Can I have a Band Aid with that critique?
Hey guys, sorry I've been gone for a bit. I had relliott4 guest blogging for me on the blogger blog, but she couldn't cross post the entries for me everywhere else, so I'm going to add them here now, under the cut.
Rachel called and asked me to do a guest blog or two this week. She even said it might be fun if I shared some insider critique stuff. It’s a good thing this was done over the phone because if she’d seen my evil grin or the way I slowly rubbed my hands together, she might have changed her mind.
Soooooo.
I bet you all want to know exactly what it’s like to be Rachel’s critique partner.
I could go on about all the good stuff like the way she’ll pick up my lack of an important detail, or that wonderful self discipline that tends to rub off on me. There is her solid command of the English language and all those dangly participle thingies…
But no, you don’t want to hear all that happy, happy, joy, joy stuff. You want the real goods. You want to hear about her flaming, hair curling, did-you-really-mean-what-that-sounded-like-Rinda? brutal honesty.
Yes, there are times when it takes me a day or so to get past my own bruised ego and really look at her comments. Hey, I can admit it. But I can also dish it out and that’s what makes this particular relationship work.
So, I thought it would be fun to share some of our more, er, amusing comments. Give you a glimpse into our working world.
From Rachel: Ooooh, can we get a sound from this? Something squishy? Like mud? Or more boingy, like flubber? ;-)
From Rinda: Wait. What time were they eating pizza? How did they go out on dates, have sex and come home for a movie … and all before the 9:30 meeting?
From Rachel: Do you mean shattering glass? Because if it’s already shattered, it’s probably done making noise. ;-)
From Rinda: Actually, since he’s a corpse, it might be laid. But I don’t know for sure. This is one of the most annoying words, isn’t it?
From Rachel: When did they actually come out of the water? Did I miss that part?
From Rinda: Is this a bit like leaving your pet in the car during the heat? But seriously, kind of dangerous-whether she’s pissed or not. She could just wake him rudely. But as always, it’s just a suggestion.
From Rachel: Considering how violent this act is, I’d love an equally violent verb here. This sounds almost relaxed, like sun-bathing chick “extending” her hand for another mint julep. Or that may just be me. ;-)
From Rinda: In fact, I’d cut these two and leave it to end with the popping through flesh sentence.
From Rachel: Oh! It’s stuffed! I thought she picked up a gerbil or something! Makes more sense now.
From Rinda: Could they hose the food debris off the body? Would the jungle cat scene remain?
From Rachel: Is this a mixed metaphor? I’ve never pictured being “sucked” into a season before. A warp zone, maybe…? ;-)
From Rinda: I was SO not expecting a kiss yet. Did it surprise you when it arrived?
And because I can’t TOTALLY be fair, here are three more from Rach. Just because I have control of the blog, you see.
They’re moving on their own? I’m picturing Medusa here. Am I supposed to be?
Like a starving person would what? Stare at her? Because he wants to eat her? ;-) Maybe use a reference to food instead, to tie into the “starving” thing, unless you’re referring to cannibalism… ;-)
Done what on purpose? Pierced her eyebrow? I’d hate to think of how that could be not-on-purpose. ;-)
Critiquing can be hard, yes. But it can also be fun. Thing is, fresh eyes can sometimes be exactly what we need. No matter how often we go over our own work, it’s very, very easy to miss something. That fresh set of eyes isn’t out to wound our ego or tear us down. It’s there to do one thing. To say,
“Hey, I’m not in your head so you need to write this so I feel like I am, okay?”
Rachel called and asked me to do a guest blog or two this week. She even said it might be fun if I shared some insider critique stuff. It’s a good thing this was done over the phone because if she’d seen my evil grin or the way I slowly rubbed my hands together, she might have changed her mind.
Soooooo.
I bet you all want to know exactly what it’s like to be Rachel’s critique partner.
I could go on about all the good stuff like the way she’ll pick up my lack of an important detail, or that wonderful self discipline that tends to rub off on me. There is her solid command of the English language and all those dangly participle thingies…
But no, you don’t want to hear all that happy, happy, joy, joy stuff. You want the real goods. You want to hear about her flaming, hair curling, did-you-really-mean-what-that-sounded-like-Rinda? brutal honesty.
Yes, there are times when it takes me a day or so to get past my own bruised ego and really look at her comments. Hey, I can admit it. But I can also dish it out and that’s what makes this particular relationship work.
So, I thought it would be fun to share some of our more, er, amusing comments. Give you a glimpse into our working world.
From Rachel: Ooooh, can we get a sound from this? Something squishy? Like mud? Or more boingy, like flubber? ;-)
From Rinda: Wait. What time were they eating pizza? How did they go out on dates, have sex and come home for a movie … and all before the 9:30 meeting?
From Rachel: Do you mean shattering glass? Because if it’s already shattered, it’s probably done making noise. ;-)
From Rinda: Actually, since he’s a corpse, it might be laid. But I don’t know for sure. This is one of the most annoying words, isn’t it?
From Rachel: When did they actually come out of the water? Did I miss that part?
From Rinda: Is this a bit like leaving your pet in the car during the heat? But seriously, kind of dangerous-whether she’s pissed or not. She could just wake him rudely. But as always, it’s just a suggestion.
From Rachel: Considering how violent this act is, I’d love an equally violent verb here. This sounds almost relaxed, like sun-bathing chick “extending” her hand for another mint julep. Or that may just be me. ;-)
From Rinda: In fact, I’d cut these two and leave it to end with the popping through flesh sentence.
From Rachel: Oh! It’s stuffed! I thought she picked up a gerbil or something! Makes more sense now.
From Rinda: Could they hose the food debris off the body? Would the jungle cat scene remain?
From Rachel: Is this a mixed metaphor? I’ve never pictured being “sucked” into a season before. A warp zone, maybe…? ;-)
From Rinda: I was SO not expecting a kiss yet. Did it surprise you when it arrived?
And because I can’t TOTALLY be fair, here are three more from Rach. Just because I have control of the blog, you see.
They’re moving on their own? I’m picturing Medusa here. Am I supposed to be?
Like a starving person would what? Stare at her? Because he wants to eat her? ;-) Maybe use a reference to food instead, to tie into the “starving” thing, unless you’re referring to cannibalism… ;-)
Done what on purpose? Pierced her eyebrow? I’d hate to think of how that could be not-on-purpose. ;-)
Critiquing can be hard, yes. But it can also be fun. Thing is, fresh eyes can sometimes be exactly what we need. No matter how often we go over our own work, it’s very, very easy to miss something. That fresh set of eyes isn’t out to wound our ego or tear us down. It’s there to do one thing. To say,
“Hey, I’m not in your head so you need to write this so I feel like I am, okay?”