Now Receiving: February's Chatterbox!

Charmings sirs and madams, it is my pleasure to announce February's topic for Chatterbox! I am going to be a pill and not let you write about love in this month of romantic frippery. I am much too independent & etc. to let you off that easy. No, February's topic for the Chatterbox event will be...

Criticism

Criticism is one of those things that you can't live without. Want to move ahead in your life? Want to develop your character and fulfill your goals and live a life actually worth living? Criticism is going to be a big part of that along the way. It's not always fun or easy to hear. As writers, we often have it even tougher than many people because we succumb ourselves to criticism every time we submit a manuscript, send out our novels to beta-readers, or win a contest. I was handed a file full of criticism (gentle and helpful criticism but still criticism) for The Windy Side of Care and asked to perform surgery on my brain-child. I know it's going to make TWC that much better; I am excited to begin polishing this story for publication. It's all good, but it's all criticism. And that's only one area in my life.

Your characters are going to encounter criticism in your novel. At least, they better. Maybe it's unsought criticism; maybe they asked for it and didn't expect their listener to actually let loose with a broken dam of thoughts on the topic. Critics can be your best friend or your worst enemy...a delicate balance of vital help that can drag you into failure or into success depending on how much you trust, apply, let go, or deny. What a witch's brew. As always, link up with your posts below. I am looking forward to reading this topic! :)