I spent a couple of hours with my romance-writing critique partners this morning, hashing out our stories while sipping our morning drink-of-choice at a noisy Starbucks. (Note: contrary to popular belief, champagne is NOT my morning drink-of-choice. At least, not every day. And only with orange juice. Most times. But I digress. . ..)
My writer friends know me as an almost-anal-about-it plotter. (Sorry, I need a roadmap and a compass or I’ll have looped the globe several times before “The End.”) At this morning’s meet, my goal was to make sure my story grid made sense, and to vet my current manuscript (first stinky draft completed in four weeks) with these uber-talented writers.
Yeah, okay, so nobody wants her precious baby to be scrutinized and called ugly, deformed, or something that should be put out of its misery. But despite the nerves, I’m glad I let my CP’s take a crack at it. It smelled pretty gross when I brought it in. After our session, it’s been changed and powdered and wrapped up in something way better than the dirty diaper it came in with. 🙂
Thanks to my CP’s, the story is on a much more solid foundation, and the plot is structured in a way that is “optimal.” Now I just need to work on making sure at least one of the core competencies is stellar. (And I bet you all thought I slept through the Larry Brooks two-day workshop, huh?) 😉
Do you ever put yourself in an uncomfortable situation (writing-related or not) because, painful as it is, you know the end result will be way better than before?
Just curious.
-Melia
Great post!
P.S. If the end result is worth so is the pain.
Hugs,
Krystal
CPs are worth their weight in gold. Sounds like it was a productive meeting for you. Happy writing and rewriting.
Ashlyn Mathews
Thanks for stopping by, Krystal. Great to see you here! I’m looking forward to watching YOUR journey unfold!
Hugs and happy writing,
Melia
Ashlyn! You’re absolutely correct about CPs! And since I can’t afford their weight in gold, I need to start plying them with chocolate — think they’ll notice the difference? 🙂
Happy writing,
Melia
Melia – this is my first time having CPs and the experience has been a great one. And the insightful comments are just one benefit. I also get a group therapy session led by a writing dominatrix, as I’ve come to think of you — super disciplined, and when you whip out that three-ring binder and your color-coded spiral notebook, a little scary. When I know you’re getting up at 4 in the morning to write, and walk in with a completed manuscript in 4 freaking weeks, it’s hard not to be inspired. Looking forward to our next meet-up!
Oh, Mer!
You so crack me up – I’m perfectly harmless. I swear! 🙂 I do have a tendency to be a bit passionate about writing, but I really don’t mean to scare you off! As for the completed draft in four weeks — it’s a defense mechanism. It’s either get the thing finished or stew about it. And, as you saw yesterday, it’s not in “optimal” shape — thank you, Larry Brooks, for making me even harder on myself! Not that my first drafts are ever that good anyway. . ..
So, if you ever decide you need a wake-up call, let me know. I’ll be more than happy to oblige.
Happy writing (because I KNOW you’re writing),
Melia