I've been intensively revising some stories the past month in order to submit them to various contest. I just finished (hopefully) the last one yesterday. It was interesting to me that the intensive, short-term focus on making things "better" actually taught me a lot about myself as a writer. The best part is, now my future "first drafts" will be that much better. Below are some of the pitfalls (and advice) of writing in general, and my writing specifically, that I can now avoid. Value of Critique Groups -- My group's advice on both of my stories was invaluable. I wrote a flash fiction story (1000 wds or less), and it was my first attempt at such a thing. I was pretty happy with the story, and my first time meeting with my critique group gave me some pretty positive feedback. Of course there were things here and there that needed tweaking, but overall, it was mostly "done." One member of my group, who writes quite a bit of flash fictio...
It finally happened. I entered the dark world of blogging. I never understood why anyone would want to know that I woke up, had a bowl of cereal, took a shower, etc. And I still don't understand. But this Blog is different. I was convinced that if I am serious about writing, then I needed to blog about writing. So this blog will be dedicated to the craft of writing in all its various aspects. So join in the fun!