March 28, 2012

One Down, A Million More to Go.

Last night I did something I've never done before. I let another, more experienced, writer read my work; first scene of Rebel Union. Talk about terrifying. What if it really is crap? What if she tells me it really is crap?

Luckily she's not that kind of person. She really liked my opening and said the flow worked well. A few suggestions on form and a few questions with suggestions to help ground the reader in the story and I went home after to revise again. And she's completely right. It works much better this way.

Now on to Scene 2. *happy face*

March 19, 2012

Revising & Critiques

I pulled out Rebel Union again yesterday and started revisions. I've thrown out the first two chapters to be woven in as backstory later and will write a completely new Chapter 1 based on Chapters 3 & 4. Putting it aside for awhile was the right thing to do. Now I can start with a fresh perspective & hopefully get somewhere with it.

I had dinner last week with another member of MCRW who will hopefully be able to help me improve my skills as a writer. She's working on her 4th book in a series and she's already finaled in a couple of contests. She's farther along than I am so she'll be able to help me understand what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it. I'm not sure what she'll get from me, but hopefully we'll be able to help each other out.

I have a feeling it's going to help me a lot just to have someone who is not a friend or family member to be accountable to. She won't care if she hurts my feelings and she'll tell me exactly what she thinks. That's gonna be a good thing.

March 16, 2012

Writing

I had dinner last night with another writer from the MCRW group who lives in the same part of town I do. It was awesome having someone to talk to about writing who understood what I was talking about and whose eyes didn't glaze over when I was trying to explain something.

I think we're going to try to get together a couple of times a month to exchange scenes or chapters and write. I'm excited to have someone who may be able to help me become a better writer by telling me in a constructive way what's wrong and how to fix it. I'm not sure what I'll be able to give her in return except maybe a different perspective. She's already so much farther along than I am. But I have a feeling we'll get along just fine.

Tomorrow's the MCRW monthly meeting. I missed the retreat last month so I'm looking forward to hanging out with these talented women. It makes me feel like I might actually have a chance with this whole writing thing.

March 01, 2012

Wow!

What a busy two months, but it's winding down now.

I went to Phoenix last week to finish up the project I've been working on. Well, Scottsdale actually. Phillip from AtTask was there to help and we made it through with everything intact. Whew! I wondered there for a bit, but thankfully things smoothed out and we were able to finish on time.

Scottsdale is a beautiful place. But it was a bit confusing in places. A road on one side of town is also on the other side of town, but you can't get from one end to the other by staying on that road. The GPS kept telling me to turn and turn and turn just to get to the end of that street. It didn't make sense, but it got me where I needed to go.

And stopping at the end of a ramp before continuing onto the interstate was a little disconcerting. Red lights for both lanes, you stop until yours turns green then you go. When the other light turns green that lane goes. It's supposed to help with congestion by regulating the amount of traffic coming onto the interstate. It makes sense, but it was weird to stop then pull out onto the interstate.

The mountains look like someone took a bucket and poured out a big pile of dirt on the horizon. No green and very few trees. They were pretty, but brown & prickly. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go hiking up there. There's nothing to see on the trails.

I really enjoyed my first (and probably only) foray into business travel. And I've really loved working on this project. With any luck a new job will come of it. Now that people know who I am and what I'm capable of. I'm more than just a call center rep. We'll see how it goes.