Now that the boxes are gone, we finally got around to unwrapping our art, in the hopes of adding some character to our walls. Some of the finds were like unwrapping old friends. Others...
Had our taste simply changed in nine months? Or was it that distance made us look twice at some of the things we thought we loved? We said things like, "how could we have picked THAT frame?" Or, "Honey, um, do you still like this?" Thankfully, we were on the same page with almost every piece.
I started thinking how it's a lot like our manuscripts. We LOVE them when they're hot off our computers, but thank goodness we know enough to put them aside for a time, then go back and take another look. A re-vision. Time may seem like an eternity while we put things aside, but it's well worth the wait.
Thank goodness for time. Thank goodness for revision. And thank goodness for those REALLY objective eyes of fabulous critique group writers!! More on that in another post!
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About Me
- claudia
- I'm a Sotheby's west side realtor by day, an actress-turned children's-book-writer by night, loving to spend time in other people's shoes. I'm also a Regional Advisor Emerita for The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), stepped down from the Los Angeles chapter after 11 years.
Critique Group
Kidscribblers: Stephanie Hemphill, me, Jill Corcoran, Kitty Donohoe, Paula Yoo, Joyce Lee Wong
4 comments:
Re-Vision
I like that. It perfectly describes that moment when you realize the manuscript you submitted a month ago should never have left the house. And yes, thank everything for a great critique group! But especially thank the writers in your group with lovely things like a vegan frittata (which I now know how to make).
oh....your welcome:)
Seriously, thank goodness for the fab Kid Scribblers!
You are SO right! I pulled out my first YA novel a few months ago and realized that although I thought it genius at the time, it's got more holes than swiss cheese.
Yes, thank god for critique groups!
I firmly believe in a writing gene. My grandfather was an amazing writer and creator of games. He not only had the gift of story, he had the "talent of the room."
Meaning, he never went crazy from sitting in the room everyday and writing. He mastered it with grace and diligence.
Maybe the gene didn't necessarily pass on his actual writing talent, but it did provide the ability to admire the "talent of the room" and figure out how to achieve it for myself.
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