Monday, January 15, 2007

My life is going CRIT-ical!

Wow. It seems that there are dry stretches where I don't have any critiquing to do, but right now the crit bug has attacked with a vengeance. It's my own fault, of course. Why wouldn't it be? I'd already agreed to do a brush-up crit on a novel for Mar that I'd critted in spring and she has since revised. I was pretty certain that there would be little more involved than reading and an occasional comment, and I've been finding that preconception was correct. Still, it takes time to read. I'm not complaining, mind--just stating a fact!

Meanwhile Erin had asked for crit on a selection of essays she's submitting for a grant application, and because she's offered to do a novel for me (but doesn't have a return novel ready for me just now), I volunteered to crit the essays. You guessed it. Pretty much right now.

And then I signed up for the crit group with some of the folks planning to enter the spec faith contest. That's another 25 pages a week, for folks whose writing and style I'm not familiar with. I see this is going to keep me hopping!

So now Mar tells me that the novel I've been NAGGING her to finish editing so I can crit it is almost ready. I think it's going to have to wait its turn!

Because, of course, I also have to have my own first 25 pages ready in just a couple weeks. And want to keep straight on through until I've revised the entire novel. I'm guessing by the middle of March? I'd like to be faster but I don't think it's likely, though I believe there's less to change in the middle. The ending is going to require more work again though.

So I'm trying to cut back on some peripheral stuff I've been doing, trying to get more focused, trying to act like a professional. It's an interesting life.

2 comments:

Maripat said...

Hugs??? Grin. And see the funny thing about this to me, the novel critique I was supposed to do has cancelled. Good luck.

Valerie Comer said...

Heh, I'm just glad you don't have something ready for me right now, but I AM looking forward to getting a crack at Mia later!