Thursday’s Children May 23, 2013

Inspired by friends...

A weekly blog hop where

writers share their inspirations.

Please join us!

I know, many say you can't call people you *know friends until you have known them for more than...what, seven years? But I usually call everyone who I *know friends. Maybe I don't understand the meaning of the word, but if I know you and we get together well, then we are friends.
Well, as you might or might not know, I finished another draft of my novel a few weeks ago. I sent it to a few people and some read it and sent me back their thoughts on it.
Surprised I was more than I could ever imagine.

Take @CJSullivan53  Author of WINGS OF THE DIVIDED and BLADE OF THE DIVIDED. Three-dimensional fiction in a two-dimensional world. [cjsullivanauthor.blogspot.com]

I asked her if she could read my work and she said yes. And I think she read it in two days. I'm sure. I read all her comments and loved all of them. And she didn't give up on me.

Take @RMWagoner1 Wife. Mother. Writer. [rmwagoner.com]

I follow her for a while now, and I quickly asked her if she wanted to read my work when she tweet something about wanting to beta read.

Of course, mind you, I asked her. She also read it in a few days. And, even though she did not comment past half of it, she gave me an amazing idea that has now taken over my work! I hope I didn't forget to thank her.

See, it wasn't just a comment. It was a comment that I read over and over and then it hit me.

I know how hard beta reading is. I didn't just began writing with no sense. I did my homework, and out of all the books I read about writing, I learned that people don't read novels that are not published. Simply because there are better books to be read. So when I find a beta reader I see them as if they were gold. And they are. A treasure.


I also have @jessp2112 A bit of a smart-ass, usually say what others don't want to hear, but I'll get you to snort in that laugh. Author & programmer. Scary mix! (Amazon link) [http://fb.me/1pzxB4YfB]

I know she didn't like my novel because she felt it was *skinny. By that I mean that it was missing details. And it was. Because I tried my best to cut out the *fluff so then I could add details as needed. You might say I suck, this and that. But, in less than two months, I turned 150K into 110K. Easily done! No. Not really. Deleting is hard. Very hard. And you tend to over-think what you should cut and what not. "What if I cut too much? What if I cut something that goes here and later on goes there?"

But my point is not that they liked it or not. It is that they read it or tried. And that made me happy. It inspired me to continue writing, working, and learning on how to become better at this thing called writing. So many of us write, so what makes us different? The thing is that there has to be a team behind a hero. And I have discovered that in writing, there should be a community of supporters. (I'm now looking at you, @Jessie_Devine.)

With no supporters (readers) how can we know our work is bad or good? How can we decide what could work and what not? How can we learn if we only live in our bubble?

The people around me inspire me more than they know. (I guess that's my fault for not telling them. *LOL*)

*Ahem* Before I go, you should visit all the members of my clan! Link here: https://twitter.com/JLLicea/oculus-sentinel-clan/members 

They are the "Oculus Sentinel Clan."
Become one. Be one.
My hero.
My friend.




<!– start LinkyTools script –> <!– end LinkyTools script –>