You’ve got a fantastic idea for a novel. It’s been hanging around for quite a while, knocking inside your noggin. The idea keeps saying, “Let me out! Release me! Put me in a book!”
Maybe there’s a scene in your head that plays like a video, with every detail of the setting right there, as if it’s on a screen. You know those characters. They’re like real people to you.
But you’ve never had the time to write it all down.
Now you do.
So here you are, finally banging out that scene. And another. And pretty soon you’ve written 10,000, maybe 15,000 words of brilliant, deathless prose. It almost wrote itself. Wow. That was almost too easy.
It IS brilliant, isn’t it?
Well, maybe not. Maybe what’s on the page isn’t quite as good it seemed when you were in the zone.
In fact, it could be terrible. What if you have no talent for writing at all? Maybe you should be in the living room doing that kitten jigsaw puzzle with Grandma instead. How do you know if you’re any good?
You’ll have to ask somebody knowledgeable. Like a published author.
And this — this is when you fall down the rabbit hole.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Oh I experienced some brutal critiques and reviews on my first book . However, I also received some really good reviews. Luckily I have thick skin ! I am learning to pitch a book, not having to really pay an editor and I am going to take an editing class myself to polish up on those skills. Writing is a learning curve. Some people will love it and some people will not
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Reblogged this on Just Can't Help Writing and commented:
Every time I read one of Anne R. Allen’s columns, I learn and relearn so many valuable principles–and I just have to share. I’ve sort of learned a lot that she talks about in this piece ( for example, not getting stuck on your first chapter, looking for advice too early, looking for advice from the wrong people), but these reminders are incredibly helpful as well as inspiring. What I need to hear most: In first drafts, the answer is “Just write.”
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