Dealing with Criticism and Taking a Break with Fiction

 I'm dedicating the next week to working on my novel. I do have a bit to finish on a magazine article, but I've run out of ink, so until I can get to a store, I cannot print it out to send in the mail yet anyway. I've written lately about my new strategies to find time to write, and this week's altered schedule for my family may lead to a bit more time.

Secondly, I'm taking this break to work on my novel as a measure to heal. Last week was a tough one in my freelance non-fiction writing life, due to criticism. I see this pattern emerging, starting with when I was editing my high school newspaper for 2 years: my senior year, I started an underground literary magazine to balance out the journalism that kept me awake nights, in tangles with school board members, parents of school students, teachers and even my parents' friends. It continued in college, where I abandoned the newspaper altogether and instead set my sights on editing the literary journal, which I did by my senior year there. Creative writing is much safer, in my experience, and I use it as a salve to the exploits that writing nonfiction can lead to.

About 9 months ago, I wrote a blog entry about some significant controversy my freelancing led to (Lessons in Stress and Controversy), and it was the 2nd such skirmish since I began writing a year ago. And here I am again, and incidentally from the same source of criticism as one of the last two times. It doesn't get easier with time and experience. And it still remains that those closest to you can be the hardest source of criticism to deal with. Simply because it has more weight than some stranger's.

So here's to a week of trying to focus in my novel. I've got some interesting ideas and some details to strengthen the mystery in the book. All writing is a pleasure, and I don't particularly take more joy in fiction--maybe it's that my novel has yet to see light of day, so it's quite safe...for now. But should it ever get published...I'm sure it'd lead to some anxiety and criticism too!

in case you wondered what led to the criticism and conflict last week, it was the publication of Are Antibiotics During Labor Effective at Preventing Group B Strep? A friend who is a midwife told me I needed thick skin to publish about things in her world, and she was right.


Other articles I've published lately:


Power Your Electronics with Your Body's Own Movement? The nPower PEG, The First Kinetic Energy Recharger

Harnessing The Power of Waves--a Cheaper, Greener Solution to Energy Crisis

Doctor Finds Nutrient Depletion Causes Depression

Miscarriage Labor and Delivery

An Antioxidant in Chocolate Found to Help Neurological Damage after Stroke