What’s the most terrifying part of the writing process? Well, for many authors, it’s sharing. Someone asks to read your work, and the protests begin: “I haven’t quite finished.” “It’s not ready for someone to read.” Self-doubt also kicks in with, “It’s not good enough.” “It has to go through an edit first.”
To hand over your words, which you’ve slaved over for hours just to come up with the perfect verb or the most descriptive adjective, can be daunting.
So, the question is: Is it necessary? Should it be part of the writing process? Can’t we just write till our fingers ache and our mind bleeds with plots and characters, then shelve it?
I guess you could, but why? If you’re journaling, yes, keep that private, but if you hope to get published, share it.
Associated with sharing are the two F words: fear and feedback. And the fear is the feedback. What will the reader say? Will they like it? Will they give me an honest assessment?
For a long time, I was a non-sharer with my writing. I began writing poetry at an early age, and by high school, I filled spiral notebooks with poems. I would tell everyone I wrote poetry but refused to share a single word. Like most writers, I knew the two F words were dangling in front of me whenever anyone asked to read my poems. But that all changed in early 1987.
I was a senior in high school, and my Uncle Robert was battling aggressive cancer. When he asked me, “How’s school going?” I told him, “It’s boring, but I’ve been writing a lot of poetry lately.” Then he followed up with the terrifying part—”Can I read some of what you’ve written?”
I said, “Sure.” Not sure where that came from, but I was close to my uncle, and deep down inside, I was excited to hear what he’d have to say. So, I gave my Aunt Laura (his wife) my two notebooks, which had poetry, short stories, ideas, and scribbles for her to give to him.
Well, his health took a turn for the worst, so my aunt ended up reading a bulk of the poems to him. When she returned my notebooks, she told me my uncle said they were “very good” and that I had “talent.” Now, perhaps he was sugar-coating his opinion of my writing (which I doubt), but to a seventeen-year-old, this was priceless.
Sadly, he succumbed to his cancer three days later. I still have these notebooks (dated 1984-87). They’ve been with me to California, across the country three times, came with me for two years in Europe, got soaked in a flood, and now travel with me and my wife stowed under our RV. I’ve kept these notebooks close to me not only because it’s my writing but more so because my uncle was the first ever to read them.
All of this turned me into a sharer. Now I’ll ask anyone I meet if they’d be interested in reading my work. The worst-case scenario is they’ll say no.
Let’s face it if you’re a writer; you need feedback. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, you’re too close to your story or topic to see what’s working or what’s not. Remember, friends and family won’t always shoot straight when it comes to offering feedback, so you may need to take what they say with an open mind. Sometimes sharing is about more than just feedback. My poetry will always be connected to my Uncle Robert, and I’d like to think some of my writing is always with him.
Enough for now. Time to write, share, and listen to the feedback!
T.M. Jacobs, a native to the shoreline area of Connecticut, now resides in various locations along the east coast with his wife traveling and working from their RV motorhome. He has written and published 15 books (one of which was featured on C-SPAN), over 450 articles published in various newspapers and magazines, teaches classes on writing and publishing, and is currently the owner of JWC Publishing. He is the founder and former editor for Patriots of the American Revolution magazine and has been a freelance writer since 1988.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjacobsghostwriter/
Website: www.jacobswc.com
Email: [email protected]
