They liked it? They really, actually liked it? (#IWSG)

If you’ve hung out on my blog much, you know that I participate in the monthly IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of each month, I and my fellow insecure writers post something related to writing, and other insecure writers visit and maybe even leave a comment. That tiny bit of validation helps sooth our insecurities.

The helpful hosts of the IWSG even give us an optional question to respond to, just in case our insecurity is seasoned with writer’s block. This month’s question is: Have any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn’t expect? If so, did it surprise you?

One of the many wonderful things about the IWSG is that it’s aptly-named. I don’t think I’ve ever met a writer who wasn’t insecure. I suppose secure writers exist, in the same way that aliens probably exist, but there’s no actual proof. If I had to guess, I’d bet Stephen King is a secure writer. Or an alien. Or maybe both.

Those of us who aren’t Stephen King wallow in our insecurities like pigs in… well, you get the idea. We offer up our words to the world the way a kid touches an electric fence on a dare: eyes shut tight, hand outstretched, face contorted in preparation for the coming pain. We submit work for critique and brace ourselves for the response. We hire editors, then cringe when we open their emails. We submit the story and expect the rejection.

So yes, readers have responded to my writing in ways that I didn’t expect.

They liked it.

This isn’t false modesty, nor is it fishing for compliments. I know I’m a halfway decent writer (sometimes, with enough revision). But there’s still a part of me that’s surprised–and delighted–every time someone tells me they enjoyed something I wrote. I bask in the praise. I wallow in it, like a pig in… well, you get the idea.

But then the insecurity creeps back in. Maybe the person is just being nice. Maybe they didn’t really critique it seriously. Maybe the publication that accepted my story doesn’t have very high standards. And on and on.

I quickly forget the kind words, but I remember the criticism. Every. single. word. I let those words rattle around in my brain, feeding my insecurity till it grows and swells and threatens to rupture like an abscess and leave behind a pus-filled crater where my creativity used to be. Why yes, I am being over-dramatic. I’m a writer. It’s kind of my thing.

But today I’m not only going to remember some kind words, I’m going to etch them into the permanency of the interwebs, right here in this post. I’m going to share with you the most surprising feedback I’ve ever received on a piece of writing.

Last year I entered a post-apocalyptic short story called, “Collateral Damage,” in the Arizona Authors Association annual literary contest. It won first prize, which was surprising in itself. Authors can pay a fee to receive critiques from the judges, and I did that, because even though I cringe when I receive them, I find critiques to be incredibly helpful. Here are the first two paragraphs of the most detailed–and positive–critique I received:

At the risk of giving the writer a “swelled head,” so be it! It is most well-deserved in this instance. “Collateral Damage” is a tour-de-force of creative writing. Riveting from the beginning and compelling throughout, this story of a phlegmy, post-apocalyptic survivor is a testament to this writer’s talent for dialogue, character, description and timing. Given the subject matter, it is even more telling of the writer’s instinct and proficiency is [sic] his ability to walk the very fine line between homage and cliché.

Next, the hyper-masculine voice of the main character, Walt, deserves particular praise and the author delivers it with almost graphic novel aplomb. Sounding like an updated version of a Raymond Chandler tough guy detective, the rat-a-tat-tat rhythm of the dialogue is so evocative, one could easily imagine the craggy, mature faces of the late Robert Mitchum, Clint Eastwood, the late Steve McQueen, the late Charlton Heston or even Harrison Ford carrying off the lines with a gritty, clenched-jaw realism.”

I got compared to Raymond Chandler, y’all! And the critique included the word tour-de-force! And graphic novel aplomb! (I want a t-shirt that reads, “Tour-de-force with graphic novel aplomb”)

So am I using this month’s prompt as an excuse to brag? Well… yeah, I guess I am. It’s my blog, I’ll brag if I want to.

But seriously, I’m also using this month’s prompt as an excuse to focus–for once–on the positive rather than the “constructive” feedback. We insecure writer types don’t do that enough. So I’m gonna wallow in that tour-de-force graphic novel Raymond Chandler stuff like a pig in… well, you get the idea.

p.s. If you’d like to read my “tour-de-force of creative writing,” you can find “Collateral Damage” in the 2021 Arizona Literary Magazine [Amazon affiliate link]. Profits go to the Arizona Authors Association.

p.p.s. I really, *really* want Harrison Ford to play Walt in the movie version of “Collateral Damage.” Harrison, have your people call my people.