I've spent the past three days judging for a writing contest. It's always an interesting thing to do, because sometimes you see the faults in other writers so clearly.

Or you don't, but then you dig deeper and realize - hey, the heroine has no goals that I know of. Huh. And whoops, neither does the hero. So what's the story about, other than their impetuous and way-too-fast lust for each other?

And that always makes me think about my own writing. How I do (or don't do) what this person did. How I can cut through the crap and get to the gold.

I always learn a lot when I go through other people's work, especially when I don't know them. When it's fabulous, it's fabulous and gets a fabulous score. When it's not, it's not, and doesn't.

I'm actually entered into this contest, in a completely different category. We'll see how well I do.

Not that I've double checked my entry a dozen times since I started judging. Not at all. Sigh.

Finalists are announced in August. Cross your fingers!