Safiya Robinson
Journal roundup
A few reflections from the annual roundup of wisdom and challenges in the writing journal, Mslexia.
Reading about other writers’ experiences and tips, studying the short stories and poems that win competitions, helps me identify my own strengths and weaknesses. And every year confirms my own inability to comprehend the art of short fiction or poetry!
It also reminds me that in order to get full-length novels accepted and promoted and marketed you need the persistence of a terrier, the hide of a rhinocerus, and the confidence (?pedigree) of a thoroughbred horse. At least the goalposts were there for non-fiction which I had relative success with. But when it comes to the world of fiction … goalposts? What goalposts?! Perfection is always another draft away.
It’s an ongoing personal challenge, but I can at least share a few gems that really resonated:
Striving for perfection will trample your happiness as a writer faster than anything else. The pressure we put ourselves under is exhausting. And it’s unsustainable.
Sian Meades-Williams
In assessing the quality of a story there are five elements that must be satisfied:
Characterisation: the ability to bring realistic, consistent, multi-dimensional people to the page.
Shape: the relationship between idea and form and the ability to pace the story, the interplay between background context and forward motion, to end with meaning,
Technical ability: the guts of a sentence well constructed.
Voice: musicality, tone and vocabulary,
Spirit: passion made concrete, gumption, spark. Fiction confidently expressing truth.
Leone Ross
At its heart, feeling successful is about fulfilling a commitment you have made – to yourself, to your creativity, to your project.
Safiya Robinson
Dissatisfaction is a writer’s greatest gift.
Elle Nash
Onwards and upwards!