My Toughest Critic

Probably not who you think.

Most writers I know say we are our own toughest critics. I discovered yesterday afternoon that my oldest daughter is tougher on me than even ... well, me. I. Ahem.

We were on our way to the movie theater for our family night (saw Cars - if you haven't seen it yet, go - it's terrific), and we were talking about various and sundry things. I mentioned Joe Konrath's assertion from Tuesday night that he is living his dream, and that I want to be there someday, and The Tall One pipes up from the back seat, saying that if I want that to happen, then every book I write from now on has to be as good as, if not better than, The Mozart Murders. (I knew she liked it - after all, she did call me an "evil little genius" when she finished it - I just never realized how much. Last night she said, "It was a really good book, Mom, and if you'd had a real publisher you would have sold a lot more of them." There's a whole 'nother story in that "real publisher" comment, but we won't talk about it just now.)

Huh?

Granted, you might immediately assume something to the effect of, this is a young person, not my "target audience", etc. Not true. Yes, she is young (as she keeps reminding us, she'll be 17 in 17 days). However, she reads on an adult level, way more adult sometimes than I think she should, but there it is. She, and a lot of readers like her, are my target audience.

So to live up to these tough standards, I have to not only rewrite the book I'm working on, but also the one I'm shopping. Cringe. My critic said last night that it was good, but not as good as Mozart. You're killin' me, kid.

I mentioned yesterday that our Sisters meeting was "disrupted" (in a very good way) by Joe Konrath on his drive-by tour. We were supposed to have been discussing She Walks These Hills, but in light of the lovely surprise it was decided that we'd put off the discussion until next month. I did enjoy the book, very much, but now I'll have to rely on my failing short-term memory to be able to discuss it intelligently come August.

Little Bit and I are heading into town for her orthodontist appointment. Today may be one of those days that finds me scrambling for time to write, but my plan is to try to get some time in on the WIP and carry forward from the rewritten opening.

Wish me luck.

Oh, and read a book. It's good for you, you know.

=) JB