See-Hear-Speak No Evil

See No Evil!

Beginner writers jump into their work with both feet.  Their eagerness and sometimes overconfidence drive them forward in their quest to write the next great novel, play, poem, etc.  They see no evil in their writing.  There are no mispelled words, no dangling participles, no grey areas in their stories where their readers are left wondering just who WAS that masked man who stopped by on page 23? New writers have a naive innocence when it comes to the actual craft of writing and are sometimes blind to their own weaknesses.

Hear No Evil!

Friends and family of beginner writers are sometimes just as bad.  In their loving efforts to encourage the budding author, they tell the new writer what they "think" that new writer needs to hear.  These aren't words meant to help improve writing skills, but to stroke the ego.  This leaves the beginner writer with the impression that their work is far stronger than it needs to be.

Speak No Evil!

Can you see the pattern emerging?  The beginner writer lives in a bubble where he or she thinks their writing can't be improved.  Why?  Because they have not sharpened their writing skills and they don't see the flaws in their own work.  And the people they depend on to validate their efforts...i.e. friends and family...have added to that problem by not speaking honestly about the gaps between the rough draft and the polished finish.

Now the beginner writer discovers other beginner writers.  Maybe they get together and form a critique group.  But now they are speaking no evil.  They can't help their writer buddies to improve THEIR writing skills because they don't know how to improve their OWN.  So the cycle continues and a new generation of poorly written manuscripts float out into the world...to land on some poor publisher or agent's desk for them to deal with...or even worse...in some online ebook world as a representation of well written works of art.

So what's a writer to do?



Ask for help!  Find books on the subject of improving your writing skills.  Discover critique groups who offer honest insights into how to strengthen your story.  Read the works of other established authors to see what works in today's world.  There are many ways to become a better writer...you just need to be willing to work at it.

Be truthful to both yourself and others.  Encourage other writers to keep working hard to be the best they can be.  Uplift and strengthen the world of writing through your efforts so that everyone can reap the benefits.  At the end of the day you can look back and be proud of the writer you have become!

Then, it's time to...relax...