Got my critique back this afternoon, and I was right: The manuscript definitely needs some help. I’m not going to lie: It was a bit unnerving to see all that “red ink” on my pages. But it was also edifying, because she said a lot of the same things...

The next meeting of my RWA chapter, Northern Arizona Romance Writers of America, is on Saturday, and I can’t wait. We’re going to have a guest speaker, Linda Style, talk to us about layering stories and subplots. It should be interesting. It will pose a challenge for my diet,...

No, I didn’t win the Golden Heart … Technically, I haven’t even submitted yet, although my check is in the mail to reserve my spot. I did, however, win a critique of the first 15 pages of my entry from the gals over at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood. (They’re...

This time, the check for the Golden Heart contest really is in the mail. I dropped it in the mailbox this afternoon. As I told the Boyfriend, that means I’m really committed. I must whip Brad & Erin’s story into shape. It needs to be the best story it...

Whipping my first manuscript into shape for the Golden Heart contest is turning out to be more work than I thought it’d be. I thought it’d be easier to do a little editing on Brad and Erin’s story than it would to write another 40,000 words to finish my...

Well, I did it: I wrote out a check for the $50 entry fee for the Golden Heart contest. There’s no turning back now! I’ve been trying to figure out how to make my hero, Brad, a bit more compelling, too. I think he’s coming along nicely, thank you...

Reading an article in a recent issue of Romance Writers Report got me thinking about the characters in the story I’ve been editing: Do I know my heroine as well as I know myself? I sure should, since she’s me … or at least more me than most. Sure,...

I just might be a little bit of both tonight. In the past two days, I’ve only done the bare minimum: Read through a couple of chapters, trying to edit and polish them yet again. I also spent some time clearing out my gmail inbox. I’m the editor for...

… Or maybe not. Thanks to an impromptu write-in at Starbucks this morning, I had my work done early today. And that left time for not one but two walks before I headed to my day job, which is really more of an afternoon/evening job. I wish I worked...

I spent some more time editing my Golden Heart entry today. The good news is that the pages I plan to submit, including the synopsis, total exactly 55, the required amount. The bad news? I still think the synopsis is better than the manuscript itself. There’s more good news,...