New Year!

So here we are at the start of a new year. I'm still writing, and still waiting to make it as a writer. Recently, I started submitting The Coppersmith to the Christian writers forum for peer review. I'm a little worried about how they'll handle chapter three, given its graphic nature - though that in itself will tell me something about how well the book will be received. Nevertheless, I've gotten some very good feedback so far with chapter one. Still awaiting a little more for chapter two.

It seems I've overwritten the first chapter--too much description and backstory on irrelevant characters slowing down the pace of the action. I suspect this is the result of just starting the story, and not being fully familiar with my characters or how they act, nor my storyline. I wonder if I'm guilty of this in all my writing, or if this is just characteristic of my first chapter for this novel. I know I can see this little hobgoblin ruining the first chapter of Topheth, and probably in Jezebel as well. I will have to look into The Autographs to see if it manifests there also.

In the meantime, I've continued to work on both The Autographs and The Spark, hoping to finish them soon. I'm beginning to see why it takes so long to turn out a quality novel (meaning, two years since finishing The Coppersmith and it still isn't ready), though I hope to take advantage of the peer review process in forums and in my writing group to expedite this process.