Ryan — While I don't make use of a "digital duck," I do have a flesh-and-blood human I interact with, and it's someone you know. Christine DeSmet has been my writing coach and mentor for over a decade, first with my nonfiction work and now with my crime thriller series. Each week, I send her a chapter, and she provides feedback on what works and WHY it works. She also shares what she feels isn't working well and WHY. I wouldn't trade that dynamic for the world.
That's fantastic! Having the support of others in the community is instrumental in any creative's journey, and Christine is a great person and author to have on your team.
For my part, I see the role of the digital duck—or one's equivalent—as a tool that can provide feedback at the moment of creation, rather than post-facto. Both in-the-moment and on-a-delay feedback are important, but, especially if you're me and are intent on releasing three books next year while keeping your writing work squarely in in the "hobby" space, time quickly reveals itself to be of the essence; I know I personally couldn't commit to soliciting and incorporating feedback in that fashion given my current constraints.
In the end, I suppose it all comes down to each individual's specific situation and the resources one has at hand! 🦆
During my professional career I wrote a lot of software code and my last job was in data analytics where I had to build up both the data sets and the reports / visualizations. I often got stuck on some technical point or another where I couldn’t get what appeared to be something simple to work. I would often talk through what I was doing with another colleague who would look at the problem a bit differently than me. Sometimes just talking through the issue and stepping line by line through the code brought something to light and I figured out the solution. My colleagues were always gracious and happy to help, even if it was to be a sounding board.
Not sure I’m ready to jump on the Chat GPT bandwagon. I’m happy to struggle through my writing on my own or get feedback from another writer.
Keep these articles coming. They always make me think.
It's amazing what a difference an additional perspective can make. Whether in the form of a colleague, a digital conversation partner, or a one-sided conversation with an inanimate object, articulating one's thoughts to another party can do so much for focus and clarity of thought!
Ryan — While I don't make use of a "digital duck," I do have a flesh-and-blood human I interact with, and it's someone you know. Christine DeSmet has been my writing coach and mentor for over a decade, first with my nonfiction work and now with my crime thriller series. Each week, I send her a chapter, and she provides feedback on what works and WHY it works. She also shares what she feels isn't working well and WHY. I wouldn't trade that dynamic for the world.
That's fantastic! Having the support of others in the community is instrumental in any creative's journey, and Christine is a great person and author to have on your team.
For my part, I see the role of the digital duck—or one's equivalent—as a tool that can provide feedback at the moment of creation, rather than post-facto. Both in-the-moment and on-a-delay feedback are important, but, especially if you're me and are intent on releasing three books next year while keeping your writing work squarely in in the "hobby" space, time quickly reveals itself to be of the essence; I know I personally couldn't commit to soliciting and incorporating feedback in that fashion given my current constraints.
In the end, I suppose it all comes down to each individual's specific situation and the resources one has at hand! 🦆
During my professional career I wrote a lot of software code and my last job was in data analytics where I had to build up both the data sets and the reports / visualizations. I often got stuck on some technical point or another where I couldn’t get what appeared to be something simple to work. I would often talk through what I was doing with another colleague who would look at the problem a bit differently than me. Sometimes just talking through the issue and stepping line by line through the code brought something to light and I figured out the solution. My colleagues were always gracious and happy to help, even if it was to be a sounding board.
Not sure I’m ready to jump on the Chat GPT bandwagon. I’m happy to struggle through my writing on my own or get feedback from another writer.
Keep these articles coming. They always make me think.
It's amazing what a difference an additional perspective can make. Whether in the form of a colleague, a digital conversation partner, or a one-sided conversation with an inanimate object, articulating one's thoughts to another party can do so much for focus and clarity of thought!