Writing Feedback

Getting out of my comfort zone this past week has brought me some surprise feedback.  It was an email, and not a super long one, and yet it totally clicked something in my head.

As a writer, I always think about how a character is portrayed, but sometimes I get nailed down into the "what I want readers to feel" and those two things are NOT always the same. Sometimes, they go hand-in-hand, but not always.

This email made me really think about my first chapter, hell--my opening paragraphs--and how exactly I wanted the MC to come across. It made me think about some traits that I wouldn't necessarily have thought about right off the bat. And best of all, I think it made that chapter SO SO much better after I made changes using that info. 

I wish that I had waited on a sub a little bit longer, so that I could have subbed the new chapter because while the changes themselves were minor they make such a difference in how the character is perceived and related to.  But that's part of this, I guess. Even when we think we're done, we find something or get some awesome surprise feedback that takes it to that next level. 

Anyway, I hope you all are having a great week!