Well, Let's see. It's been a few years since I last wrote on this blog. Here is a summary of what I've been doing during that passage of time (in the writing realm):

 -Finished first draft of Primed in Spring 2009 -Backspace conference May 2010 Great conference - although time with agents reading/commenting on first two pages made me want to curl up in a fetal position in the closet of the hotel. Talk about getting critiqued.

 -In Spring 2012, purchased and read through a couple of Margie Lawson's courses: http://www.margielawson.com/lawson-writers-academy-courses They were useful in giving specific techniques to apply to writing and examples of how they looked in stories. The examples helped me to apply the techniques better than other books that just gave summaries of what to do.

 -In Spring 2012, had www.fictionfixitshop.com read and comment on my first 10 pages. It was great to get a fresh pair of eyes to give me feedback and suggestions on how to improve it.

 -Backspace conference May 2012 Enjoy the conference again. Still had tough criticism on first two pages. Realized that in my effort to edit, I had lost my unique voice and had to put it back. The second day of the conference I had a newly re-edited first five pages. I had a one-on-one with an agent for 15 minutes that was really useful and encouraging. When I feel ready to query, I will try to query her.

 -June 2012 I applied and was accepted to Stanford's Online Writing Certificate Program. It is a two-year program and I am currently in the second year. https://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/writingcertificate/intro.php All I can say is - Wow! What a great program!

Well, I can say more than that... It has been quite an experience to have cohort members that are all taking the courses with me and have read various portions over the past year and a half. As of right now, about half of my work-in-progress has been read and commented on by many different people (typically 10-15 people in each workshop). There are also discussion board topics, literature readings, and video conferencing that is involved. Officially, I have one more class and then a one-on-one tutorial where my whole book will be read and I will receive feedback on it. There is an optional course for my cohort that I am contemplating taking before the one-on-one.

 So, now what?

Well, I am trying to determine if I want to pursue a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) since I have enjoyed the Stanford program so much. I have identified a program that sounds like it would be a great way to continue with a similar structure that I am used to but now need to figure out if it is the best plan for me or not.

 In the mean time, Primed is much better than it was and I hope it will continue to improve as I continue to work on it. At least for the first 150 pages, I feel that I would be comfortable letting anyone (well, almost anyone) read it. The second half of the book needs work but I am starting to see it come into a more well-formed shape.

 By summer of next year, I hope to have 300ish pages that won't embarras me. So, there you have it - a summary of what I've been doing since the last time I wrote anything.