Is it writing or is it high school?

[Nichole R. Bennett]

I have a great amount of respect for authors who can crank out numerous books a year. Lori Armstrong is one of them.

Lori is a mom, a wife, member of the local writers group, and a published author. In TWO genres, even! She has multiple books coming out each year. And she's a damn good writer. I admire the fact that she can do all that, even though I've seen her a little stressed over multiple deadlines.

But what really makes Lori stand out (in my opinion) is that she is willing to help us not-yet-published authors.

After getting my critique back, I wondered what it would have said if my pages had gone to a person like Lori. Would there still have been some problems in the pages? Of course. Would the notes have been done in red pen so it looked like someone "bleed" over it? Probably not. Would I have been more receptive if the reviewer had seemed to know my sub-genre? Of course.

Writing is a tough business. I know that. You know that. I don't see why the published need to act more superior than the unpublished.

The whole thing reminds me of high school. Seriously. My freshman daughter tells me of upperclassmen who are just plain mean and bossy to the underclassmen. Why? Because they can be. (Although my opinion is that some of those kids are just mean and bossy anyway.) It's a teen-age power trip. And when these freshmen become seniors, some of them will undoubtedly be mean and bossy to the then-underclassmen. Because that's what was done to them. It's a vicious cycle. One that isn't necessary.

It's the same in writing. Constructive criticism goes a long way -- much further than criticism for the sake of criticizing. There's enough negativity in the world without me adding to it. I want to learn. I want to improve. I want to be the author that I know I can be. And when that time comes, you can bet your bank account that my criticisms of other's work will be constructive and helpful and encouraging.