Writing Quote

[hobgoblinn]

And the internetz blackout at Casa Hobgoblinn continues. So I spent last night beginning the painful process of assimilating the comments on last year's nano novel. You know, I was cringing on rereading the original, before I even looked at the comments. But I have said in this space many times that I value truth, however painful, over kindness. That's the only way I'm going to get better. And dear gillo has been telling me some most valuable truths. For which I again thank her.

I attended the Open House the other night at Wee Hob's school. In addition to finding out he really does have the Coolest Teachers Ever, I saw this quote over his Writing classroom door:

When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~Enrique Jardiel Pancela

Yeah. That's the goal.

And now, the optional essay portion of this post: What's the most valuable feedback you've ever received?

Comments

[lady-clover.livejournal.com]

What a teriffic quote!

I bet that Saturday can't come fast enough. I hope they fix everything for you. Do you still think it was something that your downstairs neighbors did that messed it up?

We had downstairs neighbors once who re-routed our electricity after theirs got shut off. We didn't realize it until we got the bill and it was double the normal usage. The banging and pounding on the ductwork should have clued us off that they were up to no good.

Grrr. Downstairs neighbors. Grrr.

As for the best feedback I've ever gotten from a beta, that would have to be you. You are honest and you don't worry about hurting my feelings if something isn't working. I value that.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Actually, in my case, the wires run from upstairs down through the three levels, so these are my Upstairs neighbors. But yeah. Grrrr. The guy came and fixed things again-- he said it looks like someone has a key to the cable connection box who shouldn't have one. Grrr.

And aww, Thanks for the sweet remark. I can't tell you-- but I think you can see for yourself-- how much your feedback on "Two Dads" improved the middle of that story. I'll give you another shot at me soon, if you like-- the end of the longer main story is almost in sight now. Working title is "Lost Boys" but I'd really like something better. Shout if something comes to you, now or when I shoot the rest of the story your way, maybe in about a week.