Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Polymath:

I knew from some of your previous posts how intelligent and well-informed you are (and yes I am speaking directly to the writer and not to the writing!). I believe there is not enough kindness in the world, so I appreciated your post very much. It's always a judgement call about what to offer in terms of what you think is wrong with another's work. My own experience in my writers group has been that there must be a certain level of trust established with the other members before really tough things can be said. I must trust the other writers on a human level first, knowing that they mean me no harm, but are only making suggestions about things they feel would improve the story. And, the approach taken is so important. We like and respect one another and that makes all the difference.

GeeGee55,

Rapport maybe, preferably for workshopping writing, the one most essential element every story needs. Trust, no, rarely. I've been burned too many times. The only trust I have in people in general is they will be true to themselves with little or no regard for me personally. The exceptions are my few true and trustworthy friends.

I guess I've been lucky without fully appreciating it.