A Positive Spin

The two Ja(y)nes from Dear Author
reviewed Bodyguard. You can find the review here.

In my opinion, it really wasn't as scathing as much as it was honest. So it rankled a little. Okay, maybe it rankled a lot. *g* I'm only human. You all know an author's book is born from blood, sweat and tears. Ergo, a bad review hits home hard. Yadda, yadda, blah, blah. I won't belabor that point. We've all been there, done that.

However, I'm not one to fire back a nasty note or email to the reviewer and contest whatever was found objectionable or lacking in the story. I've always accepted the good and the bad. Comes with the territory, trust me. If I let a bad review get me down, I'll never get up. *g*

I sat down with my dinner and read the review over. I thought of my story, and what I could have done better. I've only been writing for a few years, folks. I have a lot of learning (still) to do, not that it's an excuse. But I did establish the fact that Paige was sexually repressed and that at the time of witnessing the murder, had already decided to make some very important changes in her life. Okay, so maybe it wasn't plausible that Paige thought the killer wouldn't come after her (Jayne thought she was an idiot for thinking that). But Paige was a really late bloomer, having finished college at 16 and then had gone on to study medicine. She didn't experience the whole teenage hot and heavy sexual phase, the parties, the dating, the sexual experimenting. Maybe I didn't establish that fact about Paige as well as I thought. My Mom would probably shake her head and say I haven't learned a damn thing from her.

You see, my dear Mom used to be a screenwriter. As a young girl, I used to read over her shoulder as she wrote her soap opera screenplay because I just couldn't stand not knowing what happened next to her characters. My point is, early on in life, I've learned to establish, establish, establish. To set up, to begin, to be let known. This was one of my Mom's cardinal rules of characterization. Establish something about the main character so that when an action is done, it won't seem to be strange, weird, or worse, out of character.

Looking back, maybe I wasn't clear enough in establishing Paige's character. Maybe it wasn't realistic of me to think that a person would react that way after witnessing a murder. Maybe my mindset is not as common as I'd thought. I'm forever on a learning curve, folks. We all learn something new every day. Having said that, I'm proud of having written Bodyguard, a book that (most) people liked and sold fairly well.

Reviews are subjective. It's a person's opinion of the story. I respect Jayne's opionion about Bodyguard. I only hope that she won't write me off and swear never to come near any of my books again. *g* My only regret? I wish Jayne would have given Bodyguard a chance and read it to the end. Maybe she still would have hated it. Then again, maybe not. Still, thanks for the review, Jayne.

And really, Jayne's comments weren't all negative. She did say she enjoyed my writing style and that I conveyed emotion and tension well (again--thanks, Mom!).

By the way, I've been thinking. Which is better? DNF review or F review? Food for thought--for me. For my sake, I prefer to think DNF is better. LOL. Makes me feel better.