Yesterday, Clare alerted us to a great discussion about how professional writers create by listening to an inner voice. It occurred to me that we also need to develop another “inner ear”, one that can discern whether our own work rises to the level of being publishable.

It’s difficult to tell someone their work isn’t ready for publication, or even submission. I ran into this situation the other day. A friend told me (breathless with excitement) that she’d signed up for an agent pitch session at an upcoming conference. 

“You’re pitching your XYZ manuscript?” I asked in disbelief.

A happy nod. “I finished it over the weekend,” she said.

Cowardly Lion here didn’t tell her friend the truth–that her project is not ready. It’s nowhere near ready.

It’s interesting to note that this same writer friend can provide a keen analysis of other people’s writing. Just not her own.

I wonder if we all tend to have a blind spot for our own writing. Perhaps the way we “hear” our writing is influenced by the way it unfolds within our imagination. Stories can live so vividly inside our noggins. Unfortunately, there’s a huge leap between seeing a  story in the imagination, and conveying it successfully on the page.

Bridging that gap is a critical part of the writer’s job. 

Have you ever sensed you had a “blind spot” for something in your own writing? How did you correct it?