Friends Lie: Writer’s Dilemma
Not willing to hurt one’s feelings,
“Oh, yes!” I’ve been told so many times,
so many times over the years.
“Oh, yes!” They would say.
“Really?” I'd ask.
“Yes...
Yes, really, I did!”
Friends new and old
would say throughout
the twenty and four years taken
to have the first book published.
“Oh, yes!”
“Really?”I would question.
“Yes...
Yes, really, I did!”
Do they tell the truth?
my mind would ask.
After all no one wants to hurt you.
Writers!
We,
you and I
pour our souls
into what we write
into what we create
into what we bring life onto
Friends do not want to hurt you.
I do not want to hurt you so,
“Yes?" They'd question.
Oh, yes!” I’ve said when reading
the words I know had been
mulled over, thought over and
pulled from the Poet’s Handbook
or a Random House Thesaurus
then written and re-written.
“Yes!" I would say.
“Really,” they would ask.
Really, you really like it?”
“Oh, yes!
Yes, realIy, I do!”
Written and re-written,
then put into the semblance
of a story, of a poem and,
here it is,
and there it is,
and I’m a friend,
they’re a friend,
do they say,
do I say
what our minds say will hurt?
Maybe.
Maybe a true friend
would say the truth
because,
maybe you
maybe me
maybe we do not really
like what we know
had been
mulled over, thought over and
pulled from the Poet’s Handbook
or a Random House Thesaurus
then written and re-written.
Do we tell the truth?
Not wanting to hurt
friends do lie.
“Oh, yes!
Yes, I really did!”
Do I tell the truth?
Do they tell the truth,
my mind would question.
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Family friends and acquaintances, depending upon their relationship with you will answer according to what they feel enhances them. In other words, they don't want you to strike back at them for being honest, so they lie a little bit to avoid repercussion. And some acquaintances will just plain lie and not do anything at all.
After reading much of your work, I have always responded directly to what you have written. You are a great storyteller and carry your story action with very realistic conversation. I sense that English was not one of your better subjects in school. So, grammar, word choice, spelling, syntax and punctuation have alway been a great challenge that you have tried and tried by your rewriting, to improve. I am not an editor, and after giving you cues on some of the many small errors, primarily in punctuation, I have given up the time it takes to do those to focus on the story.
From my own experience, errors in my first two books set them back greatly until I revised them to correct those errors years later. If a major publisher would ever pick you up, like I think they may have for Climbing Boy, they will correct all of the errors for you. Hiring a good editor or proofer would stop the edits, but not the attempts at perfecting the conversation, something you, and only you, the author, can do and no editor can.
Critics or no critics, you write well, and keep writing…
Ron
I have received both favorable and unfavorable comments on my work as well, and some I put the advice to good use, and some I may disagree with. It is not the end of the world if someone writes an unfavorable comment. I don't and won't sweat about it. But since the reviewer had spent the valuable time reading and commenting on my work I have to believe the sincerity of the reviewer at the time of giving his/her comments. I don't have any reasons to believe otherwise. After all, we all are authors who seek each other's expertise for inspiration.
Sandie