Although you could make those changes and still have a traditional plot line, it would remove the purpose you originally wanted to write about.

Figuring out which pieces of criticism are useful and which are not will come with practice. Always compare them with the outline of your story or the essence of why you wrote it before making any significant changes.

Start Getting Used to Criticism

Feedback is a permanent part of being a writer. There's no avoiding it, so everyone has to learn to embrace the process. Keeping these things in mind should help you get used to hearing negative feedback and determining what's most useful or relevant to your work.

Remember—no one has ever become so great at their craft that they never need constructive criticism. That finish line doesn't exit.

With time and practice, you'll look forward to all kinds of feedback and become a better writer by diving into the process.

@gwens-fiction

that's awesome! I think everyone has their own interests, and though I wasn't as dedicated to reading animal encyclopedias (though part of me wishes I was haha), I did love reading books about animals to some degree. Thanks for the recommendations! I'll add them to my ever growing list of a tbr.

CW DID? THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW

BAT AGENTS LMAO

I LOVE THAT.

me, desperate for some writer friends/mutuals

hi everyone!

this is just a post where writers get to know writers, and hopefully through reblogs/comments we can find more people who not only read/write our genre, but just people who have similarities with us.

it's kind of a simple "get to know me" post, and anyone can join <3

feel free to tag your mutuals and reblog !!

name: genres you like to write in: genres you like to read in + fav books/media: favorite line from your current wip:

name: ave

genres you like to write in: currently writing contemporary (ya/romcom/romance, give me them ALL), but I also like to dabble in fantasy!

genres you like to read in + fav books/media: i'll consume literally anything haha. Fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, romance, young adult, you name it. I'm awful with horror, though ;-;

percy jackson (MY CHILDHOOD), harry potter (OBVIOUSLY), Better Than the Movies, From Lukov with Love, The Love Hypothesis, These Violent Delights, the list goes on...

favorite or latest line from your current wip: [latest line, because what a mood- from Destination Seoul] Ha. Per usual, the universe hates me.

literally the pjo fandom realizing all the shit that was thrown at percy, who was a 13 year old, is making me laugh so hard

and the fact that we enjoyed it back then without thinking anything of it-

like poor percy needs therapy

prompt #3

"You turned him into a frog!"

"... Can we make sure he doesn't turn into a prince again? He actually looks better like this, more amicable, don't you think?"

if you like my prompts, buy me a ko-fi! 💞

soulmate prompts

romantic gesture prompts

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omg whoops corrected !! i'm sorry ahhh

no wonder- she seemed so badass lmao

honestly I would tell Wynn that too but then just awkwardly pause and go like "was that rude to point out?"

I don't know too much about belphegor yet haha, and I'm sure both are interesting! I'm team theo so, SOOOOOOOO

First Spoken Lines Tag

thanks for the tag @moonlitinks !!

Rules: Post the first spoken lines of your main characters in your wip

Wynn

“If you ever do something like that again, Theo, I’m gonna kill you. The demon might not, but I will,”

Theo

“It was all calculated. I thought it through, unlike you. It may have seemed risky for you, but it was all planned out perfectly. Don’t you know me, Wy?”

Belphegor

“It took them longer than I anticipated to threaten your freedom,”

Lily

“Your eyes are pretty,”

tagging: @basilesroom @penn-madlock @lanawritesalittle @wildswrites @echoing-sailor @sheabutterskyes @kaiusvnoir @blind-the-winds @raisapathy @talesofsorrowandofruin @galaxy-writer @galaxial-darktale @pluttskutt @writingonesdreams @writingbyricochet @asher-writes @thanatostouch @splashinkling but no pressure!!