A trilogy of transformations?

And today's subject: Name three ways in which my writing has changed in 2014.

Well, first off, my writing is always changing. Mostly because I work on different projects, but also because I think without evolution you cannot have improvement.

That said, it's been a weird year.

First off, for the first time in recorded history I have been part of a writer's grow for more than one week.

Seriously. The last time I tries this, we managed one meeting. Then the entire group remembered they had deadlines and called it done.

This time around, I'm working bit more at it.

The advantage of writers' groups? Observation and feedback. I watch other authors improving and changing and contemplate the differences in their work and that leads to more experimentation, I think. Also, I'm getting earlier criticism. We'll get back to that.

Second off, honestly, for the first time I have an agent who is ACTIVE in helping decide where I should focus my efforts. It's a weird thing dealing with someone who gives direct opinion and feedback who isn't an author or an editor. I'm not at all used to it, but as with the writers' group, I think the fresh perspective helps.

There are a few former and current word-whores who've seen my work in advance, and I have tried to return the favor when I could (The road to hell is paved with my efforts). They've been extremely beneficial to learning new perspectives. I hope I've managed to help a bit in return.

The second change is that I have continued my collaborations with Charles R. Rutledge. It's the first time I've collaborated on multiple projects over a short span of time. It's an interesting experiment and I'm digging the results.

The third change is that, frankly, I'm slowing down a bit. I don't much like that change. Environment plays into that and I'll be experimenting to change what I can along those lines. Time will tell.

It's the holiday season so I'll keep this short and wish each and every one of you a wondrous holiday of your choice. For me it's Christmas. despite the events of the past I still like it well enough.

Keep smiling,

Jim