Conflicting Criticism

As writers, we will receive various thoughts and opinions on our work. From beta readers, to developmental editors, to (hopefully) literary agents, and eventually publishers, there will be a lot to take in. Something I struggle with, and I assume other writers do as well, is what to take in and what to let go.

To give an example, in my MFA program, students can only work with the same instructor for 12 submissions. Most people move on after one residency and one semester (which can average anywhere from 6-8 submissions). I stayed with my first instructor for 2 semesters and one residency, so I submitted 10 chapters to him. I'm with a new person now, and it's interesting to me the differences in the advice I'm seeing.

The one thing they have both said, and I am well aware is something I struggle with, is detail. I struggle so much with detail, and it's one reason why I've shied away from writing the fantasy triology I have in my head. All that world building gives me anxiety. I'm much more interested in telling the story and discussing the characters. My husband and I joke about this often by referencing the Sims games. I love the Sims for the characters and the storylines I can create. Their interactions with each other and building their relationships, their lives, that is what keeps my interest in the game. My husband, on the other hand, prefers the Sims games that involve world building, like SimCity. He couldn't care less about the sim characters, he wants to build that world, create something more abstract. 

Last night, when we were discussing the latest comments I received on my submissions (which mostly boiled down to "you need to provide more detail on the setting and character mannerisms), I compared my writing to a book I'm reading: It's For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten. I've been reading a lot of contemporary romance this last year for school, so I wanted to take a break with some fantasy. I really enjoy the book, but I have to tell you, it is difficult for me not to skip all the world building detail to get to the heart of the story, which is the mystery of the woods and the budding relationship between the Wolf and Red. However, because I know I struggle with detail (and have a bad habit of skipping those descriptive paragraphs when reading), I'm forcing myself not to fall into old habits. I need to embrace the detail, and write out what I see in my mind on the page. Reading these detailed descriptions will hopefully help me to understand how to create more vivid images for my readers. It will also be good practice for when I finally overcome my anxiety to write my own fantasy series.

The more interesting thing, to me, is how different my instructors are in other feedback. I asked my new instructor if she found my teenage character believable. She said she thought she was a "nice teenager," which made me laugh at the implication that teenagers are often not nice. But what struck me was that she noted how surprised she was by the lack of eye rolling or snark in a conversation between three teenage girls. There's a reason for that: my last instructor cautioned against too much eye rolling because it was "overused" among teens. This irritated me because my daughter is a teen, and perhaps it is a fallback for writers of YA, but. . . it's not without merit. My daughter rolls her eyes at me multiple times everday! 

My husband recommended that I do whatever feels true to the character, and while I think having her described as a "nice teen" is fine, because she's very empathic, it's more true to the character to have her still have the mood swings and attitude of a teen. It is very "on brand" for the genre I'm writing in to have "nice" teenagers, but the brand itself isn't adverse to eye rolling, so I think I'll sprinkle a bit more of that reaction into my book, while being careful not to go overboard.

The other thing my instructor noted was that the teen seemed really invested in her mother's relationship with the tenant/love interest. My instructor said that her experience was that kids were more ambivalent about their parents' romantic relationships. In my experience, my daughter was initially very invested in my relationships with men, and even now, she and my husband (not her bio dad) are a lot alike. We often joke about the nature vs. nurture argument in regards to her mannerisms as she grows. She's a bit more ambivalent now, but I think she would still have some vested interest were things not to work out with my husband if for no other reason than how her life would change. 

That said, my book is heavily influenced by Hallmark movies and many of the children in those movies are very invested in their parents' relationships. In one movie, A Christmas Melody, the kid literally writes a song about Santa helping her mom find love again. So, it's very "on brand" for the teen to be invested. It also helps that she is emulating her extended family's meddling. Her aunt and her grandmother are both doing some amateur matchmaking behind the scenes, and I think that influences her actions as well.

I think I might tone down her enthusiasm a bit, but overall, I think it's true to her character. For example, she works to protect her mother early in the book from potentially harmful information. I have been working to give her more of her own storyline, just so she's not so tied up in her mother's romance, but overall, I think it fits with the genre I'm working in.

I'd like to open up this discussion. What do you struggle with in your writing? What criticisms have you taken to heart and worked to correct? What comments have you set aside because it didn't feel true to your character? Feel free to share in the comments!