I'm going to do this reflection right and spend some time really going into detail about what what I learned during my time as a PW mentee.
CHARACTER: I knew this going into PW, but characterization is definitely my strong suit. I'm an emotionally sensitive person as it is, and that transfers well on the page. The PW revision process taught me how to trust my instincts.
CONFIDENCE: My confidence in my writing ability was at an all-time low when I got into Pitch Wars, and I'm happy to say that I now have a stronger sense of my ability and that I'm not going to let rejections and other people get me down anymore. I'm already 5K words into my third novel, and I know that one has legs! No matter what happens after the showcase, I'm not going to let outside influences get me down ever again.
MY IDEAL AGENT: This isn't my first rodeo, so I have a much clearer sense of the kind of agent who would best suit me. This is not to say that my previous agent didn't fit the bill. A lot of why it didn't work out with her is that the timing of the project she repped wasn't right, but part of it was that she didn't stick with me through the rough personal patch I had last year. The onus is on both of us.
STRENGTH: I finished my revision with a 6-9 month-old baby! I'm strong as hell.
FRIENDS & COMMUNITY: My IRL friends & family as well as my writing friends and fellow PW mentees really supported me through this intense program. I'm so glad I'll be able to lean on all these people in the future and I hope my fellow writers know they can lean on me too.
PLANTSING: For the most part I'm a very detail-oriented plotter, as evidenced by the several outlines I used for my PW manuscript, I like knowing where I'm going as I write my book -- and I definitely like to know the outcome/end of every scene, chapter and project that I write. So as much as I enjoy following a set plan, I found that writing my way through a particular scene is really exhilarating. I plan on doing a combo of both moving forward.
SLOW AND STEADY: In terms of process, I've definitely learned that I'm a snail. I think the most I wrote in one day was 3K -- and that was a stretch. I'll take this into account with my next project and not force myself to write words I don't have.
I'll have one more PW post next weekend with buzz from behind the scenes. Although I asked Kathleen to hold onto my requests until the showcase ends on Feb 10, I think most of the mentees are having their mentors share requests as they roll in. I look forward to seeing all of these amazing stories in the showcase! In the meantime, I plan on spending some much needed time with my baby girl. :) And to treat myself to a couple surf sessions. I'm out of shape!