Spacefreighters Lounge

Donna’s Journal


Action!
Actions I've taken as a writer. Where am I? What am I doing?

I continued my sojourn on the other side of the fence this week, reviewing entries as a judge for my local chapter’s annual writing contest. My hat is off to all judges everywhere, especially those who actually take the time to comment on the entries they’re given. It would be easy enough to simply read the pages and run through the scoresheet, I suppose. But to think through where the writers might be able to improve and give them legitimate praise where they have done well takes time. Or am I just a little obsessive-compulsive? Let’s just hope my judgees find the feedback helpful.

Meanwhile, I used what I learned from my judging experience to tighten up my entry for the 2011 Tampa Area Romance Authors contest. Boy, do my hero and heroine have goals, motivation and conflict now! And all in that first 4000 words!! Any of you who think you can out-GMC me should get a move on. The contest deadline is May 1. Details at http://www.tararwa.org/.

Pssst!
The latest buzz. Submission calls. New publishers. Industry changes. Inspirational sayings or quotes for writers. And our take on them.

RWA has finally announced the times and dates for signing up for agent/editor pitch appointments at the national RWA conference in New York City in June. Unlike past years, the one-day Oklahoma-land-rush-like stampede of writers eager to snag slots with their favorite agents and editors has been replaced with a slow-motion, agonizing Chinese-torture-like endurance contest stretching over several weeks.

As always, nominees for the 2011 Golden Heart and RITA Awards (are you listening, Laurie and Sharon?) will get first pick of the available slots, starting Tuesday, May 3, at 9:00 a.m. CDT (reminding us all that RWA HQ is in Texas). Next up will be GH and RITA nominees from 2010 and 2009, signing up on Monday, May 9, at 9:00 a.m., CDT. PAN and PRO members (that’s me, yay!) get a crack at slots starting Monday, May 16, 9:00 a.m. CDT. And, at last, everyone else gets a chance at whatever may be left, starting Monday, May 23, at, you guessed it, 9:00 a.m. CDT. Keep in mind that you must be registered for the conference in order to sign up for agent/editor meetings.

And, of course, once you obtain that coveted pitch slot, you may commence throwing up with anxiety.

Ping Pong
We'll comment back to our co-bloggers on things they've posted on their journals.

@Sharon—Welcome back. Sounds like Costa Rica was fun. Can’t wait to get a real glimpse of the Mystery Man. As for GP, amazing what some real time away from a manuscript will do for your perspective. Have a feeling I’ll be doing that myself soon!

@Laurie—Thanks for your tribute to the Endeavor. Such a sad time for NASA and all of us who grew up with the dream of space travel. Meanwhile,how’s the dress decision going?

Cheers,
Donna