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Road Rage — No Comments

  1. Interesting analogy. I'm sure it can work, though I haven't really experienced that myself, I also don't travel much on the online writer's highway or whatever the hell you want to call it, so that may have something to do with it.

  2. I think you've drawn a good comparison here, Darla. As with the anonymous drivers you see on the road, it's hard to derive motivation from simple action. What you see on the road, or what you read in an email or critique can be merely the tip of the iceberg.

    It sounds like you're finding the right balance for yourself, though – putting yourself out there, but having the support system in place to keep any one incident from causing too much damage.

    Thank you for sharing this, Darla! I'm glad to hear you plan to keep on driving down the writer's road.

  3. Hey Darla, I belong to an online poetry site that has this board called the Axe ~shudders at the thought~ I put a poem in there once, for some help and got my poem chopped to pieces, re-written ten ways from here to Texas and back and some. I am so against critique that implies that everyone elses way of writing what you wrote is better than yours. Grrrrr! Sure there is always room for suggestions, but not flat out rewrites that change what you were saying.

    There, finally got that out. Wow, that feels good! (actually said it on the poetry site too, perhaps not so vehemently.)

    Excellent post, I can surely relate! :))

  4. I agree with Eaton. We had a rousing discussion about that yesterday, actually, in my critique group. Some people are so enamored of their own opinions that they don't know when to stop giving them, and that can be damaging even to the most ego-strong among us.

    Another thing I find interesting to remember: it's ALWAYS easier to edit than it is to create. It's one of those, "you can't rock the boat if you're rowing" things. For that reason, I am always careful about where I put my material up for review and critique, because you never know if the person on the other end of the interwebs is a rower or a passenger in search of a bar brawl.

  5. I've never been good with analogy, so I appreciate the great comments. I'm also glad to have brought any little bit of catharsis. Happy writing!