The Proper Proportion of Girlfriend

I keep being told "less roller derby, more girlfriend" for this book, and it puzzles me. I thought the problem a lot of people had with my books was too much girlfriend. But what would I know? I'm just a cranky, bitter little writer.

Yep, you guessed it. Edit letter time! That marvelous moment when one receives a letter detailing every way your cherished manuscript is ugly, needs work, or just doesn't make the grade. To be fair, every editor I work with understands to give me a sweet little bit of fruit, something they liked about the story first–before getting down to what needs to be done to make it better. I understand the editor just wants to make it better. I want it to be better too. After a week of muttering and grousing, I'll be ready to roll up my sleeves and start tweaking, shaping, filling holes and fixing highlights.

But there's a good deal of thrashing about that happens at the moment an edit letter lands in my inbox. My writing partner is rolling her eyes apace, God bless her.

I've written before about my method of dealing with the beasts. It doesn't get any easier, though it is fractionally more familiar each time. This time around, I want to keep picking at the letter like a scab, when I know–believe me, I know–that the best thing to do is just put the damn thing down and don't look at it for a week. I give myself such very good advice…

I had a post planned about moving goalposts, and the crazymaking that happens with that, but all the running around today has just scrubbed anything substantive clean out of my pointed little head. So I'm going to shut off the wireless, get a glass of water, and return to the world of the zombie cowboy story I'm consoling myself with now. It's the only proper course. I hear the edit letter, locked in its little drawer, tempting and taunting me. Not gonna respond, though. Just not going to do it.

Not even a little peek.

Famous last words, right? Wish me strength.

Related posts:Wallow, Then Get Back To Earning The Cookies
Heart Your Editor, Man
Taken, Perry, and Reader Questions