My writing group is a great group of women. We had our second official meeting last night, where we commented and critiqued each other's work. This week, four of us submitted chapters.
I really appreciate the feedback I get. I submitted 3 (short) chapters and there were some good questions asked. Questions for me tell me if I am telling the story I think I am. If the questions are things I answer later, I'm doing my job right. If not, maybe I need to change something. But so far all the questions are the ones I hope readers have at this point.
The group also asked for more dialogue, more character development, which is something I know I need to work on. While this 2nd draft is much better than the first, it's going to take hard work to flesh things out the way they need to be. My writing style has usually been "sweet and to the point". Drawing things out is a challenge, but it's a good one. I really like my story and think it has been well-received. I think it has a future. If I can polish it the way it needs to be polished.
And of course I still need a title.....
There are eight in our group, although only six of us attend regularly (sometimes it's hard with kids and husbands who work crazy hours.) Not everyone has something to submit each month. But the really exciting thing is that we are all doing something different. We have so far one memoir (truly fascinating!), two very different sci-fi pieces, a romance novel, a humorous fantasy short story, and my fantasy novel and very short play.
I've enjoyed each and every piece and we all have different voices along with our different genres. I look forward to our meeting each month.
I look forward to writing group every month, too. Sometimes, it's hard to sit down and write. I keep coming up with excuses why I can't or won't. This writing group is a great "kick in the pants" to motivate me to actually write when I have the spare moment to do so. Also, it helps to know that I've got a deadline of sorts to shoot for each month, so I can continue my story without it just sitting in my head waiting to be written. I love that we have so many different voices and stories to share. It makes for an exciting group!
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