Flesh to the Bones

Spent most of today fleshing out characters and working on 'world creation.' This is a funny phrase that was apparently developed by Scifi circles in the '70s, but in my opinion should really be applicable to any sort of fiction writing. I'm working on one word this week: CRAFT. My writing technique will be ever evolving; it can only happen naturally, but something I can work on in a tangible way is my technique for developing ideas into worlds and characters that people will want to read about. I've just about finished Mayer now (though I will keep going back to some of his prompts), but re-read a section today to remind myself that the reason I should be writing (if I want to be published) is so that someone will want to read/buy it some day. With that in mind, I'm looking back over some older work along with the new stuff in hopes of improvement and focus.

I'm also working on a new short story that started yesterday, pretty much out of the blue. It centers around people in my community (ie writing what I know) and a group of people that I am at once connected to and intrigued by in ways that confuse me.

Otherwise, I'm also looking into joining some local writing circles, because so many people seem to suggest that this is a good way to work through problems at an early stage and to figure out which ideas are strong enough to get off the ground. I hate the idea of sharing things before they are finished; I won't even show my work to my own husband. Perhaps, it would be a good step forward to show strangers first. I have to stay confident in what I'm doing or I'll fall into despair and I'm afraid that criticism at this point won't do me any good. Thoughts, suggestions, good will would all be appreciated at this point. J.A.