On Authorial Integrity

In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* On Authorial Integrity

Quote of the Day

“Never share your work in progress with anyone until it’s finished.” Not attributed to anyone in particular, but passed along by pretty much every creative writing instructor ever.

On Authorial Integrity

or Tricks of the Creative Subconscious

This is for those of you who implicitly trust your characters and yourself and who write into the dark (and those who aspire to WITD).

A couple of days ago my friend Authorial Integrity slapped me hard across the face and told me to wake the hell up. It was rude, but effective, and the result was an epiphany that edged my writing up onto a new plane.

First, to define authorial integrity: The fiction writer’s steadfast, absolute resolve to convey and present to readers the actual, authentic story that unfolds around the writer as the writer races through the story with the characters.

If you write into the dark, 99% of the time, maintaining authorial integrity s easy enough to do. Whether you can do it depends solely on how much you’re able to bring yourself to trust your characters and the story.

But here I’m talking about the other 1% of time, and this is that epiphany I mentioned above.

We’ve all heard the advice to “Never share your work in progress with anyone until it’s finished.” Most often, I’ve heeded that advice. And the few times I shared a work in progress, that sharing didn’t create an issue.

(As an aside, I’ve related here before how a few years ago I shared a WIP with a fellow writer. He made a comment re “one way it could end,” and as a result I had to put the WIP away for several months before I was able to get that advice out of my head and let the story take its own course. But even then I didn’t quite ‘get it’ re authorial integrity.)

But in this particular case, I shared part of my work in progress and starkly learned WHY all the pundits say sharing a WIP is a bad idea.

As it turns out we don’t only have to be aware of and push down the conscious, critical mind while we’re writing.

As it turns out we also have to listen for those usually much quieter little whispers from the creative subconscious. Because sometimes, those will also lead us to stray from the path of the authentic story. And because the whisper was so quiet, we might not even notice.

I’m convinced this is the root of the adage to “Never share your work in progress.”

Why? Because occasionally the person you share it with will innocently comment, and that comment, like everything else you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or feel emotionally sinks straight into your creative subconscious.

Again, usually that doesn’t matter. But sometimes (that 1% of time again), some of it bridges over to the conscious, critical mind, and without realizing it, you shift the story to satisfy that wayward comment.

Did you get that?

I didn’t say “the story shifts.” I said “YOU shift the story.”

And just like that, the story goes off in a different direction, one that is neither authentic nor true to the characters, the story, the character arc, etc.

And all because

• you shared your WIP,

• the listener or reader commented,

• the comment took root in your creative subconscious, then

• bridged over to shake the shoulder of your slumbering conscious, critical mind,

• who then woke up and whispered, “Hey, this is a great idea. Shift the story in this direction.”

And you did.

Now, I’m fully aware that my sharing my own epiphanies and learning curves with you somehow lessens me in your opinion of me as a fiction writer. That’s fine, and I don’t mind. Per another old adage, familiarity breeds contempt. (grin)

But I set up TNDJ to be forthright and honest and to share my own glitches and adjustments and failures with you to help cut YOUR learning curve. And the “contempt” is worth it because I wish someone had done that for me.

So I’ll be back in the next few days with a specific example of how very wrong a seemingly authentic story can go as a result of sharing your WIP. And how wonderful it is to realize what went wrong, return to the authentic story, and allow the characters to “fix” it.

As Paul wrote to some group (the Corinthians?) let s/he who has ears listen.