Monday, July 7, 2008

June's Gone, July's Here

Wow! A week into July and I still haven't done a post mortem on June. See post below for excuses.

My goals for June were:

--Finish rewrite of MMG. I'm at 50 pages. No where near finished.
--Continue research of Tarot, crystals and all things metaphysical. DONE
--Finish both critiques for CWC. DONE
--Graciously receive feedback on Vesta. DONE--at least I hope so
--Do critique of HM for D.B. DONE
--Outline TNN with new ideas. NOT EVEN CLOSE

So for July, I'm taking it just a bit easier on myself.

--Do 100 pages of rewrites for MMG.
--Write 50 pages of Vesta.
--Complete CWC critiques.

Let's see if I can make it through these tasks. I'm dropping the reoutline of TNN, because I've got enough on my plate with a rewrite and a new-write and critiques. I don't want to muddy the waters even more with a third novel in the mix.

Good Feedback

I had meant to post about this last Tuesday, but I made a very impulsive decision on Monday to take off the rest of last week so I could spend more time with Miss Elizabeth and her parents. Overall a good decision, although I'm paying for it a bit today because of the stack of things in my inbox. She is very much a 3-year-old with flashes of 40. Too much fun.

My favorite thing is that she says that pink is green because her father hates pink and loves green. Not bad, eh?

Anyway, received my feedback on Vesta from the CWC last Monday night. If anyone can get me in publishing shape, it's this lot. There was a lot of great discussion and wonderful suggestions on how to make it better. My favorite bit? That everyone said this was the best thing of mine they'd read. Talk about an ego boost. Of course, later that evening I wondered just how bad the previous writing was. But that's my issue, not theirs. I have a lot of work to do by the end of the month, but I am glad that I decided not to continue until I had feedback on the first bit. I may not wait next time, but at least I'll know I'm headed in generally the right direction.

I enjoyed Ali's and Fleur's submissions last month. I hope the feedback I gave them was half as helpful as what I received. And I'm looking forward to reading Jenny, Mary and Shane. It's been a while, especially for Mary and Shane. I'd like to get the reading done this week so I can concentrate on my own writing. Then I'll review the day of the meeting so the stories are fresh.

A lot of work on both sides, but I'm thinking it's going to be so worth it.