It’s usually helpful at some point to have thoughtful fellow writers* look at your work and offer comments for improvement. Especially if you’re a novelist, think hard about who’s good at what. One critiquer may be a wonderful big-picture person, another a great question-asker, a third good at helping to polish or trim prose. Be careful to have each read at the most helpful point in your process, even if they’re to read again later on. And remember that there may be a declining return if they’ve seen the manuscript too many times. The whole point is to get a fresh eye, not a tired one.

*writers, meaning not kids, not family members, not teachers, not your mail carrier (unless of course your kids, family members, teacher, and mail carrier also are writers)…

Cynsational News & Links

Am I the only one freaked out about the Arizona referendum Greg blogged about this week?

On a brighter note, congratulations to author Jane Kurtz on the birth of her granddaughter, Ellemae Inku Goering, born March 22, 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.