I’ve received feedback on my writing from the amazing folks over on Absolute Write.  I’ve submitted the first scene from Sfia and Peter and two thousand words of Out of the Blue 2.0 (see the Science Fiction section), as well as asking for feedback on Zeddy and Bubba as a concept.

Several people touched on the same things in their comments, and those things turn out to be related to what I’m working on in my personal life.  Why am I surprised?

1. Over-explain.  I explain in too much depth and width.  Anyone who knows me well knows that!  And it clearly shows up in my writing
2. Emotional Distance.  The readers don’t feel close to my characters.  Since I struggle to clearly identify and express my emotions to others, it’s not surprising this showed up in my writing.
3. Timing.  My sense of timing, of when to go in greater depth with the settings versus the moment of tension, needs work.  Ha!  If you know me, you know my tendency to blurt, or to say the last thing first, etc.
4. Lack of clarity.  Sometimes the readers are left wondering “Why?” too much, especially in regard to what the character’s motivations.

The comments were by no means all negative.  I’m just focusing on what’s wrong to make it better.  Stay tuned!