Brainstorming and Good News

Like I mentioned last week, I’ve been in a bit of a story funk lately.  While I am confident my story is good and my motivation to continue telling it is still there, I’ve been stuck in a rut.  There were – are – some rather big plot holes and I just couldn’t figure out how to fill – or re-route around – them.  Since I didn’t want to scrap what I have and start over, I set it aside for a bit.
Knowing the Desert Dreams Conference was coming up acted as a lifesaver for me.  It gave me a goal to strive for, an actual date for me to set aside all distractions and tell myself “This is a new start!”
Well, lo and behold, the weekend arrived.
It was a weekend of fun and learning, connecting with fellow writers and meeting new friends.  Oh, and workshops.  Lots and lots of workshops geared to help an author succeed in this crazy world of publication.  Even the “down time” was spent plotting and brainstorming with fellow authors.
A special shout-out to Debra Mullins, a fellow OCC and EVA member, who pointed out these plot holes and helped me figure out what was going on and forced me to ask myself “why?”.  Digging deeper and asking myself why led me to the answers I was looking for.  Combined with all the tips and information I gathered this weekend, I have a renewed sense of purpose with my story.
Which is a good thing since I’m entering another contest this weekend.
On a side note, I did receive a bit of good news on Monday.  I received the results of the last contest I entered and was pleasantly surprised with the feedback I got on that one.  While I didn’t final, the judge was an editor and left some good comments about my synopsis and entry.  Such as “The story told in the synopsis is emotional enough to be extremely compelling.”
Taking what I have and combining it with what was brainstormed this weekend and I now know what direction my story is headed.