BronxWench

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I look at old summaries and die inside while laughing at myself, because I am that bad. I gave up after a while and just chickened out with : "Response to AFF Challenge Prompt [whatever] and then tags. VERY creative of me.

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My epic mess of a fan fiction is in a very obscure fandom as well, so I can sympathize entirely. I have one fan fiction set in the Dragon Age: Origins world, which some gamers know, but no one remembers Neverwinter Nights 2, let alone the Forgotten Realms lore that my geeky little heart adores. And I write the worst summaries known to mankind. I'm beginning to take pride in how awful they are.

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The hardest part for me is always selling myself. I can talk about my characters, and my stories, but don't ask me to market myself, or even ask anyone to beta for me. It's incredibly hard to put yourself out there and ask for feedback. Having said that, I'm going to urge you to at least promote your stories in the Promote a Story thread. Set up review reply threads and talk to readers. Add the review thread links to your stories, something I get scolded for not doing. It gets easier as you do it. And say yes to any feedback you can get. Here's the thing. I've gotten less than shining reviews over on Goodreads, and my editor (the most recent one) was upset. But the truth is, I wasn't. One such review was on my debut novella, and it was legitimate in the concrit offered. Not only was it valid, the reader said they'd try the second book in the series. So, they were willing to give me another chance. My editor saw negative; I saw positive. Sometimes, it's how you spin it to yourself, too. As long as the concrit is about my book, and not a personal attack, I can deal with it. A critique of my writing is not a critique of me.

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Or, since this is AFF, after all... Orion Zabini Potter by Slayer-of-Destiny

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I completely agree that it's possible to over-edit. I do it all the time, and then I slap myself silly and move on. I think because we care this much about our writing, it means we're always going to be sweaty-palmed and anxious until someone tells us that we did good. And Clover, I actually have come out of the editing wringer feeling a whole lot better about myself as a writer. This does not mean that I won't whine just as much the next time, though.

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The first time I had to deal with an editor was probably the most emotionally fraught thing I've done as a writer. There is absolutely nothing more demoralizing than having a total stranger read your work, work that a publisher has offered a contract for, and hear, "This is a great story. Really. Now, let's just pretty much rewrite everything from the dedication onward, shall we?" I cried literal tears. I was sure the emotional heart of the story had just been gutted. I knew I'd never be able to recognize what was going to come out at the other end of this literary grinder. I whined with great enthusiasm to my editor, my family, my friends, and anyone who'd listen. I even blogged my woes. And then I knuckled down and started making the changes, one by painful one. The end result was a much tighter, much more coherent story (although I still take issue with all the descriptors). I did apologize after the second pass, when I could see how much better the story was, but gods... It was brutal. I mean, I welcome concrit, but this was concrit with a box cutter. So, the second time around, I tried very hard to incorporate what I'd learned in that first editing massacre. My second manuscript that was accepted was (I thought) lots tighter. And I had a new editor as well, so fresh eyes. Okay, I expected comments. You always get comments. I got a list of words to banish, a huge amount of tweaks as far as those pesky descriptors, and a guitar. Don't ask. I had no idea one of my MCs could even play. I whined about certain things, yes. I wasn't quite as blindsided as I'd been the first time, but it was still hard, and it hurt to have to cut some of what I cut. However, this second time around, I remembered something. This is really important, too, and deserves saying, over and over again: It's MY story. There were some points where my editor and I butted heads, and I stood my ground. If I thought it was important to the story, it stayed. I dropped whole scenes when we simply couldn't make them work. I gave in places, and I stood firm in others, and the manuscript ended up as MY story. Well, except for the guitar. We're losing the guitar in the next book in the series.

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I frequently have elves or other fey as characters, so technically, "male" is more appropriate than "man" for them. But point taken in the context of human characters, very much so.

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My editor liked using alternatives to pronouns and names in my first published male/male novella. At some point, I'll revise that novella and fix some of that nonsense. I do understand that it's hard when writing to use pronouns all the time, and using names over and over is only marginally better, but you learn to find a balance, or should.

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