Monday, November 10, 2008

Back to work

Despite the allure of the new toys on my new computer, I managed to get "The Blue Wall" all but complete today. Another go-round for line level editing and a proofread, and it should be ready to go except for the cover letter and the preparing of envelopes. I gave it to Joey tonight, along with the really rough draft of "Strong Enough." His verdict? "Strong" did not suit his more mature sense of humor. (Read: "I am too cool to be reading your little kid stories now, Mom.") That's OK, I knew he'd be out of that interest level. I'll fix it up some and spring it on Michael, who's also out of that age range, but only just barely. "The Blue Wall," however: "It was cool." "So, you liked it, then?" "If it was a whole book, I'd read it, Mom."

So, "The Blue Wall" gets an overall thumbs up from the beta readers so far, along with much-treasured feedback on some little issues that I was then (hopefully) able to fix. Big hugs to the guys who allow me to spam them with my little stories.

The Writers of the Future blog has issued its first batch of Honorable Mentions for the 4th quarter. I'm not on it. Most likely they're from the folks who mailed in their stories before the final week of the quarter. More lists will be forthcoming soon, I imagine. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I'd really like to not be on those, either.

I've mentioned that waiting is not my strong point, yes?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually have a friend who placed in that bunch of honorable mentions (he's the last one, although that's a pseudonym). I thought it was a great story that he submitted, and I'm saddened that it did not place higher.

Here's hoping yours is in the top placings!

Lori Erickson said...

I skimmed a lengthy discussion on the WotF forums about Honorable Mentions and how good/bad/desirable they are. There's no concrete criteria listed anywhere to indicate what receiving one actually means, so the theory ranges from "it wasn't awful" to "it was really good but there's only room for so many finalists." Some people are thrilled to get an Honorable Mention, some less so. My story last quarter was on the HM list, and I still feel alternately pleased and disappointed about it. So I feel your friend's pain. In the end, though, I choose to take it as a better sign than a flat out rejection and keep trooping on. I hope your friend will do the same.

Thanks for the good wishes!