Welcome back to the May Edition of the Merry Go Round Blog Tour.  This month, we’re talking about our current projects.

I have two:  The revision of Polar Bear on the Loose and a short story where the theme is cat eyes.

I’ve been working through the Holly Lisle’s Writers’ Boot Camp class “How to Revise Your Novel.”  I’ve been stuck at Lesson 13 for a long time.  It’s not the course’s fault — it’s mine.  I seem to have “stepped away from the process” a few months ago and have not found my way back yet.

I’m also working on a short story (goal 2000 words) where “cat eyes” come into play.  I dashed off the first draft, sent it to critique partners who said, “Um. Yeah. Nice characters but where’s the conflict?”  I’ve been reworking, but still have trouble with conflict.  Sigh.

This is important, because the problem isn’t just in my short works, it’s in my long works are well.  It’s just more glaringly obvious more quickly in shorter works.  My intent is to apply the lessons learned while fixing the shorter work on the novel-length work.

In theory, it should work.