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Catch-Up

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Okay, okay, I know. It's been a while. But it has been a CRAZY couple of weeks, mostly because of the exciting news I have to share.

Last week, I defended my novel/Master's project...and it went great! I got an A out of the "class," but the best part was the feedback and comments I received from my committee members.

My basic project was to get a really good, solid first draft down, and then (because of time constraints for the project), I picked one chapter and revised it basically to finished product. This was to show my group how I would implement their advice, and the info I had gained already, into a complete work. As the final portion I wrote a monograph (don't ask me about the name - I have no idea) where I described my revision process on the chapter.

At the end of the monograph, I included the first draft and final draft of the chapter, and my committee was so impressed with my final draft. A couple of the comments they made:

"Now you're getting it."

"The flow of the story is so much better and more logical."

(My personal favorite) "There was nothing really beautiful about your writing in the first draft, but the final draft has beautiful writing."

Etc., etc. I'm not trying to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I am trying to show that revision, trade books, conferences, all these different things really do help. If we pay attention to what the "experts" around us are saying, our shot at publication is greatly increased. And I can't wait until my Novel Revision Weekend Retreat at the end of the month. It's gonna be great!

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