“Someone To Read Your Drafts” was an interesting article. Personally, I (slightly) thought the author seemed quite overly sensitive. But then again, having someone critique your work is terrifying, but very necessary. Skipping 185 is a VERY common thought that pops into my head. It’s embarrassing to show my films, and have them be critique in front of the whole class. And it’s hard to hear “the bad.” But, I have to force myself to get over that fact.
The author is certainly right. It is absolutely important to have other eyes, minds, and hearts to read a work that was created and cherished by that one creator. I tend to think of the writing process like the whole filmmaking process itself. For instance in a documentary (not that I know much about it, but…), as the filmmaker you conceptualize, you experience the footage; you are immersing in the footage. When it comes to editing it, the cuts, the hours of watching the footage, rearranging, undoing, copying, pasting, redoing, eventually I loose sight of the world I’m creating. I lose context to if the film makes sense, if the cuts are appropriate, etc. I ultimately become so comfortable in the footage I’m working with that I forget the newness that stranger will experience when watching the film. I think this goes for writing, and the numerous drafts we create. For me, the characters, the plot, the themes, settings have been simmering and rendering in my mind, on my paper forever, and I forget the actually reader.
With this in mind, I think it so important to have a fresh reader, who ever they may be, to read my script. For me, it is really embarrassing to have someone read anything of mine- since I’m pretty sure it’s not good to begin with. So, their critiques help me mold my writing for improvement. I love asking the reader how they feel, what they felt, who they connected to. That, to me, is exciting. Having someone else get involved in my creating is really cool, to say the least.
Project Podcast Response: Collin Barkdull: Your podcast was enlightening. The insight that your father (right?) provided on talent, and the essential element of work ethic as a Mormon Artist was so helpful for an aspiring artist like myself. From your podcast, I also found that responsibility is another important aspect as an artist. I learned a lot!
I love that you mention 185 because that is exactly what I was thinking about when I read the reading!! I was thinking, "if she has a hard time having one or two people critique her work, she would never make it in 185!" LOL, but I've really come to appreciate that class and "the bad" comments and I'm not sure if you've noticed but it's usually the better works that get the most "the bad" comments simply because they have a lot of potential.
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