writer in need of a shove

I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged...I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.
- Erica Jong

This past weekend I finished a short story centered around a plot that came to me several months ago while watching a segment on the History Channel. Originally, I had envisioned it as the basis for a novel, but since it's been, well...several months and still nothing written on it, I thought I'd try out the idea in a short story. And since I haven't submitted something to the writing group in quite some time, and considering that I'm in the middle of a lull with my novel, this weekend seemed like the ideal time to sit down and write it. I even (knowing my own bad habits) alerted the group ahead of time of this soon-to-be submitted story, just to give me that extra push to get it done.

And so I got it done and submitted it early Sunday morning. The critique later that evening was to be expected of a first draft written with little time for editing. It was definitely constructive and pointed out some excellent instances of how an author can get caught up in a story to the point where he or she forgets to let the reader in on all the facts and details important to the plot. It opened up my eyes a little bit more, and while it wasn't a hit, I was relieved to be getting critique at all because it meant I was writing again. Let's keep it up.

Now back to that novel...