B&A: A Question or two?

Hi.

1) It depends on the writer. Pride in itself isn't a sin. It can lead to high standards which translate into higher quality writing. I think pride only becomes a sin when it inhibits your common sense or humanity. If you become a perfectionist, for instance, or if you develop elitist ideals, then pride wouldn't have served you well. So I say pride becomes a virtue when it increases the value of your writing (or your motivation to write), and it becomes a vice when it inhibits your writing.

2) Aye. My pride prevents me from writing poor quality material. Because I have very high standards, because I'm not willing to embarrass myself by associating my name with terrible writing, because I write for a financial recompense, my writing and editing benefit from this pride. On the flipside, I'm a perfectionist and have a difficult time accepting that things are "good enough," which inhibits my ability to meet deadlines without undo stress.

3) Author's of a certain level of success have more freedom to reject editorial advice. Let's face it, when you're starting out as a newly published writer, you'll make every single change the editor requests because you're too intent on seeing the book published. But when you have established a name for yourself and carved a little corner out of the market with your very own reader base, you can tell your editor "no" every now and then.

With that said, a writer should heed advice and constructive criticism if it will improve the quality/value of the work. To keep something just because you "can," speaks strongly of authoritative control (a power trip).

4) I like to help others, there's a level of satisfaction in knowing that you could help a writer get past some obstacle. I'm not selfless here, I have ulterior motives to help those who write within my genre so that someday they might create something good that I've been craving to read. Plus, I use these websites to wind down after a long day instead of watching the telly.

Also, people who find good writing communities tend to have better skill development and more charitable mindsets. One day, when they've finally succeeded, maybe they'll remember how helpful this community was and pay it forward to some aspiring writer who shows promise. There's too little kindness in the world today, it seems. So it's good to see writers encouraging/assisting each other.

5) Mmm, a while ago. I'm my own worst critic. There is absolutely no editor (professional or otherwise), who can point something out to me that I wasn't already 100% aware of. So, the last time I received helpful advice was probably months ago when my husband helped me step over a knot in my plot line.

6) Eh, fine. Thanks for asking.

BQ: haha, on a daily basis between my mother's complaints about my father or the jokes passed between my husband and I.

BQ2: No comment

BQ3: Aye, it'll rebound, most definitely. The last lie I spoke was just this morning when I told my daughter that Santa was watching her so she best behave or else she wouldn't receive a thing for Christmas (not even coal). When she learns the truth and her innocence shatters into a billion pieces on the floor (alongside my china following one of her temper tantrums), I'll consider the debt repaid. *shrugs*.

Edit: I'd also add on a side note, that every writer ought to feel some pride in their work. What craftsman wouldn't step back and appreciate the effort it took to make something out of nothing?There's no shame in acknowledging a job well done.

Q1) Being religiously lost, I think the sins are bullcrap. You should be proud of your achievements. You've probably worked pretty dang hard.

Q2) People give me constructive criticism all the time, and if it's any good, I take it into effect. But sometimes, I have a reason for the things I do in writing, or I disagree with the person. I wouldn't call it a prideful thing, just doing what I want on top of what the people want.

Q3) I try not to write anything irrelevant. But even if I did, and I were super famous, if there were other professional authors telling me to get rid of it, I'd probably do it. No quite as a courtesy thing, but just realizing I'm not always right.

Q4) To get advice and give advice. I cannot escape the clutches of my computer, but I can go without internet.

Q5) Last time I received good advice on my writing was like, Sunday night, and it was basically just telling me to be more sure of myself, and not to over think what I'm writing. Do what I want, not what the preset rules make me think I have to do.

Q6) Well, I keep getting distracted. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well, except for the fact that I'm only on the 6th chapter of the first book, and I keep thinking about what I want to happen in the end of a possible fifth book.

BQ 1) Literally, every day from my step dad. So, since I haven't seen him yet today, yesterday afternoon.

BQ 2) Um... probably the other day at school, when I was the only one not participating in a group activity because, having been absent the previous week, I had no idea what we were doing.

BQ 3) Last lie I told... that I didn't care that this one chick got the lead in this play (not because I wanted the lead, but she's not good at acting. At all.). I don't think it'll get back to me.

Q1) I believe an excess of it can be a bad thing, but not necessarily an inexcusable one. And perhaps it should be encouraged - or allowed rather. When I was around eleven, I was so proud of my work. I thought "Man, my stuff is sooo getting published and I'll be best-seller." I still came to the realization that my work wasn't even close to what I thought was. On my own, I might add. No one "popped my bubble." But because I was proud of my work, I kept writing and developed a deeper passion for it. I'd every situation of pride depends though... e.g. Being too proud to edit your work is being too proud.

Q2) I have always taken others' advice, feedback, and criticism into consideration. But as a writer, some of it just doesn't fit the bill for me. Writing is somewhat subjective, so I do have room to disagree with feedback. For example, my brother telling me that people need to go to a certain island in my current novel just because no one resides there. No.

;)

Q3) That depends on what you mean by irrelevant. The way I see it, if a scene doesn't show either character development or plot development, it's not relevant. With perhaps some exceptions. If a scene is entertaining enough, why not include it in a work? Literature can serve to be entertaining.

Q4) I like the community here. I've learned a lot from this section in particular. 'Would never have improved my writing skills without it. I like helping other people with their writing too :)

Q5) Regarding college essays, my English teacher told my class to first write as much as you need to without worrying about word limits. Then go back and cut out stuff. I think it really forces you to tone your editing eye. You see what is really necessary and what isn't. If you're like me, you normally dislike word limits XD

Q6) When I've been working on it, it's been going well. School and the college application process have been taking priority over it :P

Happy Thanksgiving! =)

1. I've always thought there was a difference between being proud of something and having the sin of pride - the difference between saying 'This is good and I've done it!' and saying 'this is good because I've done it!' I don't think it's a sin to be proud of writing ability if it's something that gives you confidence and enables you to grow as a person, or see things or people in different light. It is if you care so little about other people that you do not care what they think.

2. I don't think it does. I hope it doesn't! Writing for me is a form of escapism. I can always use advice. I'm not a particularly confident person, and often discuss points with my brother, who also writes. If someone gives me advice about a story I'll take it, unless the person hasn't understood the plot point or the character (which would make me check to see if I'd made it too obtuse anyway). I do tend to take things personally, although I think I'm better than I was, but destructive criticism floors me for a disproportionately long time.

3. That's not something I would do personally - each scene has to move something forward, even if it's only people realising how boring a character is being, or holding things to give the reader a chance to catch up with the detective - but I wonder why the scene was irrelevant?

4. Definitely something to do with the addictive personality, but also I enjoy looking for questions that involve character interviews, or writing tools or techniques. Like I said, I can always use advice. I've helped one or two people track down unknown books as well.

5. It was about two weeks ago - an additional angle for a whodunnit that I just had not thought of, involving changes to a character's life insurance policy. Very useful, and definitely going in.

6. Very well, thank you!

BQ1. Not that recently. I got a lot when I was younger. I trained as a sound engineer and was the first female techie at my theatre, which was and is fine, but I DJ as well and have come across some real idiots, usually people that ask, while I'm carrying in the speakers, 'when's the DJ getting here then?' More recently I was putting together a new computer and peripherals at work and someone actually leaned over and said 'Gosh, can you really put that together all by yourself?' I just pretended to be hard of hearing and kept asking him to repeat himself until he realised how he sounded.

BQ2. At work, when I had several customers and one assistant, all of us women, and they all started talking about babies. Not my scene.

BQ3. I told someone we were out of a particular item when I'd forgotten to bring it with me. As it happened, when I got back to the base office we were out of it so it won't get back to me, but I should have remembered, I'm ashamed of doing that.

Thanks for those!

1- I think you should always be proud when writing the first draft. You have to go into it with a certain breed of confidence in order to write anything at all. The second draft is the time to throw pride to the wind.

2- For me, sometimes I so want to hammer a certain point that I don't realize (much to the chagrin of my editors) that I sound repetitive and obnoxious. So, yes, pride does play a part... an unnecessary one.

3- I wouldn't keep an irrelevant scene. If I liked the sound of it, I might make it into something new, but the point of a story is to communicate... like, I can't have a conversation with you about my parents if we're suddenly interrupted by someone spouting off about their calculus homework. It's jagged.

4- I come here when I'm bored, to give book suggestions, and to edit people's writing. ;)

5- Not in some time. Unfortunately. My friends are too nice to call me out on bad plots.

6- Pretty good. Thanks for asking.

BQ1- I've never encountered sexism. (Maybe the cocoon of my small town has sheltered me?)

BQ2- Economics class, yesterday morning. I am an outsider, but I usually don't feel it so potently.

BQ3- I told my brother that I bought him a thirty-thousand dollar generator for Christmas so he could run his xBox when the power was out. (I did not spend thirty-thousand dollars on my 15-year-old brother. Somehow, I don't think it'll come back to haunt me.)

Q1: I'm no expert, so don't quote me on this, but I believe that having pride means that you put yourself before God, or what he tells you to do. I think that the English language is very limited in that having "pride," for example, in your writing doesn't mean that you aren't humble about it. If you're writing because its what God designed you to do and you're obeying that...it wouldn't be pride, it'd be obedience.

Q2: I used to take constructive criticism very badly, as an attack on my character, even. I'd say that was pride on my part. I've worked on that and even though I'm still working on it, I never assume that I don't need help in writing. No piece of writing apart from the Bible is perfect, so there's always room for improvement on what I've written.

Q3: I'm not published, but I hope to be someday, and I don't know how I'd respond to that. It'd depend on the scene, I think. If it's completely irrelevant...probably not. If it doesn't move the story along persay but maybe tries to uncover a character's personality or something like that...maybe? I'd never "slaughter the writer" though...it is their book and their decision. Whether it was a good idea or not is a different matter.

Q4: All of the above except the last sentence! I don't make friends of random people off the Internet, because some of y'all are creepy. But I love reading advice and giving it when I can (which admittedly isn't often.) I don't post my work here, since I'm paranoid that way, but seeing advice given to others whose writing style is similar to mine helps. Plus I come here to give and receive book recommendations.

Q5: From someone I know in real life? Awhile...I don't show my fiction to people very often. My nonfiction (essays for college, or that I do on my own--yes I'm weird that way!) I show them sometimes and they always like it but there's also something I can always improve on.

Q6: Right now I'm doing NaNoWriMo and it's going pretty well! I'm ahead of my word count, which is good because I have a long essay to do... Which I really should be doing now instead of answering q's on here!

BQ1: Um a lot? I don't know. But it doesn't faze me like it does some people. I just let it go.

BQ2: Haha all the time. I won't go into detail because like I said, some of y'all are creepy, but I'm a minority in many, many ways. And not the obvious, either...

BQ3: I don't know. Nothing big; although that makes it no less of a lie. Whether it will "come back" to me or not I can't say. I'm just glad that I have Jesus to cover up that sin for me, because I sure can't do it on my own.