There I was sitting at my computer at 5-something AM this morning, wondering what to blog about today, when I took a quick gander at my blog rolls over in the sidebar, and there’s Jody Hedlund, one of the most consistent, prolific bloggers I know, blogging about what to say when you are out of ideas. If you’ve never read Jody’s blog… it’s full of informative posts about a novel-writer’s debut experience, and the writing life in general.

But that doesn’t let me off the hook for today. I’ve been blogging here since 2007, according to the dates in my archives. That’s a long time for an unpubbed author to have kept up a running blog, posting 2-3 times a week, with no unscheduled gaps in posting (that I can recall, anyway). Blogging can be time consuming, brain-draining, and there’s this thing called blogger burn out that happens to some. I’ve experienced it. It’s part of the reason I usually only blog twice a week now.

As author Catherine West commented in Jody’s post today, “I started to get stressed over my blog at one point, thinking about how it was a waste of time if nobody was reading it – well, I enjoy it, so it’s not a waste of time.”

That’s the attitude I work on maintaining. I started blogging to see if I enjoyed it, if it was something I could maintain long term. For the most part I do, and can. Sometimes posts don’t generate discussion. Sometimes they do. It’s always fun when that happens.

It’s also nice to have a place to mention good news in my writing journey. I have a small bit today. Just got the call from my ACFW Genesis Contest coordinator that my entry made it into the Semi-Final Round of judging. This is something new for the Genesis this year, an extra round of judging before the Final Round, and as I understand it, only three entries in each category will make it to that last round.

The best thing about the Genesis Contest is the detailed score sheets that come back after each round of judging. There’s three of them each time. That’s three judges’ feedback on the first 15 pages and a one page synopsis, twice (in previous years)–for the first round and for the final round (in which editors and agents are the judges). This for a $35 entry fee. It’s a very good deal. And since this is the first year I’ve been a first round judge (in a category other than the one I entered; dem’s da rules), I know the amount of work (and prayer) that goes into judging these entries now. Far more than one might imagine.

I’m wondering if this year there will be three sets of three judges’ score sheets, since they’ve initiated the extra Semi-Final judging round. In which my entry just slipped in (and this is starting to sink in)!

I’m excited for the feedback to come, and for making it this far.

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