Writing is a marathon. You can’t make small efforts. We must train hard, and perseverance remains our greatest ally. Waiting is part of the journey. Sometimes we don’t see the sunrise until we’ve braved the long periods between writing our novel and publication.

I’m excited to see what I’m able to accomplish this week. I will post the second chapter of Whippercreek and continue to write more chapters for the coming weeks. I’m waiting for a writing conference this fall, and I’m patiently building followers on Twitter and Facebook. If you haven’t already followed me, click those links. A following is huge in writing, and I would appreciate your support.

I began editing last week, and I noticed the need to reduce prepositional phrases. It became easy to use them in academic writing, but it doesn’t always work well in a novel.

I’m also contemplating ordering some writing craft books. What are your favorites? I don’t have a ton, and I feel like this would improve my editing abilities. I need suggestions, so please leave your thoughts.

On another note, I’ve seen lots of blogs on responding to negative reviews. I received some negative feedback on my manuscript and am working through the comments. I think we have to realize that negative reviews hold some amount of truth. We become better writers, when we recognize these failures and work to improve them. It is also okay to cling to the positive, so I hold the weight of all my positive feedback as I review the negative to keep everything in perspective. How do you deal with negative reviews?

Best wishes for a great writing week! Enjoy the adventure…