Okay, so today was my critique. I submitted the requisite 20 pages, properly formatted with the right type size. Once the group got started, it was all I could do to keep from giggling.
Some didn't like Max's snarkiness. Others thought she killed her husband. Some thought Merry was murdered. All thought Max was too flippant when her daughter was dying.
Then came the comments about the paragraph length. Too short. And the chapter length. Too short. I took tons of notes, hiding my smile behind my hand.
Finally, Fred Leebron, the teacher, asked if the group's opinion would change it they read the exerpt as commercial fiction, not literary fiction. Silence. More silence. Then one voice said, "never mind."
And that's when I started to laugh.
*laughs* Yeah, commercial work is often very different from literary work. I do hope you got some good notes from it, though.
ReplyDeleteCheri,
ReplyDeleteI have pages of notes and lots of good ideas. The workshop has been worth every minute, even though the writers want to produce literary fiction. Last book of literary fiction was My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. I've read about 30 commercial pieces. Guess I'm a low-brow.