Feedback

I have a circle of readers I send the "first" draft of my manuscripts new, meaning a draft I'm not embarrassed to have other people see.  One of the people whose opinion I value most is a fellow writer who has very different tastes in literature.  He hates Jane Austen and loves William Faulkner.  I am the opposite, and so we write different…

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A gentle breeze ruffled Adalyn’s golden hair as she walked, her gaze drifting to the midnight blue sky above her. Her left arm curled tighter about his, raising her right hand to pull up the hood of her cape. The skies of Venice were remarkably clear compared to her hometown of London. Strong fingers curled about her hand on his arm, and she looked up at the young man walking beside her with a light smile. His clear blue eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the gas lamp they…

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So, I've started working on a novel, and I don't know how well it's going. I don't have very many friends, and my family tends to slide on reading things for me. I don't know what else to do, honestly, so my last resort is to post pages on here as blog entries so that I can (hopefully) get some feedback from people. So, here's a little introduction as far as what I'll be using my She Writes blog for. Now, I'm going to post the first page of my story in my next entry. I prefer to do that over…

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As some of you may have noticed, I have been lax in my blogging and communicating with my fellow She Write-ers - and for that I am really sorry. My excuse? I began a new (part time) job that, as is often the case, takes up more time than originally expected (I am working on it).

The job: Teaching an online course for Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. This course requires young gifted students to complete weekly readings from… Continue

“…[W]riting is a solitary effort, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one — and that is the real gift of feedback” (p. 4)



The word “feedback” sends my heart racing in excitement and throws my stomach in a lurch at the same time, a feeling similar to the last time I rode a Ferris wheel.



On the ride up, I giggled in anticipation. When we crested the top and then started our descent, I gripped the safety bar. A few times around on that thing and I started to feel weary,… Continue

This week's writing prompt is peculiar laws.



In France it is forbidden to call a pig Napoleon; in England it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow; in San Salvador, drunk drivers can be executed by firing squad; in Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation; in Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth; and in Florida, it is illegal to have sex with a… Continue

This week's theme: the sworn virgins of Albania. How would they fare in your country?

http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/

This Week's Theme: Flash Fiction. See if you can rival Hemingway and the unworn baby shoes.

http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/

This week's writing prompt: the lonely hearts ads. See what you can make happen.

http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/

For this week's theme: significant books to mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill A Mockingbird.


http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt

I've been using blogger and just recently ran into a few wrinkles with the code. I've changed over to one of the new templates and I would love to get feedback (positive or negative) on the new look.

You can take a look at the site at http://jessicaksmith.blogspot.com

Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
Jessica

This week's theme: the mystery wedding dress.

http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/

For this week's writing spark, try a tale of murder. Just don't mention the murder.

http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/

Have a great writing weekend!

Kate

If you're in need of a little spark or just fancy trying something out, go to http://editorial-consultancy.co.uk/dear-editor/your-weekly-writing-prompt/ for this week's writing prompt from The Fine Line Editorial Consultancy.

Fine Line Editorial now brings you weekly writing prompts, should you be in need of something to get you going or a way to pass the time that makes you feel like you're being creative.



For the writers among you in need of a spark, people who've never written in their lives and fancy giving it a go, or those of you near death by boredom with a potentially fatal case of procrastinitis, find them here at… Continue

This is part of an essay I'm working on about the gendering of my boy-girl twins--and my own gendered transformation as a new mother--in the first 8 days of their life, ending with their naming/bris ceremony. What I'd like to know is this:



Where might I layer in more references to gender?

How might I play up the generational theme -- either in terms of how my experience differs from my own mother's, or how it reflects something about my generation (Gen X)?



Six am.… Continue