What's shaken me is my apparent lack of ability to figure out on my own what isn't working. Maybe that's not the awful thing I fear it is. Maybe that's why God Made Editors. But I always seem to insert these major pieces that just don't work, and someone else always seems to have to break the news. I may sense that these pieces aren't as strong as they need to be, but I don't consider that they're unfixable. Even when they are
A different editor may or may not feel the same way, different people do have different perspectives and opinions. On the other hand, one's own prose, one tends to be too close to to see all that objectively..
But different people do bring different perspectives to the same writing. I've heard two different people have totally different opinions of whether someone in a story works or doesn't work--the difference is between the readers and their tastes and views in such cases much more than the written words. What one person finds brilliant and wonderful, can be completely boring to someone else, from perspectives of taste and interest and focus.
Much/most of that is subjective, not objective. Tech writing one can sometimes say, "there need to be metrics in this, to be able to do quantitative measurement." When it comes to fiction writing, though, most of the measures are qualitative, not quantitative, and subjective, not objective.
no subject
A different editor may or may not feel the same way, different people do have different perspectives and opinions. On the other hand, one's own prose, one tends to be too close to to see all that objectively..
But different people do bring different perspectives to the same writing. I've heard two different people have totally different opinions of whether someone in a story works or doesn't work--the difference is between the readers and their tastes and views in such cases much more than the written words. What one person finds brilliant and wonderful, can be completely boring to someone else, from perspectives of taste and interest and focus.
Much/most of that is subjective, not objective. Tech writing one can sometimes say, "there need to be metrics in this, to be able to do quantitative measurement." When it comes to fiction writing, though, most of the measures are qualitative, not quantitative, and subjective, not objective.