My word count went down, because I’ve edited the first thousand words of my novel to post to a critique forum at SavvyAuthors.com
The resulting critique pointed out some very useful issues and will improve the opening scene tremendously, but it was a bit of a blow to my confidence. Also, I don’t think I did a very good job of critiquing the other submissions.
I keep telling myself this is my first novel, and my first critiques, so I shouldn’t expect to be PERFECT. But PERFECT has always bugged me, I’m your classic high achiever 
My head knows that I’m learning the craft, and the only way to improve is to make mistakes and learn from them. The rest of me is screaming, ‘I should be good at this already!’
My ‘me’ needs a good talking to, I think. It’s time to go all the way back to Lesson One of How to Think Sideways, and remind myself of the techniques to break the PERFECT thinking barrier.
The other matter that’s getting me down is the amount of rewriting I need to do on the existing fifty thousand words plus now that I’ve merged two characters into one. Aside from the edits needed to merge the two, the storyline also needs to change radically (for the better.) The new plot line puts a bit more emphasis on the character arc of the protagonist and the romantic element of the novel. It also seems to have opened up lots of opportunities for LUC, muse bombs, etc.
Feedback is a gift. And it really is. The people who took the time to comment on my opening scene were generous with their time and expertise, and I can’t believe how much they picked up that I missed – including major issues with setting and character / action logic. I can see that now I’m going to have share my work earlier than I expected, because I have to learn as I go here. A couple of writer friends have already offered to critique, but I figure the more the better – so if you’re willing to help me out, please leave a comment! (And I’d be happy to return the favour, with the caveat that I am an inexperienced ‘critter’).
I’m learning so much at the moment, it feels like my head is going to explode. But writing here about it always leaves me feeling positive and motivated to get started again. Already, I’ve submitted my first critique at Forward Motion (fmwriters.com), and I’m going to read up on their guide to critiquing so I can do a better job for other writers. And right now, I’m off to redo my Sentences Lite and scene cards…
