Critiques and Introspection

I sent a Query Letter to a Literary Agent recently for my story, The Land of the Wooden Statues. I got a rejection saying that this story is far too short for a Young Adult audience. After thinking and meditating about it, this agent was absolutely correct. I started to analyze the story and realized that I pretty much rushed through so much of it. For example, in the story, a built up this evil and nasty place that the characters get thrown into, but I only gave it one chapter. The story does indeed move hurriedly, and it is a problem with my writing. This critique really made me analyze things, and I need to allow the story to breathe at times.

There is a connection here with the martial art that I practice, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Rushing things in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will get me swept, out of position or submitted. Pretty much, mistakes are made when one rushes things. It applies to martial arts, and it applies just as aptly to writing a story as well. With writing, rushing things will not allow the audience to really soak in and digest any big events or battles that happen in the story. Instead, it is on to the next thing.

I have learned to take criticism a lot better with my stories and learn from them. This particular criticism turned on a light bulb for me, and it has made me look at The Mustard Prince and where things need to breathe with that story. I thought that there wasn’t much else that needed to be said in The Land of the Wooden Statues, but I was wrong about that. Hopefully, after adding a few things here and there that it will be a much stronger story.