Skip to main content

A to Z Challenge: H

Hiya beautiful guys and dolls! I know I've been missing in action for a few days, but traveling is hard.

H is for HONESTY.

Be honest with yourself.
Be honest with your family.
Be honest with your friends.

I know there is a fine line between honesty and kindness. WHAT??? Yes, I said that. Why? Because, there are times when I don't want to hurt someone's feelings. Maybe their writing is way off, their characters are flat, and the plot is terrible. But they are m friend and I don't want to hurt their feelings.

Is that a license to not be honest and say, "This is great! Just a little tightening up and you've nailed it!" Rather than be honest, it's easy to skirt around the issue and "be nice."

This can go so many directions. It doesn't only apply to critiquing.

Is her outfit really hideous and you just can't find a way to say it?

Do you really not want to go to the party, but it's been planned for months and you don't want to hurt his feelings? So you say your sick.

I had an opportunity two weeks ago to do something. I could have changed some of the smallest things about my manuscript and I would be saying today, "My book is getting published!"

BUT...

I would have had to been dishonest to myself. I would have had to change somethings I didn't want to change. I thought about it and decided I would be true to myself and my story, to be honest with my heart and my desires. 

So today, I challenge you: just be honest. I pays off in the long run.



Comments

  1. You're right. They'll find out it sucks eventually anyhow- why not from you- someone who cares about them?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been very very honest with my friends who write and had similar feedback (harsh even, soul sucking some might say) from readers too....I think it's just a matter of being honest with yourself and being able to receive the criticism. It also depends on time, I believe.... If the harsh soul sucking feedback had been given to me 3 years ago when I first started writing, I don't think I would have been able to take it, I would have cried and called the person names and tell them how wrong they were. Now I have grown as a writer and I was able to take the criticism - I didn't AGREE with all of it but I took it in and read it and re-read it until I "got" it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Honesty, truly is the way to go. Avoids so much hassle in the long run. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it's possible to be honest to yourself and others while being considerate and kind at the same time. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree! I didn't mean to give an okay to be rude or mean. Simply being honest. And yes you can be kind and honest at the same time:)

      Delete
  5. Honesty is the best policy (although lying and getting away with it is a close second).

    mood
    Moody Writing

    ReplyDelete
  6. Always be true to yourself when it comes to your writing. No compromise.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I consider honest critique only for critique partners. But we must be honest to ourselves and true to our stories and learn the difference between which feedback is really useful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good for you! for staying true to yourself even though it meant giving up getting published. It's sad that writers seem to have such little say when it comes to their own career, at least when agents and publishers are involved. I'm glad you kept your power for yourself!

    Have fun with a-z.

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you try applying that line about tightening up to your friend's skirt, well, M Pax may be right about saving the honest critiques for people you work with.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Honesty is so important today. If we are honest about our failings, we take responsibility for mess we cause, learn from our mistakes, and become better people. If we think we never make a mistake -- it's someone else's fault, we never become better. MM

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good for you. Being honest to your own writing and yourself is just as important as being honest with your crit partners. I had a similar moment with one of my novels and also chose to pass. It's not an easy choice to make.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do think it's a challenge to be honest AND kind at the same times ... but I'm working on it. :) Honesty comes first for me. I'm a new follower of your blog. Nice to meet you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. We have to be so honest with ourselves and have a network of others that will be honest with us as well. I am looking forward to reading your others posts, and have listed your blog in my 'I' post today. Blessings,

    Amanda - Realityarts-Creativity
    Art Blog

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GUTGAA Meet and Greet!

Hey everyone! I'm taking a quick break from vacation to introduce myself and say hi! I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and meeting some new friends! -Where do you write? I live in a camper. My writing spot? Usually in bed. But sometimes I get a chance to write in the "living room" but that's rare. When I am at home (yay!) I have my own little office:) I love m space there and I can write during the day light hours. Oh, who am I kidding! That's rare. -Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? My husband. Yeah, he sleeps with me! -Favorite time to write? At night. When it's quite. Aaahhh. Sweet quite. -Drink of choice while writing? Depends on the time of day I get to write. In the morning, coffee, coffee and more coffee. (with Creme Brulee creamer!) Afternoon it's iced coffee. After school, it's Dr. Pepper. Night it's water. -When writin...

Operation Agent Ink

UPDATE: PLEASE FILL OUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE AFTER YOU SIGN UP. Have you ever wondered what agents were dying to find in their inbox/slush pile? There have been many times I entered a contest and not even received a comment, not even from one of the agents. Or maybe the agent was kind enough to leave a comment that simply said, "Sorry, this just isn't what I'm looking for, but I love the premise and your voice." I always walk away feeling unsatisfied. If I had known exactly what the agent wanted beyond, "YA" or "Fantasy" I might not have even entered a contest I knew I wouldn't win! Even more, I wasted a very busy agents time! Well, your time of guessing is up! OPERATION AGENT INK to the rescue! That's right! This workshop will help aspiring authors get on the list of an agent's WISH LIST! When the workshop is over, your manuscript will be ready to view by a group of AMAZING agents who are dying to see what you've wri...

EVER Blog Hop!!!!!

I joined a blog hop flash writing contest with/for Jessa Russo. It's in honor of her first EVER book release. I met Jessa during the Curiosity Quills Blog hop. I have never read a ghost story, but after reading Jessa's query and first few pages and then learning more about her ghost Frankie, I was so inspired, I fell in love -with Frankie. I was so inspired, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and write a story I had never written before and never thought I would write. Or even want to write. But I did, and I did. My piece for the contest is a small part of my bigger manuscript I wrote. I had to modify and change a few things so the story would make sense, but I think it works. At least, I hope it does:) How to vote: Comment at the end of the end of this post. You must have the word "VOTE" in your comment for it to be considered valid. VOTING IS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30TH!!!! Ready? Well, lets go! --> The Man With the Black Hood knocked ...