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Blogs by Jean Sheldon
Only You Know What you Want to Achieve 6/15/2007 7:21:04 AM
This has been a good couple of weeks for me. I’ve had three wonderful reviews—one from a reviewer and two from people who are both friends and editors. I find the latter reviews more fulfilling. Probably because I know the people and have a great deal of respect for their taste and intelligence, which after their reviews, I have no reason to doubt.
Reviewers, on the other hand are strangers, and it’s difficult to know how to evaluate their words. It has to be difficult for reviewers to separate themselves enough to read a book completely objectively. They are, after all, human, with human likes, dislikes, troubles at home, health problems, or tires that need replacing.
The one thing I’ve learned during my brief stint as a mystery writer is to try not to overreact to any review or criticism. It’s difficult, but not impossible. It boils down to having confidence, in not only what you do, but also who you are. As the old song goes, ‘you can’t have one without the other.’ (I think the song was ‘Love and Marriage’ popular in the 40s, and NO, I wasn’t there.)
I don’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate good reviews and be unhappy with less than stellar comments—you should, but they shouldn’t influence your writing, or your core being. Those things belong to you no matter how many cheer or criticize. With that control, you become stronger and you can’t help but improve in every area of your life.
The following is an excerpt from one of my forthcoming books: ‘When it Stopped Raining.”
'She started digging her fingers into the cool, wet sand, and thought about a story her mother used to tell her as a child.
A little girl dug a hole in the sand and began carrying buckets of water from the lake and pouring them in the hole. Every time she went back to the hole, the water disappeared, but she returned to the lake and brought more water to pour in the hole. Finally, someone sitting on the beach watching, looked at her and said, ‘little girl, what is it you’re trying to do?”
“I’m putting the lake in this hole.” She politely told the person.
The stranger knelt next to her. “You won’t be able to put the lake in there, honey.”
The little girl shrugged and brought more buckets of water. The stranger told her again, “little girl, you won’t be able to put the lake in there.”
She looked at the man, a little puzzled, “I already have put the lake in there,” she said. “You didn’t think I meant the whole thing?”
When her mother told it the first time, it made no sense to Danny. Her mom explained that people would judge her and measure her life by their expectations, but only she could decide whether she failed or succeeded. Only she knew what she had set out to achieve, and whether or not she achieved it.'
I think Danny’s mother was right. Feel free to criticize! Please.
