E is for... the ELEPHANT in the Room


"An Elephant in the room"

(Phrase) - An important and obvious topic, which everyone present is or should be aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable or inappropriate.

More often than not, people fail to notice something that's obvious to others who aren't so familiar with the storyline. Have you overlook something? Have you maybe added a redundant character? Have you (hopefully) unintentionally ripped off a character, plot, location, etc.. from an existing story? (That young Wizard in your story named Larry Trotter might not be so original after all.)

Do you have an elephant in the room in your writing? Can you even spot it if it's there? Do you have critiquing partners who will be honest with you.. or are they afraid of hurting your feelings?
Because of the self-induced blindness to our own creations, we all have need of new eyes, to give our work a once-over.. with a critical eye towards any transitory pachyderms who may have taken up residence.. but the key word there is "critical".

The best piece of advice I've ever received as a writer pissed me off... for about 5 minutes. Then I noticed the elephant tracks all throughout my manuscript.

So to my CP with the strengh to be honest. "Thank You!"



Comments

  1. I forgot to ever describe what my main character looked like and never noticed since I, of course, already know what he looks like. Hey there elephant.
    Happy A-Z blogging.

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  2. A good point to make. Thanks for the advice, it makes me even more determined to use a couple of critique partners before publishing next time.

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  3. My brother and I did this for each other when we were younger, I haven't been writing lately but plan to get back into it...I also had another friend who was an english major I learned a lot from her critiques.

    http://leasenchantedcloth.blogspot.com

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