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I'm glad I'm not alone when you said you like to make your first drafts as polished as possible because I always hear people say "oh don't worry if your first draft sucks! Make it as messy as possible!" and I get the sentiment of not wanting people to feel like their draft HAS to be polished but at the same time, I kinda feel like the odd one out because I like to make my first draft as polished as possible so I don't have to worry about rewriting and fixing it later on. Like I remember the first few chapters I had written, I had spent so much time going back and revising it till I was satisfied with it before moving on to write the next chapter 🤣

I totally understand where you're coming from about the mystery aspect in your book because even though I'm not writing a mystery book, my story still has some level of mystery to it regarding certain people and things and I've also struggled a bit in the beginning trying to figure out how to not reveal too many things but also still try to sprinkle in clues and it's been especially hard because I'm such an oblivious person 🤣 like a lot of the times when I watch a tv show with some mystery in it and they reveal the twist, I would be so surprised but when I see other people's thoughts, they would say that the twist was predictable so sometimes I wonder if in my book, the twists are predictable or not 🤣

Soundtracks has a good ring to it. I might have to steal that!

EXACTLY INDIGENOUS FANTASY! >:D

I always end up making playlists for books after I read them. Usually i’ll listen to whatever’s in the current rotation while reading but afterwards i end up associating those few songs with the book

Well I’m a good writer at 13 :D I believe I am 😭😭 I ONLY HAVE 47 READS

i looove doing this! i first learned about this with sarah j. maas and when her playlists were still available on spotify. here method was to use move score to shape scenes, which i've adapted as well. from that i've created plot playlists... these are usually fairytale retelling ideas so most of the songs are from disney movies with some steven universe songs mixed in there. i also use broadway musicals as inspiration for these, even though my stories are not musicals. and then there's the character playlists... i usually use league of legends champion themes as themes for my characters as well. i usually find ones that fit and reflect the vibes of what i want my characters to be. if and when i ever do write, i might start using just movie scores to enhance the way i feel when writing out scenes.

Glad I'm not the only one that calls my book playlists "soundtracks" lol.

i agree, i love it when a writer links a playlist or lists out the songs that gave them inspo for the book. i like to make soundtracks of my favorite stories as well that set the vibe of how i felt while reading! Do you just pick songs from your own catalogue or do you search out what you think might be "the perfect song"????????

You’re speaking my language ldj!!! I looove playlists and music really helps me develop stories and characters. It’s like I’ll hear a song and it completely unlocks a character or plot point for me. It’s so awesome. I have some playlists on my Spotify which is linked on my account!!

I love music when I write. I literally can't write without music in my ears. There are 2 playlist videos on RUclips that I listen to every time I write. One is a winter theme playlist which fits the theme of my book. And the other is a battle theme playlist which fits because there's high tension most of the time in my book. I switch between those video playlists and sometimes listen to tavern music depending on the scene I'm writing. My writing playlist is public on my account if you want to check it out. ❄️🎶

Normally, I prefer silence, but you made a compelling argument. I’ll give it a shot 😊

Lmao the truth is I was writing a long 5 paragraph MLA format hate comment 🤭😭

153 Corkery Ramp

Ressie Plain

991 Rice Shore

Finding someone to critique my writing and work will probably be life changing. Writing in vacuum not knowing what to do is much worst. I know your work will improve by a mile from this feedback! So i cannot wait to see your progress and maybe one day get to the point where you at, where you actually surround yourself with fellow writers and creatives!

"Obviously I'm the writer, so I know everything that happens... for the most part." LOL RELATABLE 😂😂

Thanks for sharing!

So for me, I haven't received much criticsm. Maybe I hide behind that sometimes, it's worth noting that I haven't really written much. Mostly fan fiction, which is kid's stuff, when it comes to critique, and most were pretty small, unfinished chunks of stories, not much at all - but the majority of what feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive. And I used to go around telling everyone my original ideas - like at my job and everything. So they weren't really privy to my writing - per se - more like my verbal outlines. The pitch meeting. Having said that reactions were pretty much universally positive there too. Finally I had someone say... to my face "This sucks. I hate it." And I was like "Sure. Okay." No joke. It was the only reaction I had. I took that as a good sign, because even though it's unproductive criticsm, it's also the worst thing someone can say to you about your writing, right? I've encountered a lot of people who don't take criticsm well, and I never wanted to be that guy, but since I hadn't encountered it I didn't know how I would react. You're feeling cognitive dissonance over how you feel about the criticism you received, and how you know you should ultimately process it. If you are getting valid criticism, and you know there's something to be done about it, there's at least some possibility that it's not because your choices, and the resulting flaws are defensible, but because you're afraid of the scope of the work you assume it would require to correct the issues. It's not just deciding if the critique is right for you, in the personal sense, you should remember that you're trusting your instincts in this phase too. By your own admission a rough draft is supposed to be incomplete and full of mistakes. Take the similes. _Anything_ redundant is going to catch the reader's attention, anything overly redundant is going to facilitate rebellion. Maybe when you have beta readers you'll realize that the amount of similes are not that serious, and your partner has a pet peeve, and a different writing style. Or maybe you'll find that it does tend to bother the reader. It sounds like you know there are probably too many, but you like them. But maybe you only like them because they're already there, and it would be a pain to remove them. That's an incentive to like them. Perhaps in the same way it's easy for me to accept the positive feedback I've received, instead of growing as an artist, taking the chance on writing more, maybe getting more criticism as a result, and realizing I'm not that good anymore. Or never was. You mentioned metaphors and poetic language, but it sounds like your critique partner only mentioned similes. Maybe there's too much of one, not enough of the others. Just because they're related doesn't mean they're the same. But because they're related perhaps fixing it is not as painstaking as you might imagine. Variety is the spice of life. I'm coinfident if you absorb the criticisms ad you know deep down you should, you'll learn from that, and it won't be quite as hard next time, and if it is you're prepared for it now. Godspeed.

Yea man. Never send your first draft to anyone. Work on it . Refine and simplify and then seek feedback. And take every piece of feedback with a grain of salt.

An incomplete first draft doesn't require a critique. It needs an open-ended discussion. Help. A fresh set of eyes after we've bled our thoughts out on the page, mostly unorganized but roughly in the shape of the story we're trying to convey. A good critique partner recognizes the process and knows this. A good partner doesn't say, "you rely too heavily on simile." They ask, "Are you certain this is the best method to convey what you're trying to say?" And then they let YOU come to the correct conclusion. I'm not saying that's what this person did; it's just an example. It's difficult to find good feedback for fledgling writing because most people (erroneously) treat it as a polished draft and it is disheartening. That's why most people suggest not seeking feedback of any kind until we've completed the manuscript.

I enjoyed hearing your experience, often times we just hear that we'll get a lot of nos and we have to perservere, ignoring the part of being allowed to feel whatever it is you do in reaction to a no. As a person who didn't have a consistent support framework i ended up with the notion that "if i feel bad about it might as well quit it for something else" which i'm learning to undo.

I whole heartedly agree with you, I just got my edits back from my editor (remember I pay this person) and I feel like I just got done fighting in the ring with Rocky. There are some hard lessons you tend to learn early on and if you can accept them, you have a bright future ahead of you. - Rough drafts are just that, you want any draft people outside of you to read needs to be as polished as possible. - Edits/critics always come back and are tough, you will earn a thicker skin as time goes on but even dedicated writers take edits hard. - Anything worth doing, means a lot of hard work. You are currently in the trenches but it will get better and over time things work out. Finally, when you decide to publish, I look forward to picking up a copy of your work. Can you please keep us posted? All authors need to support each other. If you think my first or even second (or currently third) book was easy... It is not, but that is why we try to help each other out. Keep at this, I am a big softy myself, this stuff hurts, take time away and come back to the thing you love. Keep at it and you will do amazing.

8:30 hey, so the thing i had to learn is everyone's opinion is VERY subjective. If that's your style, keep it up! Sure, some stuff is more objective perspective and is helpful, but in the end of the day YOU are the author and you are the only one who decides what is and what is not in your book and how it supposed to be. if everybody's books were same, we wouldn't have any but of course, better not just ignore all of the comments! :p Good luck with your writing

Take it on the chin. Good for you

Also yes never send a rough rough first draft. Learned that lesson. We get excited about story. We want to let people know the story. But yes you get the feedback that you know you’ll get for handing over a rough draft and it can be heartbreaking

As a published author, we all feel the same way about waiting for critiques, receiving them, and processing. Good or bad you would still choose to take a few days off from the text trust me

With the first comments you told us about - yeah that’s a typical critique Brandon Sanderson said his main critique he gets back is inconsistency in details or things said. He’ll say characters had long black hair and then later say long dark brown. Or that characters have gone to the club but then when they arrive it’s a bar

Doesn't matter how heart breaking a situation is. Watching it in double speed always makes it funny. ^_^

Sir, your first draft is always going to be hot garbage. It's mostly just a jumble of words and ideas, and rife with errors. That's why it's called a first draft. Critique is always the hardest part of the writing process. It's not plot. It's not characters. It's not the editing. It's not even the writing/prose. It's the critique. That will always be the hardest part of any writing. You say you're a sensitive guy, and that's fine, but don't see it as an attack or a harshness. See it as someone wanting you to succeed, and these are some ideas how. That's what critique is. They want you to succeed and want to help you get there. Listening and reading your critique through that lens is important. Also yes, I will agree with the one giving you the critique. An overabundance of similes will water down your writing and remove the reader from the story being told. Having SOME in any story is expected. Having an overabundance of them will absolutely dilute the work. You can write "His piercing eyes, a blue like the deepest seas in a storm..." OR "His steel blue eyes pierced through the field of soldiers, locking on his quarry." Almost any simile could be reshaped to remove the simile entirely and convey not only the same intent, but even better than intended. It just takes practice. A lot of practice. In my writing, you really have to hunt to find any similes because I know how quickly they can water down a good story, and are used almost in jest and in spite of themselves. Your critique partner was spot on about similes. I'll say that.

Totally relatable, I recently got really upset by the feedback from one of my critique partners on my first ever novel. I mean they speaks highly about the story with good plot, great pacing and interesting character development, but the way they criticised my language convention, grammar and word choices are just...BRUTAL and discouraging (to be frank, the novel was written in a language that I am no longer used in my daily life, and they are fully aware of this). I literally had a mental breakdown and a severe burnout after seeing their comments. Then a few days later, I found myself consulting a therapist 😂. So don't ever feel like you are too dramatic when reacting to harsh feedback. One of the suggestions I got from my therapist is that: Although you feel like the novel is representing part of you, it is not YOU. We all pour our heart and soul into the story, and it is very hard not to internalise these comments. So try to treat your story from a third person perspective, as if this is someone else' craft, it might help you to not taking other's feedback too personally (I know it is more easier said than done, trust me, I have been there).

It is a bit validating that other writers are also not getting any critical feedback on Wattpad. I couldn't figure out if I was doing or saying something wrong. I was hoping that by publishing a chapter weekly, I could get ongoing feedback. I have gotten a subscription to autocrit which seems to do a fairly decent job of really diving in giving good feedback across a wide variety of areas. It is the equivalent of way more than 500 comments though, so brace yourself. From listening to professional editors online, I already know that the first draft will be completely rewritten, and in my case, it is my first novel, so probably it's horrible anyway. I am just enjoying writing at this point. I am doing a sci-fi romance which is a bit niche anyway, but it's also a GL so, we shall see how it turns out. Good luck in your endeavors.

So tough, but I think it's better to have honest feedback you can work with.

Your video came up in my suggested feed, and i just want to add my support for your writing journey! 🙌 "First Real Feedback" is SO hard, but you have exactly the right headspace lol. Its not wrong to have a defensive gut instinct for what you want your "voice" to sound like (i can also kick like a horse when given hard feedback lol), as long as you ultimately keep an open mind to how different techniques might impact your end result in different ways 👍✨️ The best critiques will come from people who understand what your goals are as a writer ("i want to write epic scope"/"i want to write small and emotionally intimate"/"i want my prose to sound lyrical"/etc), and can explain the motivations behind their suggestions ("i think this element weakens x goal"/"i think adding this other element would strengthen y goal"). Sometimes you'll get feedback that isn't able to be that specific (or sometimes they'll have an issue and point at the wrong thing), and that's when you'll need to follow your gut and figure out if that given feedback is worth taking, or how to apply it differently than they suggest. Obviously i haven't read your writing, and i can see that a handful of other folks have already chimed in with opinions, so feel free to discard mine if you don't feel like its accurate lmao. But generally, when i run into an abundance of similes that stands out awkwardly, its usually one of like 1) The similes are completely scattershot random, and build little to no greater image in my mind past the individual comparisons ("The trees rustled in the wind like an earthquake was shaking them, and the grass was as green as an emerald" <- what do emeralds and earthquakes have in common?) So all of them together make me go 🤨 2) The opposite problem, the similes use the exact same or very similar imagery, and/or describe the same object over and over, thus giving no new information and becoming boring to encounter (how many ways can we describe someone's eye color before it gets tedious?) 3) Trying to have too many beautiful similes on things that don't particularly warrant them. An excellent rap often builds a rhythm of "setup/punchline" in its narrative, but the brevity of the medium (compared to prose) also means each line needs to hit harder with its delivery. Prose is (usually) more decompressed than that, so you want to save the similes for the parts you want to add that touch of impactful weight to. You don't have to save them for ONLY the biggest of bangers, but being judicial in your usage makes each one hit a little harder, imo 4) It's a sentence structure thing. Your frequency of similes might be okay, but the rhythm of them might be too overly similar and call attention to each other because of it ("His x were as y as a z"/"The x was as y as a z"/"Their x were all as y as a z"). There's ways to do this intentionally to great effect, but generally you want to mix them around. I would recommend also playing around with the rhythms of more straightforward descriptions and metaphorical structures, and see if they give you an effect you like. Hopefully thats helpful! Good luck with your writing, i hope you have a lot of fun in the journey 🙌✨️✨️

Thanks for the encouragement and insight.

When you said you gave your critique partner your first draft I was thinking "wow he's brave!" Thanks for sharing your experience.

Tons of great advice and support in these comments. You’re surrounded by people who want you to succeed and that’s awesome! Stay true to yourself, and your voice, always 😊

Hey, my biggest advise when it comes to receiving criticism is have an attitude of humility and "dissociation." Nobody writes a clean first draft, I don't care who you are. Just accept the fact that the first draft is the was part, the rest is an uphill struggle. You WILL revise, you WILL rewrite, you WILL fail. But failure is a stepping stone towards success. Even if you get the manuscript gleaming and publish with the coveted six-figure or more advance, you'll still receive one-star reviews. But this is where the dissociation comes in, your struggles do not define you. You are more than the words you cobble on a page. It's just a story, at the end of the day. This idea may seem precious at the moment but that's because it's the idea you are currently pouring into. More will come. Advise for self editing, I would look into Shawn Coyne's Story Grid and Robert McKee's Story to learn the units of measurement for story and what needs to occur for each unit to ensure effective storytelling. Anyway. Keep your head up and your digits on the keyboard.

This is a rite of passage for us writers, so be proud. :D Tough feedback is a jump scare for everyone, but it makes us all stronger in the end (even if we have to keep telling ourselves that).

If you don't do NaNoWriMo, you could join Kate Cavanaugh's 100k in Q4 challenge! That's what I'll be doing. It does start tomorrow though 😂

I recently got hundreds of comments (between multiple beta readers and critique partners) about the things to change in my book. It's my 6th draft and I thought it was finally done after spending two years on it, but it appears I have another rewrite to do 😭Critique can certainly be hard, but in the end it'll improve our writing and make it into the successful story we want it to be

Love the truth in this, it's super vulnerable but necessary. Also, question, what's the correct order - critique partner first then beta readers, or vice versa?

Is the problem you're using too many similies or that you're only expressing analogies and other ideas through similies? Asking because I had a similar problem. The solution was to expand how I express these ideas. For example, these are some things I changed: how things are described, what a character chooses to notice in a scene (like a suspicious character noticing everything was suddenly cleaned rather than any other detail), metaphors, actions a character does (like an animal-like character biting someone during a fight instead of comparing them to an animal.) Also, yeah, getting critique on a rough draft where the plot isn't completely solid yet sounds nerve racking. I'd imagine there were a lot of comments on things you would have already fixed yourself in the next draft.

A note on the similes: I'm also a writer, and when you said that 'I listen to a lot of rap' to explain why your writing style veered the way it did, I nodded. Don't lose your voice to a more generic style. What you are describing is a poetic voice-because that is what rap and music are. it is lyricism. That is, as you develop your voice and style, it is going to be a trademark. Now, if your critique partner is reading as a reader and not a writer, then I understand the critique if they do not enjoy this kind of voice. They may enjoy a sparser language style, and that's fine. If they are critiquing as a writer, then it seems they do not understand the nuances of the writer's voice. Am I saying keep every simile? Absolutely not. But in this first draft, they belong. And when you edit, one round will be about tightening that voice so that only figurative language that creates the most impact remains. But it is in no way a facet of your writing that needs to be 'removed.' Also, while it's great you did this, learn this lesson: the first reading of your first draft should be by someone who wants to build you up, but that will be honest. Thereafter, once you go through it yourself and edit it to a more polished version, you can seek out the opinions of others who are only concerned with constructive criticism. I get that this isn't always possible to find, but what helps is being very specific about what kind of feedback you want. And you can't be specific about that until you finish the first draft because you haven't finished telling the story to yourself. Tell yourself the story. Read it, adjust it to your own taste and preference, and then seek feedback. Ask specific questions so you know what feedback to expect.

Hey there, I just wanted to say that you have such a good head on your shoulders. Getting critique is SO HARD, no matter who you are or at what point in your life you're at. I'm 31, so maybe you'd consider me a "real adult" haha. But I vividly remember the first negative feedback I received fresh out of college. It wasn't on a book, but on my performance in a corporate environment. The feedback was completely unexpected, and absolutely scathing. I cried for days, and like you my first reaction was also to combat it with "that's just who I am as a person". But, also like you in the end I tried to take it on the chin and actually improve myself with it. And looking back I am so, so, glad that I did. I've grown so much as a person and matured immensely (if I'm allowed to say that about myself) because of that feedback. This is all just to say that you're doing all the right things here! You've learned a ton from this experience, and you are setting yourself up for major growth! Having a good outlook on critique unfortunately doesn't make it hurt any less. I wish it did! What it does do though is set you up for improvement, and ultimately success. I can see that transformation already happening in you at the end of this video. If I could leave you with some "adult" advice - don't do any challenges like NaNo for right now. Take your "challenge" as processing the feedback you were given and using it to improve your novel and your writing. Fully allow it to settle and heal before pushing yourself. And as far as your writing style - don't nix it, grow it! It's so cool that you're inspired by rap. Rap is poetry! Dissect what it is that you love about rap and grow your prose with it. Your friend is right, it can't all be similes. But you don't have to get rid of them all. You have a good foundation. See where you can expand upon that and make it even more rap-poetic. You've got this!