Learning to love and live with your weaknesses...

Yep, just like any other author, I have my weaknesses in writing. The current problem which I'm wrestling with, is a heavy front end (no not talking in the chest department people!!!) I know it, my beta readers have commented on it and even the odd Crit Partner. My issue du jour is working out how to address it. Its a weakness I could do without, to be honest.

In my defence I've been working on this book for two years and that always puts me behind the eight ball. I've found that when I do a bit, put the manuscript down, pick it up and put it down again, it causes me ongoing issues with my writing style.  I struggle with getting a smooth transition between the existing and the new text in these circumstances. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one. But that's just one example. Then I have words I over use, forgetting sometimes to put thoughts into italics and making it first person... Oh and don't get me started on independent body parts!!!

But while it's probably easier to come to terms with these issues, it's harder to "love" them. Are you scratching your head about why? Yes? Let me explain!

See, by learning to love them, we can find ways to deal with them. Think of the naughty kitten or puppy you adopted... It's tiny, its undisciplined... in fact it's downright warty. But we didn't just turn them away, did we? Nope!

Uh huh... What we did first is learn to love them, then gently correct them.

Writing isn't a sprint... It's more like a marriage, where we learn the highs and the lows, we change our behaviour so that we co-exist. Did you complain at your husband for leaving the towel on the floor, or did you heave a sigh and pick it up yourself? We don't get a divorce because one thing isn't quite right. We compromise.

That's what marriage is about and its no different that the building of a world, of creating "new lives." This requires similar skills and a whole lot of patience. And love...

I have seen disgruntled authors complaining about their editors. Complaining because they've changed a word or something because they think readers won't understand the term they choose to use. But you know what? By entering into that contract with your publisher or hiring them, you're forming a partnership (just like a marriage or a love affair if that's your thing!) One that is meant to strengthen your work. okay, not everything they say will be right. Is your partner always right? I'll lay my bet on nope!

What does that have to do with learning to love your writing weaknesses? A whole heap, actually. See, in many cases we learn to accept and to some degree love the foibles we see in our chosen life partners - it gives us the strength to build the coping mechanisms that allow us to live with them.

Its the same with out writing. I'm not saying that we shouldn't change them. What I am advocating, though, is that we learn to cope with them by becoming aware of and appreciating that they are the equivalent of our own person (writing) foibles. 

When your editor pulls you up on them, they want to help you accept those issues so you see them and can learn to address them. The end result of their efforts is to make your writing stronger and more robust.  Just like the day you adopted your lovely puppy or kitten, you adapted your life to include them. 

So next time your work on a piece and you're running through the comments your CP's and Beta readers make, embrace them and treat those gnarly little issues like a puppy! It'll make it easier in the long run.