Friday, December 11, 2009

Screaming into a Wind Tunnel

Thirty chapters of Rain have been posted so far, including the one that just went live a few minutes ago. One of the things I’ve done with most of the updates is ask for feedback, questions, concerns, hate mail, et cetera. So far the only comment I’ve received was from my mother, when I posted the very first chapter, and I think even she’s forgotten about the project by now.

I began posting the chapters online in order to draw attention to the story and see if it was worth anything when filtered through another person’s eyes. When you’re so close to your own story, it’s often hard to accurately gauge its quality. One moment it feels like the pinnacle of your body of work, and the next it’s the biggest pile of garbage that’s ever come from your keyboard.

The opinions of loved ones, sadly, don’t always count for much. I know I ask people I’m close to for their honest opinions, but even if they are (and they very well could be) being honest I always wonder if their affection for me may be clouding over their ability to be objective about the story.

That’s why I took Rain public. That and the fact that a forced deadline is the best way to keep me productive.

So far, though, nobody’s been saying much of anything about it. I still can’t tell if it’s an interesting story or a poorly paced, horrible pile of crap. There are days when this is a bit discouraging, as I’d love to have a ton of interaction going on in the group, but I understand that not everyone who joins groups ever checks them again and that people are often busy and can’t comment on everything they see.

I’m just hoping now that the bulk of the members are reading the story, and that eventually they will drop me a line, either on the discussion page of the Facebook group or to my Rain email address. Until then, though, I’ve decided I’m going to worry less about feedback and more about pleasing myself. I’m writing this story to entertain myself, first and foremost, and when anyone else wants to chime in, I’ll be thrilled to hear from them. Until then, I’m just going to keep writing, giggling hysterically as I do so, and hope it’s as good a tale as my overly-involved self believes it to be.

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