Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Writers Group, Eye Lashes, Aluminium Cans, and Kitty

I joined an online writers group. If you think you have a healthy self image, that's a great place to test it out. Overblown ego? Prepare to be deflated.

Seriously, I got some very helpful feedback on my chapter one. It was good to have constructive critisism from writers who know what they're doing. Friends and family (and passing strangers) may be able to tell me what they like and what they don't like or understand, but the other writers can show me what the actual problem is and how I can tweek it. I did also get one critique that pretty much indicated that I should break all of my pencils and take up collecting aluminium cans and cigarette butts. I do have the perfect hat for it.

Speaking of fashion, I am now sporting my first ever false eyelashes. **blink blink blink**
What could I do? My daughter needed help with her homework. Yippee for beauty school.

Oh, and we got a new cat named Avery. Mostly we call him Kitty. He's six months old and purrs like a tiny motorcycle. We were kicking around the idea of getting a new cat. Our old one died recently at the ripe old age of twenty. Avery was about to become homeless when his family had to move to an apartment that doesn't allow cats. So, we rescued him and now we're all in love. :)

7 comments:

Liana Brooks said...

Online writing groups can be a minefield. They can be very good, but it's sometimes hard to remember that this is a person's opinion, and not the law. When you think you've done a wonderful job and someone flips through and doesn't fall in love, it hurts. You've spent a lot of time writing, you want your readers to have the same passion and vision for the characters as you do.

But all those extra eyes can be a big help too. It's amazing what can escape even the most careful editor.

The Geeky Quill said...

Very true, that a lot of it is opinion because I get conflicting feedback. One person loves a phrase while another hates it. But it's been helpful too.

Minefield is a very apt name for it.

Stacey said...

Hey Geeky,

Congrats on the new cat! We too are cat people and love our little Mocha to death. The 6th was her 2 year birthday.

About my comment on Nathan's blog and your age group for your book. Young college kids is trickier because an agent may label it adult, but it sounds like your audience is going to be the crossover audience. So when you send out queries I would stick with non age specific genres like paranormal romance. I think it fits your description of your book, and then the agent and publisher will choose where to market it.

For example, I know Stephenie Meyer did not orginially think of her books as YA, but they were marketed that way because the characters were "17" (I use quotes because only a couple of them were actually 17... ;) )

Your blog looks fun! I frequent another reading blog at myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com that usually posts about some interesting things related to writing and authors. Just thought I'd let you know.

The Geeky Quill said...

Thank's Stacey. On your advice I checked out the myfavoriteauthor blog. Great blog!

Aubrey said...

Hey Geeky Quill (awesome name!) I just saw that you are now following our blog! We are excited that you like it, and hope you enjoy it!

Aubrey
aubreyavalon@gmail.com

b. luis grey said...

What's the website for your writers group?

The Geeky Quill said...

B luis Grey,
This is the site.

http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/history.shtml

They have several different lists you can join for poetry, short stories, novels, et al.