Finally, after a long and extremely nerve-wracking wait, I got the feedback on my YA novel. Why so nervous? Well gee, Paula Boock has only been my idol since I was 15... yeah, I do care what she thinks!
And...
I’m pleased with it. Yeah, I pretty much have to rewrite the novel, but I knew that anyway. I knew there were problems, but I was having trouble putting my finger on what they were. And she’s given me some very very useful advice. I’m probably not supposed to quote from the report, but... I can’t resist. Her overall feedback is that there are places where I do things really well, but not all the time and not consistently enough. “At times I’m surprised (and delighted) by an unpredictable story point, but at times the story feels ploddy. At times you pull out a capacity for description and language that is a stratosphere above the rest... etc.” And she talked a lot about one particular passage, “because for me it was when I sat up and thought – wow!” It was my favourite passage too, the last one I wrote, when, I think, I was finally getting the hang of it!
Yay! She thought wow! Even if it was only about one passage... I’m happy now, I can finally get some sleep...
Posted by Fionnaigh at January 5, 2004 10:12 PMWow. How fantastic that a hero of yours obviously thinks highly of your writing :-)
Posted by: Cathy at January 6, 2004 09:12 AMThat's neat :) Nothing feels as good as honest praise and constructive comment from someone you respect. Good on you!
Posted by: phreq at January 9, 2004 08:44 AM