i'm not experienced, AT ALL. i have no idea whether my story is good or not since opinions are coming from more people who doesn't have experience. whose advice should i take?
i'm not experienced, AT ALL. i have no idea whether my story is good or not since opinions are coming from more people who doesn't have experience. whose advice should i take?
I've been writing my book series for nearly six years. The first draft of the first book is sitting here next to me as a reminder of how far I've come and I did make some poor unfortunate friends read it. I knew it was a bit ropey at the time - punctuation and formatting were seriously lacking making it quite hard to read - but I decided the story would win through and that they would help me with the problems. They did and I moved on with far better drafts, but one of my writing friends saw a few pages of that first draft recently and was horrified. He almost couldn't understand how the complete pea soup he was reading had become the novel he constantly nags me to publish. For me, that supportive group of friends who brought me from being a young mum with a mad idea to a novelist were essential.
Only you know what you need to make your MS the best it can be. For me it was spending five years thoroughly learning my craft. Showing my work to close friends didn't cause me any problems but if they had been very honest it might have! If you think your draft needs work, only show it to those who are sympathetic and encouraging so you be supported while you move it on to something better. If you think you are ready to show it to writing friends, who will undoubtedly be more honest, you could try putting it on here.
Personally I prefer not to do that. I went to classes in my local area and met people whose opinions I trust. Because I know their writing I can make judgements about how much their opinion is influenced by their friendship with me or the fact I write in a different genre. It's harder to make those sorts of judgements online.
Think about what you need as a person and what you need as a writer will follow somewhere after.
I believe the most important thing for you to do is to keep on writing. Like any true talent, it takes time to develop and get better. Continue with what you are doing and focus on the topics that you enjoy and your writing will develop from there.
I don't believe in bad stories and good stories. It is impossible to please everyone. In any case, why don't you try sharing your work here at W&A? Many members would love to read it and give an opinion.