Do You Show your Stuff or Not?

[aeriedraconia.livejournal.com]

Do you show anyone your writing while you're working on it or do you wait until you've finished? Do you share immediately upon finishing or do you wait until you've been able to give it a second going over or final polish?

Comments

[aeriedraconia.livejournal.com]

I don't let anyone read my WIP anymore because my rough drafts are really rough and I need to let them be rough so I can get the ideas out of my head and on to the paper. I discovered that if I received feedback too early (even very good feedback) it put me in edit mode and that interfered with me getting the story down.

[indicinderelly.livejournal.com]

I share pieces of something in progress, if I need help making it fit/work/flow. In general, as a whole though, I don't ask anyone to read until I have something complete (be it a complete chapter or a complete story) and it's been proofread at least once by me.

[baltimoreandme.livejournal.com]

One thing I've noticed about livejournal is that it breaks down the show/don't show barrier. I journal my notes, as well as drafts and finished stories - and I've gotten comments from friends on my notes and rough drafts, which can be fun. But in general, I don't post to communities or ask for feedback unless I have a complete, edited, and somewhat polished draft.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, I let my sister read while I'm writing. Depends on the project. Sometimes, I don't let anyone read until I'm done and edited at least once.

However, having said that, I don't really have anyone interested in reading even when I finish. :D

So, usually, I just move on and write something else.

[dreaming-knight.livejournal.com]

I like to have people read my work usually . I like the feedback and help in the editing department :-p

[woodrunner.livejournal.com]

In a word, no. I don't show anything while I'm writing it, at least not beyond the occasional snippet, and those snippets usually don't reveal too much of what I'm working on. The bra and panties don't get flashed at people until I've put the flab through the exercise machine and it looks half-decent in a bathing suit.


The novel that's out went through this process:

The verbal diarrhea that makes it on the page for the first time? No.

The second time when I make an attempt to fix the plot because there was no plot? No.

The third, fourth and fifth times, which are false starts of the highest order, until I realize that number six fixes all ailments? No.

The sixth one, which is unpolished, and becomes number seven after I fix some glaring errors and put in some additional points that I forgot on the first go through? Yes.

Yes, because by that point I no longer recognize the errors nor what's missing in the whole manuscript, and I need New Pairs of Eyes.

[jediknightmuse.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think that unless I was writing a story that was short on purpose, I would never have anything to show. I really...have a hard time actually finishing novels/novel attempts. I usually get a new idea, which ends up making me work on that instead of my current WIP, or I just get stuck and give up.

For me, I feel like I have to show people, especially online, my writing in order to get feedback. I don't have any friends in real life that enjoy writing like I do (well, I sort of do...but they're starting college and whatnot this year, so it's a little harder for me to meet up with them or anything, though we're going to try), so having people online read my writing and giving critiques it pretty much the only way I can get readers that are interested in what I write.

I've become a little more cautious when it comes to posting my writing online, but other than that I don't mind posting it, really. There are some message boards and one community on LJ that I made for myself that I post my thoughts and chapters and whatnot in, but other than that I don't post it too many places unless I find a place I'd really like to post it. Fictionpress, for example, is not a place I would post my writing (that I plan on publishing) unless it's a short story that I'm just posting for fun or something. The reviews I've gotten there from people haven't been the greatest and have sometimes been insulting (although they were given when my writing really wasn't that great, and I believe I've improved a hell of a lot more since then). Plus, it can be ridiculously hard to actually get a decent review that isn't "zomg I liked this, keep posting more!!!!!!!" on that site. Same goes with Fanfiction.net (which is far worse for the fandom I write in), but that's a different subject. XD

[jl-johnson.livejournal.com]

I don't show anything until it's done. To me there's no point in letting someone read a half finished story, just because, well, it's not finished.

[amethystrse.livejournal.com]

It really depends. I've shown the epilogue to oh so many people but I won't show the rest of the novel except to a few people. *shrugs* Mostly my husband reads my stuff for me. He's my best critic. I know he'll be honest, even if it's something I don't want to hear.

[plum-newtype.livejournal.com]

It depends on what project I'm working on.
I've sorted out the projects into classes :B

[secret-vice.livejournal.com]

I don't like to show much of what I'm currently working on unless it's finished.