WIPpet Wednesday: How fast can planes fly?

Blog_wippet

Happy Wednesday!

A question for all you writers out there: Do you ever get nervous about showing other people your writing?

The reason why I ask is that, now that I am about 99.9% done my novel, my friends and family (aka. my beta-readers) are asking to read it. And that terrifies me.

I mean, on one hand, I want to share with others what I’ve been working on for the past year. I am proud of my novel and I believe that people will enjoy reading it.

On the other hand, my novel is not perfect. Although this is the 4th draft, I know for a fact that there are inconsistencies and spelling/grammar errors abound! Some scenes are unnecessary! Some scenes I don’t even like! There are so many things that I want to go back and tweak! (Which is why I wrote the 2nd and 3rd and 4th draft without showing anyone…)

I swear, this will be a conversation between me and my (future) grandchild:

Grandkid: Gramma, when can I read your story?

Me: Hang on, dear, I will show you once I finish my 96th draft…

No kidding :’)

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Today’s snippet takes place shortly after Matt meets Olivia. Matt’s usual babysitter, Tanya, is away, and Olivia offers to look after his daughter for the evening. Matt and his daughter clean their apartment before she arrives.

Matt arranges the shoes neatly on the shoe rack, while Zelda picks up pencil crayons and plastic bags from the floor. Then, Matt pulls out the vacuum from the cupboard.

โ€œDaddy, why do we gotta clean before Olivia comes?โ€ Zelda asks.

He pauses before inserting the plug into the wall socket. โ€œWell,โ€ He says. โ€œThatโ€™s because Olivia is a guest. We want her to feel comfortable at our house, right? When you go to Tiffanyโ€™s house, is it clean?โ€

โ€œYeah. But Tiffanyโ€™s house has a cleaning person who does all the cleaning. Can we have a cleaning person?โ€

Thatโ€™s not a surprise. Tiffanyโ€™s family lives in a penthouse on Bay Street. Matt and Zelda, on the other hand, lives in a five-story walk-up.

โ€œMaybe one day, Z.โ€

โ€œWhy donโ€™t we clean before Tanya comes?โ€ Zelda asks.

โ€œWell,โ€ he says, stretching out the word. Theyโ€™ve been used to Tanya coming over to babysit that heโ€™s been slack with the cleaning. โ€œLook, Z, a plane!โ€ He points out the window.

โ€œOh, really?โ€

She races over and leans over the windowsill, looking up at the sky. โ€œThereโ€™s no plane, Daddy.โ€

โ€œOh gee,โ€ Matt says. โ€œI guess it went by too quickly. You know how fast planes can fly?โ€

โ€œHmm,โ€ Zelda says. She turns back around, pressing a finger to her lips. โ€œAs fast as a car? As fast as a train?โ€

WIPpet Math: 10 (for October) + 2 (for 2nd Wednesday of the month) = 12 paragraphs

WIPpet Wednesdaysย is a blog hop where writers can share a snippet from their WIP. The only stipulation is that the excerpt is somehow related to the date.ย Be sure to check out some of the other lovely WIPpet snippetsย here. Thank youย Emily Wrayburnย for hosting.

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Are you nervous about sharing your writing with others? Do you clean before guests arrive?

35 responses to “WIPpet Wednesday: How fast can planes fly?”

  1. Yes, always.. it’s making me uneasy to share my writings to others, it’s like opening, exposing yourself to everyone. But sometimes, it’s good to share.. Their reactions and praises are more than enough to motivate me to write moreโ€ฆ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜…

    And yeah, congrats with your novel!!๐Ÿ˜Šโค
    Actually, one of my goal is to write one and for it to be published. I know it’s a bit impossible base on my age. But I stl believe I can do it..๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜… I tried to write manuscripts a lot of times but I don’t know, I just can’t finish it..
    A few advices from you would be much appreciated๐Ÿ˜โคโค

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hello! I completely agree that hearing peopleโ€™s reactions and encouragement is motivating ๐Ÿ™‚ thatโ€™s how Iโ€™ve felt since starting this blog and posting snippets of my novel.

      Thank you! If you want to write a novel, go for it!! Your age doesnโ€™t limit you from what you want to accomplish! If anything, getting started early gives you a head start to becoming a better writer! If you are looking for a challenge to motivate you to finish a novel, I would highly recommend nanowrimo! (If you havenโ€™t heard, this is a challenge to write a 50k word novel in 30 days) I wasnโ€™t able to finish a novel before, until I started doing this challenge ๐Ÿ™‚ Happy writing!! And thank you so much for dropping by and leaving this thoughtful comment โค

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you!!๐Ÿ˜โค I will definitely try thatโ€ฆ๐Ÿ˜Š

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Hope you do!! It is actually in November. The website is nanowrimo.org if you are interested! I love that there are so many people around the world doing this challenge, so you are not alone. A lot of the other bloggers I know are doing this too ๐Ÿ™‚

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      3. I’m not a fan of negativity but I think I can’t finish something until november.. But I’ll still try..๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜…

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I actually starts in November! On November 1st, everyone starts writing their novel. And you finish on Nov 30 ๐Ÿ™‚

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      5. Oh ๐Ÿ˜‚ okay I’ll give it a try. i just signed up..

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Yay!!!!!! Good luck!!! โค looking forward to hearing about how it goes ๐Ÿ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Thank you!!! ๐Ÿ˜Š good luck to your novel too!๐Ÿ˜‡โค

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      8. Thank you โค

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Haha, gotta love a good old distraction technique. *sigh* My kids don’t usually fall for them. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m always nervous about showing other people my writing. Still, and I published my first novel in 2014. Especially people I actually know, it’s a little easier to have strangers read it. It’s easier to brush off a stranger saying it’s crap than if someone I care about told me the same thing.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Fallon! I feel the same way. Oddly enough, I donโ€™t mind the thought of sharing my writing with strangers that I havenโ€™t talked to. Itโ€™s sharing with people that I know that is difficult! I am a bit surprised to hear that you feel nervous even though youโ€™ve published a novel before. I guess it is something that doesnโ€™t go away :โ€™)

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  3. Oh I am ALWAYS nervous to show other people my writing. I almost never do, actually – well, not for now. I’m just too nervous that it will all suck and that I’ll feel like I have failed and everything else, ahah, all of the writers’ doubts are terrible, ahah. I know that I’ll make other people read it eventually, just because I’m curious for their feedback, but yes, THE NERVES ahah.
    I love that snippet, ahah, adorable โค

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You describe how I feel exactly! I get very excited thinking that people will read what I write (finally! After so much hard work!) but it is nerve-wracking. Looks like this is a common sentiment among writers, so we are not alone ๐Ÿ™‚ I guess we will have to eventually overcome our doubts?

      Glad that you love this snippet!! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I guess we will, someday. Or doubt will always be here, but we’ll still manage to make other people read it. It’ll be a huge step already ahah ๐Ÿ™‚

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      2. Yes! They say that being brave is not about being unafraid, but about still going forward despite fear ๐Ÿ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

  4. LOL! Nice segue, Matt. Good thing Zelda’s still young enough for that to work.

    I always get nervous about putting my work out there for people to see. My beta readers have all been excellent writers themselves, so it’s nail-biting time when I know that I have scenes I hate or clunky phrasing I might have missed. And what if my story is bad? Or my characters are unlikable? Even when people I know personally are reading, I get so anxious about it. And then I remember…everyone feels this way. I’ll bet even famous authors who have been at it their whole lives still feel that way.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thatโ€™s exactly how I feel! I am terrified that my story is bad, or that I will offend someone without meaning to. I am a bit surprised that you feel similarly, since it seems like youโ€™ve published a few novels already! But I think you are right that even famous writers might have this fear as well ๐Ÿ™‚

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  5. Oh I love the idea of this blog hop! I’ll definitely have to participate in the future! And I’m DEFINITELY nervous about sharing my writing with others! I’ve never done it before and it just seems so scary ๐Ÿ˜‚ Anyway, thanks for sharing a snippet of your WIP! I actually really enjoyed reading it and I can’t wait to see more in your next WIP blog hop post ๐Ÿ’“

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Jackie!! I really hope you will participate in this blog hop! I always look forward to making a WIPpet post because I am excited to hear other peopleโ€™s reactions to my snippets! It is also fun to read a bit about everyone elseโ€™s stories! And it is a small group so I got to know the other writers quite well ๐Ÿ™‚ they are a kind and supportive group!

      Iโ€™m glad that Iโ€™m not the only one scared about sharing my writing :โ€™) I donโ€™t mind a snippet here and there like for these posts but sharing an entire novel is completely different! Glad that you like this post and thank you for dropping by โค

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, that smol little groups sounds like so much fun! I’ll definitely participate in the future!

        Exactly! Even just sharing my IDEAS seems so scary to me but let’s hope I’ll get over that fear soon enough XD you’re welcome!

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      2. Haha yes I know what you mean! I even get nervous about telling my friends what my story is about, never mind showing them the actual story ๐Ÿ™‚ Iโ€™m sure these things take time to get used to!

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  6. Lol! Guilty on both accounts! It took me years before I decided to share what I’ve written with others. And I always seem to do some last moment tidying up when guests arrive!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lol ๐Ÿ™‚ I am glad to not be the only one!!
      PS. I just wrote the last word of my novel!!

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      1. Ohhh!!! That’s awesome!!! Congratulations!!! ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿ˜˜

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      2. Thank you!!!!! ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚

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  7. Oh, yes, sharing my writing with family makes me nervous, I have to see them at least semi-regularly after all. But it’s not the same feeling as sharing my work online in small amounts. Online, I can delete comments if I want (though I never had deleted anything aside from spam) and reply as needed. Don’t expect wonders from family and friends, and they don’t necessarily make the best betas, so keep your expectations low in that regard. (voice of experience) Just do the absolute best you can and know that, eventually, the work will land in a, hopefully, good editor’s hands for tweaking. Keep writing, Sophie. I mean it. Keep going, but work past the nervousness. It’s just nerves, not the end of it all. People are going to both like and dislike your work. It happens, and you’ll learn a lot about them based on their responses.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much for your encouraging comment Jeanne โค

      You are right about normalizing expectations about friends and family. To be absolutely honest, some of my friends donโ€™t like reading on a regular basis, so I am expecting that they may not finish the book. My family are very conservative and traditional in their thinking so I will probably not show them my story until it is very, very polished. I will probably make a post next week here to see if anyone from the blogging community would want to give it a try ๐Ÿ™‚

      That is good advice about working past the nervousness ๐Ÿ™‚ and you are right that there will always be people who like or dislike a piece of work, no matter how great an author is.

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  8. Sharing my work makes me incredibly nervous!! I always think other people’s work is better than mine and that they automatically won’t like it! I’ve done some workshopping in my uni course so that’s certainly helped ๐Ÿ™‚ I guess once you get started it won’t be as stressful as the first time you do it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Charlotte! Yes I think as writers we are a bit harsh on ourselves. Thatโ€™s great that the workshops helped! I havenโ€™t been to a writing workshop before but I do want to give it a try ๐Ÿ™‚

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  9. I definitely get scared to share my writing (so nervous I rarely do it)- but it’s so good that you do it! It’s good to get over that hurdle sooner rather than later tbh. Nice snippet!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚ It seems to be a common thing among writers to be nervous about sharing their writing haha… and I do think that it is something that we will have to overcome by pushing ourselves to the deep end of the pool ๐Ÿ™‚ I do want to read your writing someday!

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      1. You’re welcome! I totally get that! hehe thank you!

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  10. Yep, me too! My husband is my very first reader, and he’s tactful but his facial expressions are not. I’m glad, though. I can take it better from him than anyone else, but I’m still a wreck – if he doesn’t like it, no-one else will… It’s got to be a good thing we feel like this, right?

    I love Matt’s distraction technique. Kids ask such difficult questions! It’s another great snippet. I don’t think you have anything to fear when, you know, you let your grandchild read draft #96. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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    1. I absolutely get what you mean. My fiancรฉ is the only person who has read draft 1 and draft 3 of my story, and even though I know him very well, it is still nerve wracking to show him! Haha maybe it is good that we feel nervous about showing our writing to others- because of this we want to make sure our work is as perfect as possible ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thank you for your sweet comment Debbie โค ๐Ÿ™‚

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