Re: Stephen King's 10 tips to successful writing

>      The answer needn't always be yes.  But if it's always no, it's time for
> a new project or a new career.
> 9.  How to evaluate criticism.
>      Show your piece to a number of people -- ten, let us say.  Listen
> carefully to what they tell you.  Smile and nod a lot.  Then review what was
> said very carefully.  If your critics are all telling you the same thing
> about some facet of your story -- a plot twist that doesn't work, a character
> who rings false, stilted narrative, or half a dozen other possibilities --
> change that facet.  It doesn't matter if you really liked that twist or that
> character; if a lot of people are telling you something is wrong with your
> piece, it is.  If seven or eight of them are hitting on that same thing, I'd
> still suggest changing it.  But if everyone -- or even most everyone -- is
> criticizing something different, you can safely disregard what all of them
> say.
> 10.  An agent?  Forget it.  For now.