First Readers

-

There's a certain urgency to share my work as soon as I've written it. My first reader is my husband, Mike. I'm looking to see whether he thinks it works overall. He'll point out any weak spots and do a quick proofread for me too. Sometimes I read my work aloud to him in the kitchen while dinner is cooking.

The work I show Mike might still be in its early stages, but it feels complete in some way – enough that I think I have something. I need to have a first reader who appreciates that it's still a work in progress.

Mike and I are a team. If something's off – I'll go back and fix it up and then have him read it again. We'll go back and forth this way.

A first reader should have good judgment. Is a first reader a kind of gatekeeper? I think so. They're the ones who stop you from going forward when you're headed for disaster.

Who isn't a good first reader? Someone who can't articulate what's wrong with a certain phrase or idea. Even worse is the first reader who has nothing to say and draws a complete blank when you ask them what they think.

I also don't want a first reader who has too many suggestions – it's still in a fairly fragile place and I'm just looking for an overall general reaction.

Popular posts from this blog

The Ins and Outs of Submitting to Literary Magazines

-
Image
Ten questions to keep in mind Choosing which Magazines to Submit to There are so many journals that it can be hard to choose. Here are some key questions to ask yourself to narrow them down: 1. What literary magazines do you like that match your writing style? It’s important to get a sense of the publications you’re going to submit to. Read a recent issue. You’ll have a better idea of what pieces you have that match the editorial aesthetic of the magazine and vice versa, not to mention that it’s worthwhile to read as much as you can in your genre.  2. Are you looking for a print magazine? An online magazine? Both? These days, writers are seeing the value of online magazines, which are readily accessible to readers. However, print magazines are still coveted by many writers, especially if they’re available in bookstores and newsstands. Some publications have their issues both online and in print—a decided advantage. Where would you ideally like to see you...
Read more

Q&A with poet Robin Richardson

-
Image
“ The truth, and the vulnerability of sharing it, is liberation. ” Robin Richardson is the author of two full-length collections of poetry, and is Editor-in-Chief at   Minola Review, a Journal of Women’s Arts & Letters .    Her work has been shortlisted for the Walrus Poetry Prize, CBC Poetry Award, Lemon Hound Poetry Prize, and ReLit Award and has won the John B. Santorini Award and the Joan T. Baldwin Award. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in many journals including POETRY , Tin House , Arc , The North American Review , and Hazlitt of Random House. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and BA in Design from OCAD University. Richardson’s latest collection, Sit How You Want , is forthcoming with V é hicule Press. She is represented by Samantha Haywood at Transatlantic Agency, who is working with her debut memoir this year.  A couple of weeks ago, Robin Ric...
Read more

Constraint: The Creative Gift by Guest Blogger Heather J. Wood

-
Image
Novelist   Heather J. Wood shares the benefits of limitations... Heather J. Wood One often thinks of creativity in terms of the blank canvas or the blank page—i.e. the freedom to be able to write about anything one's imagination can conjure up. Some writers chafe at the thought of restrictions. Yet, having set limitations can also be an immense source of creativity. For myself, at least, boundaries have allowed me to go in unexpected directions. I would not have imagined myself writing a teen-oriented novel involving roller derby. In fact, I would have thought the idea was ludicrous a few years ago. Yet when I was offered the opportunity to write "something about roller derby", which eventually turned into my recent book, Roll With It , I was given a wonderful creative gift. The project turned out to a liberating rather than a restricting experience. For one thing, I wasn’t worried about being "literary", so I felt free to write more naturally a...
Read more