Day 24: Continued Ramblings About Vision

I got to thinking last night after I posted my brief blog. I began to ask myself why I had allow others to hijack my vision for my story. I think the answer lies in confidence. When you sit in a critic group and everyone is doing their best to improve your work you can run into the situation where you get overwhelmed by the ideas thrown at you. Everyone always seems to know more than you and the inner critic places the seeds of doubt in your mind. Confidence is like weed killer. If you have lots of it, the seeds of doubt can't take hold, can't germinate. But if you're a little short, well your whole garden will be overrun within days by all sorts of weeds and dandilions. Your mind is your garden. Keep it clear of weeds.

The thing you have to watch for is the good seed that gets blown in to your garden from another source from time to time. This is where time and patience come in. A beautiful flower can look like a weed when it first sprouts. Watch it grow and at the appropriate time ask yourself does this flower fit into my vision for my garden or will it stick out and appear out of place. If it does appear out of place, pull it, apply the weed killer. But you need the patience to wait.

How does this apply to writing? When you get a critique don't rush to apply it or discard it. Give it time. Think about your vision. Does this suggestion compliment or add to the vision you have for your story? Does it help your intention? You can't know these answers until you've finished your first draft and see your work for everything that it is. Put away your critiques until you're ready to proceed with the second draft. By then you can see whether the suggestion is a weed that may choke the life out of your flowers or whether it is a flower that will add to the beauty of your garden.

Remember your vision and courageously defend it against others who offer their vision for your work. Writing a novel is not a group event and at the end of the day you are the master, commander and only crew member of your ship. Sail true.