Great Writers Don’t Write Great Stories

Great stories are written by good writers who act on intelligent criticism.

No matter how good a writer is, it's almost impossible for anyone to write a truly marvelous story on our own. We’re too close to our own work.

While I’m writing my first novel “Sex Whiskey”, I’ve been fortunate to receive honest criticism from people that I respect and admire. It hasn’t always been what I wanted to hear.

They've pointed out problems with character development, pacing, plot holes, descriptions, and other issues I would not have identified on my own.

Because of their honesty and intelligent insights, I can go back and work on my book to make it the best it can be.

Early in my career as a freelance writer, I learned to embrace the ugly first draft. I also learned to listen to the questions and revisions that my clients had, so that I would achieve the goals they have for that content. Having had this experience, it makes it easier for me to accept and consider fully the suggested revisions by my beta readers.

Beta readers are a special breed. Reading, analyzing, and critiquing an entire novel is an enormous undertaking. Instead of reading a finished book for enjoyment, they consider every element of every scene and think about what works and what doesn’t.

I’m eternally grateful to many people who have given so freely of their time to help me. I especially want to thank Anne Armstrong, Judy Bradt, Chris Bridgham, Brad Bass, Tom Temin, Jeff Kaczmarek, Esther Smith, and Alan Caudill.

With their guidance, I am currently on the third revision of my book. It may take several more revisions before I can read the entire manuscript and think, “I’m proud of this book.”

But with their help, I know I’ll get there.