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“Critics can point out the problems in your manuscript, they can offer the right diagnosis, but they may not be able to suggest a remedy. It takes an excellent teacher, someone who has mastered the art of writing, to tell you how to correct a problem. Agents and publishers don’t have time to be teachers (and may not know the solution). A lot of critics (including those in writer’s workshops) want to help, but may not know what the correct remedy is.
But that should not stop a dedicated writer. Listen to the criticism, even if it hurts. Learn from it. Even if your critic can’t offer a solution, you will be able to find one, eventually. It may mean slaving over the manuscript until you’re ready to burn it, or it may mean putting it aside until you can look at it with fresh eyes. Let the sting of criticism drive you toward excellence.”
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But that should not stop a dedicated writer. Listen to the criticism, even if it hurts. Learn from it. Even if your critic can’t offer a solution, you will be able to find one, eventually. It may mean slaving over the manuscript until you’re ready to burn it, or it may mean putting it aside until you can look at it with fresh eyes. Let the sting of criticism drive you toward excellence.”
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“Monetary payment is a good way to find out if people truly value what you do. Are they willing to trade their hard-earned money for your product? Connecting with people who are willing to pay for your talent means you can discover those who actually care enough about what you do to put up cash. You might find them far better to work with than the freeloaders who mutter a perfunctory “thank you” after all the hours you put in. -- From the blog essay, "Recognition Addiction: Are You Giving Away Too Much for Free?”
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“Values and fiction are related because values guide the choices writers make when they tell a story, whether the writer is aware of this fact or not.
Here’s how. A blank page contains an infinite number of possibilities. The writer’s task is to manage those possibilities by deciding what stays and what gets left out, much like a sculptor has to decide which chunks of marble will stay and which must be removed. The sum of all the decisions the writer has made in telling the story reflects a writer’s values, and also creates the book’s sense of life. -- from my blog essay "A Sense of Life in Fiction”
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Here’s how. A blank page contains an infinite number of possibilities. The writer’s task is to manage those possibilities by deciding what stays and what gets left out, much like a sculptor has to decide which chunks of marble will stay and which must be removed. The sum of all the decisions the writer has made in telling the story reflects a writer’s values, and also creates the book’s sense of life. -- from my blog essay "A Sense of Life in Fiction”
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“Imagine the cocktail party raconteur who captivates his listeners with some adventure story while taking dramatic sips from a gin martini. Chances are he is not a writer.
This seems counter-intuitive. After all, writers create characters that are so darn interesting. A good writer can hold you spellbound through a two-hundred page story. Why aren’t all writers scintillating, life-of-the-party types in person? Some are. But many are not. Part of the answer is that writers are not required to think on their feet. Spur-of-the-moment wittiness is a necessary quality for improv actors, talk-show hosts, and politicians. But writers don’t think or work in real time. They create at their own pace, spending hours or days on clever dialogue, or crafting a scene in which they get to micro-manage every detail.
Real life doesn’t work like that. And that’s okay. There is really only one place where a writer needs to be absolutely charming and irresistible; not at cocktail parties, not on television, not in front of a live audience -- but on paper.”
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This seems counter-intuitive. After all, writers create characters that are so darn interesting. A good writer can hold you spellbound through a two-hundred page story. Why aren’t all writers scintillating, life-of-the-party types in person? Some are. But many are not. Part of the answer is that writers are not required to think on their feet. Spur-of-the-moment wittiness is a necessary quality for improv actors, talk-show hosts, and politicians. But writers don’t think or work in real time. They create at their own pace, spending hours or days on clever dialogue, or crafting a scene in which they get to micro-manage every detail.
Real life doesn’t work like that. And that’s okay. There is really only one place where a writer needs to be absolutely charming and irresistible; not at cocktail parties, not on television, not in front of a live audience -- but on paper.”
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