I'm happy to report that my new schedule is working rather well. I got 2 critiques done this week (Actually that would be 3, but one is for a friend outside of my online critique group). I've worked on my own project, and have finally rewritten to the point that now I'm in totally old stuff and need to intertwine it with the new story line. I'm about 100 pages away to the original end. Not sure how much is going to be left, but I'm determined that this is my last "rewrite". Anything after this will be strictly grammatical corrections. I'm not adding ANYTHING else new to the story (I hope!).

I'm always nervous about critiquing, because I have been burned really bad in the past. I waded into the shallow end of the adult writing world about eight years ago, and got a RUDE awakening. I was very raw in my writing style, still living the high school dream of fantastic writing. Notice I said "shallow end", because I've been too timid to jump head first into the deep end. My writing journey has been slow and sometimes steady. I've done more wishing I could write than actual writing. It hasn't been but the last year or so that I have waded from the shallow end to the middle. My head is still above water, and I can still feel the bottom with my feet, but I know I have learned so much and writing will always be a part of my life. I don't know if I"ll ever jump off the diving board, but I plan on staying in the water. :)

I was actually given the best complement so far in my writing career, from a friend I highly regard. I've been critiquing his first YA Fantasy. I had a lot of thoughts to give him, and I was concerned how he would take it. Even constructive, supportive criticism can be hard to read when it's thick and overwhelming. When I checked with him, he asked me if I'd ever thought about going into editing for a living. He was impressed with what I had to say, and the things I found. Looks like I'm learning something after all. :)

My personal goals are: Finish my manuscript, Truthseekers. Revive my manuscript, Lily Among the Thorns. Keep critiquing. Keep writing. Learn how to put a proposal together. Send my stories out again and a again. Never give up... never surrender :)