Last night was the twice a month meeting of the Mysterious Galaxy Writers Support Group. I think it was because of the impending holidays that we had a fairly small group turn out, which meant even though I read a bit at our last meeting I read again.

I read out a scene that had been problematic for me in the writing and turned out to be problematic in the reading. Even as II read it aloud I could feel the prose falling flat.

The scenes had no life, no purpose and failed in every objective.

  I got lots of really good feedback and this is where a person had to listen and not just hear. It can be very difficult to be truly open to your own mistakes. This is as true with writing as it is with anything else people do. I tried my best to keep ego out of the way. (Beating down the little monster with a crowbar and burying him is a hole in the desert.) I think I succeeded. I have a much better idea today why the scene failed, and some idea about how to fix it with a total rewrite.

Writers groups are invaluable, but you have to listen.