(Over)thinking Things Through

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket. ~Charles Peguy

It's amazing how one comment can derail your writing. I've had it happen dozens of times, with dozens of stories, and it's occasionally a small thing that I then fixate on and can't get past.

I used to belong to a crit group where I was the only romance author -- the rest were either literary authors or mystery authors (without romantic elements). Two of the group were men.

While I credit a great deal of my growth as an author to them, and truly miss being part of the group, it also messed with my mind on a regular basis. Genre fiction is completely different than literary fiction, so frequently the crits, at least when they pertained to plot, weren't really applicable. Still, I'd grab hold of something they said and gnaw on it like a starving dog with a bone.

Overthink much?

It's happening again with a couple of my stories that have gone out for crits. And, while thinking through things isn't a bad thing necessarily, it can be if it keeps you from moving forward.

So, after gnawing on a couple of things lately, I think I'm going to have to go with my gut. Move forward and hope that my gut is right. But it's going to be something I worry about from here on out ... and heaven help me if (assuming it's published) a reviewer nit-picks any of those things I've spent the last few days agonizing about and second-guessing.

*sigh*

In any case, I'm waiting on one more set of crits for "Now and Forever" so I can finish up my edits and move one step closer to submission. After that will come the Dreaded Synopsis.

Oy.

In other news, I think I'm planting my chard and spinach seeds this weekend... spinach in the pots and chard in my front flower garden. I think I have most of my perennials popped up enough that I know where things are now, so it should be safe.

Yay spring!

And, check out a few of the earrings I'll be putting up on DistinctivelyDD today -- DD's into dangles lately:





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You Are Dramatic

Witty and talkative, you entertain with your stories and gossip. You know how to delight a crowd. No matter what, you're the life of the party or conversation. And you like to be talked about. You enjoy the honeymoon phase of friendships and relationships, but after that it's hard for you to stick around. Life is too short to be bored! When you get in a rut, you immediately shake things up.

The Little Cake Test

Uh.. no. That's so not me. I just like chocolate...

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