Musings of a Hopeful Author

Yes, that's right!  I've actually started making progress on my angel story!  How much progress you say?  Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.  Let's just be glad there are words on the page in actual chapter form rather than outline form. So what happens so far in the story?  Well, you get a glimpse into the history of a few of the characters.  It's sort of an important chapter in that it sets the stage for everything to come in the story.      Apart from meeting some of the characters, you also get a small glimpse into the world in which the characters live.  Their way of life, their homes, their relationships, and what drives them, even if they don't fully realize it themselves.  That's the intent at least. Do you think you'll be able to get all of those things from a scene that takes place around a school yard in a small town? I hope that you will feel at least some of that if I ever get far enough with the bo...

So, I know it's been a while since I last posted, and I have nothing but excuses for why it's been so long.  I can make a nice list citing things like family visiting from out of town, my dog getting sick, deadlines at work, etc., but in the end I just didn't know what to write about for a while there.  I mean, I could have said something , right?  Well, here's that something! I have been making progress with my angel story, though obviously not as much as I would have liked at this point (but can you ever really make enough progress??  unless you can declare that you are FINISHED, I think the answer is no).  Some of the finer points of the overall story and the pacing, etc. are still being worked out in my mind and on paper, but I came up with what I think is a pretty awesome twist for the story.  I will not go into details, because I want to see if you will be as surprised as I hope you will be while also still feeling like you should have/could have se...

After last week's rather knee-jerk reaction to the news that I would not be advancing to the next round, I had some time to get over the disappointment...  And got feedback from the judge of my section about what I did well and what I could improve on.  I am happy to report that overall, the judge enjoyed the story and thought I did a good job painting a creepy and mysterious backdrop (for those of you that don't know, I wrote about a boy and his family walking home from the New Year's Eve Fireworks in the town square.  On their walk home, they pass by the burned out ruins of an old prison, and stop to recount its history and ultimate destruction by fire...).  I also got bonus points for my use of mixing dream with reality while having "the ghost" just use phrases the boy's father had used in describing the fire at the prison earlier in the evening.  Add to that some rather unexpected twists and turns, and the judge was a fan of the overall story.  So ...