In life, we all need the kind of friend who will tell us when we’ve got something stuck between our teeth, or who isn’t afraid to let us know when we could use a breath mint.<\/p>\n
Being a writer is no different. Because sometimes, after spending days, hours or even weeks working on one piece, it isn’t uncommon to contract a case of tunnel vision. <\/p>\n
I had what I thought was a pretty good story going. Atmospheric beginning? Check. Creepy things afoot? Check? The story was going along well…until…well, you know how sometimes saying a word over and over again can make it lose all meaning? So, too, can working and reworking (perhaps overworking?) that one beloved piece of writing.<\/p>\n
I admit it…my story needs more work. Every now and then I slipped into the passive voice. Yes, there were a few places where I forgot to change the spelling of my antagonist’s name. And alright…I get it…it could do with a better build-up of suspense, and the ending needs some slight tweaking. Thankfully I had a friend who wasn’t afraid to give me a little reality check. And I’m thankful for that! <\/p>\n
It’s never too late to make your work better. As writers, we primp and preen and finesse every word; we tame every stray plot thread with a final spit-shine. But before we decide to showcase each piece, no matter how good we think we are, it’s always best to get a second, third or fourth opinion. <\/p>\n
Besides, what kind of writer would I be if I allowed said story to leave my outbox with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of its shoe?<\/p>\n
Right. So, here’s the meat you came looking for: Join me Friday for my 2nd attempt at Friday Flash! Now whip it…into shape…shape it up…get straight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[116,57,106,114,38,115,374,112,113],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-writing","tag-flashfridays","tag-editing","tag-friday-flash","tag-nano-2009","tag-novels","tag-pill-hill-press","tag-short-stories","tag-wip-wednesday","tag-wips"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n– WIP #1:<\/strong> a short story I’ll be subbing to Pill Hill Press. Quick rewrite, which I hope to finish by Friday
\n– WIP #2:<\/strong> outlining my NaNo project. Still brainstorming on that one, but planning to start the actual outlining on Monday – yikes!<\/p>\n
\n[NWC]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"