Critiques

I sent part of my YA story to a friend, Cody, who sent it back to me bleeding and trembling. Poor thing. It hid behind the fridge and I had to let it rest for a few days before it would let me near it again. Even today it whimpers a little when I mention Cody's name.

Cody has asked me to copyedit his short story collection. And I've realized something important that might help me win back the love and trust of my story. I like my friend's writing style. It's raw and kind of painful. He doesn't hold back, and has a tendency to tackle painful topics. He's a good writer. I don't like everything he does, but he doesn't like everything I do, either.

That's what is so liberating about sharing with other writers. We can respect each other's style and choice of topics, but we don't have to agree with each other's critiques. After reading a few comments about my word choice, I got a little...disheartened. I have a tendency to reuse words a few times in paragraphs, something that Cody doesn't like. So I turned to one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, to see how he does it. Know what I found?

Gaiman does it, too. He reuses words multiple times within the same paragraph. And it doesn't really stunt his style.

I'm in no way suggesting that I'm as good as Gaiman. But if he repeats words, I don't feel too bad. And I'm hoping I can coax my little story back into the light. Without whimpering.