Hey Margie, thanks for taking the time to give this a read.
“Don’t get to wordy” and “Be more concise ” and “You could stand to lose a few pounds” – Ok well that last one deals with a different sort of problem, but I definitely get the first two more often than I can count. Keep things short and streamlined. Maintain the story at a nice pace. It’s funny how different a story reads at one time verses another. Coming back later and re-evaluating what I wrote, things become more obvious to see where the road got a bit choppy. That’s something I must continue to work on and believe me when I tell you that I appreciate your help.

Thanks Margie.

J.L.S

Nice to meet you as well Lori, and thanks for taking the time. As I commented to Jody above, I am pro-contest. I totally agree with you about how well or not you finish within any contest. Often, it is simply the difference between what one judge is looking for verses another. However, and this is true for me, a little feedback here and there from participants and judges can keep pushing you forward when that energy and enthusiasm may be starting to wane a little. There have been many times where my confidence has been shook, sometimes from the contests themselves and sometimes from that last rejection letter, but I try to look at like any response, both good or bad, that it is moving me closer to my goal. I mean at least someone took the time to read my stuff, even if they didn’t like it. That’s what’s important to me, that people are taking their time to read something I have written. I has taught me a great deal and taking what I have learned helps when the next opportunity comes around.

I always try to keep in mind the wise words of Yoda – “Do, or do not. There is no try.” There are many times where I Do Not, but then it is so much sweeter when you eventually Do.

Thanks again and I look forward to working with you in the class. I get a really good vibe here.

J.L.S.

Hello Jody. It is very nice to meet you and after reading your profile – I believe it quite possible that we may, in fact, be somehow related. Your story is so similar to mine, it’s scary. I myself have five acres that I am market farming here in Kansas and it is something that I enjoy thoroughly. You might not believe me, but I have a great pyrenees dog named Freya and as for college majors, well let’s just say I think after you approach your eighth year in college they have to graduate you (You will notice, however, there is no Dr. in front of my name.)

You commented on writing contests and I must tell you, I really like writing contests. They provide so many benefits. I feel as a person who is just starting out it is a wonderful way to pursue writing. Contests set deadlines, which as a terrible procrastinator, I require to keep moving forward. They also allow me the opportunity to write stories that may not necessarily be in my comfort zone. I can tend to get stuck in one mindset, churning out the same story over and over, and contests break me out of that. Finally, I just feel like it helps to build connections. Just like Joe’s book about writing a short story, contests allow you to put out a higher volume of work and spread it around a bit more, connect with more folks out there. You cannot believe how many people I have gotten to know this way.

I personally encourage people to enter contests regularly. For me, it helps me keep the writing juices following.

It was really great reading your intro and I think we are going to really work well together here. Thanks for taking the time

J.L.S

Thank you Judith. I am glad you liked the introduction and thanks very much for taking the time to read it. Hijack away if you wish. I have no doubt that opportunities will come in which I will be looking to hijack some of your stuff – so as long as we can agree to keep the lawyers out of it, as I said, hijack away.

I’m all in for the new discoveries thing. Let’s go Higgs-Boson hunting (in a literary sense).

Look forward to working together and thanks again.

J.L.S.

Thank you Lee. I appreciate the warm welcome and the intense pressure that you have now put on me for my future submissions (just kidding). But seriously, I read your profile, as well as some profiles of other Cartelistas, and I must say that I feel like I not only dove off the deep end by enrolling in this class, but I might have done so with ankle weights strapped around my ankles. I am no where near where most of you are. Websites, blogs, people who hold jobs in the writing field with several published works and all with plenty more experience and street cred than I currently bring. It is intimidating.

However with help from you and the rest of the group – I will do my very best to try and keep up, work hard, and hopefully not suck.

Thanks again.
-J.L.S

Steal away – because that’s exactly what I did. A friend of mine who is edits some for me,as well as assuming the role of an amateur psychiatrist when yet another of my great tomes has met the rejection pile. The saying is his and he says this to me on a quite regular basis – so it is my friend William that deserves the credit and not I.

However – I will also say that, to the best of my knowledge, I deserve the credit for trying to figure out how to even spell “can’ting“, so that one is mine.

Thanks again – working on lesson 1 –