The positive reaction was a relief, partly because I'd come to believe that I've absorbed into my own judgment many of the pointers that I've been given in the past by the tutor and other members of the group.  I'd worked quite hard to improve each of the scenes before presenting them to the group, bringing (I hoped) this improved critical faculty to bear in the process.  The group's approval meant that I hadn't been deluding myself on that point!  Where do I go from here?  Well, there's about another 20,000 words to go, and I'll be using them to tie up the plot and sub-plots and reach my goal: the completion of a first draft.

One of my classmates reached that goal last week.  I think Penny started her novel at around the same times as me.  Hers is a 1950s style novel, a rites-of-passage story about girls who attend a language school in Franco's Spain.  Last Thursday she read the concluding chapter - and was applauded at the end.  The ovation was well-deserved.  Her writing is assured, her characters solid and the story was satisfying.  Looking back on the various chapters that she's brought to our group, I recall the things that I've learned from her - like her use of movement.  Her characters travel naturally through their world - on foot, by vespa, by car - in ways that prevent the story from becoming too static or "stage-bound".  

As usual, after the readings, we went to the pub.  This is a pleasant ritual, but you do have to remember one thing: plot ideas that come to you after several glasses of wine must be treated with caution!

2nd February, 2008