While the temptation of games still loomed (and with a particularly deadly sting thanks to Animal Crossing 3DS) I was slightly more productive this month than last. I also experienced a fantastic success for the first time.

My success came in the form of winning my first competition. I am one of the shortlisted writers for the 2013 Redlitzer writing competition. Quite exciting, and some great prizes(including but not limited to the confidence of having won).

I have been working hard on The Troll’s Toll. After getting feedback on the first part from my writer’s group I rewrote entire chunks and changed the personality of a character (apparently I should give up trying to write demure girls, I just can’t do it without making them dish rags – probably because I’m as far from demure in real life as possible without having large amounts of testosterone coursing through my system).

I purchased a couple of exciting courses to take part in during the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival which will bring me excitingly close to where I grew up as well as improving my writing.

I’ve also been doing some reviewing on Storybook Perfect as a final check before submitting it to a manuscript development competition.

Mostly I’ve been editing, not creating much new, but editing often involves a lot more writing than you might at first expect.

Looking back on the first half of 2013, I’ve made a lot of progress as a writer, but there’s still a few of my goals I’ve barely even touched, so I better kick it up a notch in the second half.

I’m looking forward to July now and the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival and one of the parts of my Redlitzer prize: working with Marianne de Pierres, Rowena Cory Daniells, Louise Cusack and Angela Slatter on my shortlisted piece.