24
Aug
I have been slack.
Not just writing wise, but blogging wise too.
Though I did manage to finish the "Short" story.
I’m letting it stew at the moment, because I’m not happy with the ending. Not much time though, the thing needs to go out of the door soon.
In other news, I had the judging sheets from the Rebecca back.
93 from one judge, 68 from another.
One was published, one wasn’t.
(No, I don’t know who they are.)
Seems to me one judge got the story, the other didn’t.
The annoying thing is, the stuff I got marked down for wasn’t reflected in the comments. The comments of the lower score… well. I don’t put backstory into the first twenty pages, because it doesn’t belong there.
I don’t make dialog changes from sensible to downright idiotic sounding. (Sorry, Judge. The suggestions were simply stupid and sounded awful — and I’m not the only one who thought so.)
There is some telling, yes, but nowhere near as much as this judge claimed. Yeah, the low score pissed me off. The comments even more so because I didn’t agree with 90% of them.
Nor did I appreciate the condescending "I’m published and you’re not therefore I’m right and you’re wrong." tone at the end of the sheet.
I’ve I told that author whose work I’ve edited, she would probably faint. 
Saying that, I still appreciate the time taken to judge the entry and make detailed comments, even if I didn’t agree with them.
We can’t win them all!
The other score sheet was better. The changes suggested were a great help, the catches were all reflected in the score. Most of all, she got it. She got the story, the characters, the world, and that makes all the difference. Thank you, Judge 15, whoever you are. I will be making some of those changes you suggested.
Oddly, the changes suggested by J15, were partly the ones I agreed with from the other judge. Funny that. Both caught the same things, and those I will address. (Cliche’s mostly.)
What else?
TTT – I got as far as the first 5 lines round, a few fellow critters did too. I’m proud of us.
So as September nears, I will get back into writing and blogging.
12
Jul
Or get challenged by a friend.
It doesn’t matter what form the challenge takes. It could be wordcount. It could be a scene. It could be dialogue. It could be character description.
You name it, you can make a contest out of it.
I’m doing the "Write A Book With Me" over at Holly Lisle’s Pocket Ful Of Words, right now.
It’s nice to see progress, it’s nice to compare progress.
It’s not a race of who does the fastest, greatest, most, or best. For me, I just like to keep up. Get a pat on the back sometimes. Pat others on the back.
If you are in a critique group, or write with a partner, why not set yourself a challenge (or a goal) every month?
How about posting a scenario, and everyone writes their version of a scene?
How about posting a keyword, and have everyone write an argument revolving around the key word?
How about posting six character flaws, and have everyone make them part of the hero, somehow? (Showing, not telling, and picking a specific flaw rather than all six.)
How about posting a specific location, and have everyone describe it?
Or you could just go and post your daily wordcount and share the ups and downs. (That’s what we’re doing at Passionate Critters at the moment.)
Go for it. Practice makes perfect.