Patricia Stoltey

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Getting Back in the Writing Groove with My Critique Group

June 9, 2015 By: Patricia

I haven’t attended a critique group meeting for over three months. Tomorrow This evening I return for the first time since breaking that stupid little bone in my foot. Although I’ve critiqued the other members’ submissions via email, I haven’t submitted anything of my own. I’m off the hook for tomorrow’s meeting, but in two weeks, I’m back in the rotation.

This is the one thing that’s most likely to get me out of my slump, force me into my chair, place my hands on the keyboard, and make me type….and read….and revise….and submit.

The truth is, I spent years working in a job with deadlines, and I still work better under pressure. I still get more done when I have a time limit.

Schedules and To Do Lists and a timer and multiple calendars make me more productive.

Too much free time, and I won’t necessarily use it wisely (although I admit I might enjoy what I’m doing when I’m goofing off….like reading all those books I’ve been telling you about on Mondays).

So now its back to critique group, and hopefully, back to work. I really won’t have much of a choice. They’re such nags!

How do you feel about deadlines and schedules, productivity, and critique groups?

Category: The Writing Life

Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. My most recent release, In Defense of Delia (Five Star/Cengage, November 2022), is available in hardcover and will soon be available in ebook and trade paperback. Read More…

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In Defense of Delia

In Defense of Delia

Wishing Caswell Dead

Dead Wrong

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