Based on the contest feedback I got on “Operation Snag Mike Brad” today, there’s no way in hell it’s going to final in the Golden Heart.
Guess that means I don’t have to worry about coming up with $425 to pay for Nationals, eh?
I got scores back from a contest I entered right before I sent everything off for the GH. One judge gave me an 80 out of 100. The other two? 60 and 57.
I can buy 60’s assertion that there may not be enough conflict to sustain the story. (She should have seen it BEFORE I beefed up the conflict in one of my rewrites!)
However, I find 57’s comment that I don’t know how to use punctuation insulting. It reminds me of my freshman year of college when my World Cultures prof (who taught art history) tried to tell me I couldn’t write an essay.
I know punctuation, darn it. I’m a freakin’ copy editor for God’s sake. I may not do old-school punctuation, but what I do is perfectly acceptable in journalism. And I should think that if my punctuation was that darn bad, someone else would have pointed it out to me when they were proofing my GH entry for me.
Nary a peep, though. So I’m inclined to write that one off as ravings.
Guess I should be thankful that all my scores were at least a 2 (shows promise but needs improvement).
I’m sure I’ll be able to look back at the scores with more detachment later, so I can get more out of them. Next week … maybe next month … Right now, however, I’m still smarting.
Is it wrong that I like my story more every time I read it through?
If so, I don’t want to be right! 😉
I’m nearing the end of “Blind Date Bride,” and though I’m having trouble cutting out any food scenes (guess that’s the food editor in me shining through), I’m enjoying making additions.
Seems that every change is improving the story — making my characters’ motivations clearer, punching up dialogue, etc.
It just might be time to start entering this puppy in some contests!
I was all set to complain about how doing rewrites is much slower work — until I realized I wrote 900+ words today.
That’s right. All I had to do was launch into a new sex scene — one of those “more almost-sex, less food” scenes Kelly suggested — and bingo! Those 900 words practically wrote themselves.
I do, however, find myself wondering why I seem to do my best sex-scene writing in the Barnes & Noble cafe. You wouldn’t think the crowds and noise would be conducive, but I have no trouble shutting everything out so my characters can get busy.
Today’s racy scene, the first time Kari and Damien finally get to finish what they’d started, even Meg & Matt’s first big moment were written at the cafe.
I’m not sure what, if anything, that says about me. Perhaps I’m an exhibitionist at heart? 😉
Anyway, my second draft of “Blind Date Bride” is coming along quite nicely. As I’ve added things and taken others away, it has grown to nearly 95,000 words and 354 typed, double-spaced pages.
Just think: A few short months ago, I was struggling to hit 90K. I’m glad those days are behind me — at least for this manuscript.
My instincts are right on track.
At least that’s the gist of the feedback from fellow NARWAn Kelly, the first person (besides myself) to read through the entire first draft of “Blind Date Bride.” All 330+ pages of it. (And it took her less than a week!) 😀
She loved the hero and heroine, Damien and Kari — always a good start. She found their best friends interesting, too (also good, because I always kind of envisioned giving them their own book.)
Her main suggestions for improvement: More sex (or at least thinking about sex), less eating; more explanation of the awful things Kari’s ex did to her to make her mistrust Damien at first; and a longer black moment — or at least one with more depth of despair.
I’d already been thinking I need to torture Kari and Damien a little more before I let them get back together … and I can see the other two points, as well.
It’s good to know I’m at least headed in the right direction. I can’t wait to get started on some revisions.
The plan is to start entering a few contests in preparation for next fall’s Golden Heart competition. (This is the story I’d wanted to enter last time, but didn’t think I’d have it finished. Turns out, I was right — but it’s going to be ready for the next one, doggone it … even if that does mean writing another synopsis.)
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