I was reading a blog on Constructive Criticism a few minutes ago. So okay, so maybe now I should confess how badly my novel did in the ABNA contest. After all, I was way over the moon when it made the quarter-finals, and couldn't wait to tell everyone. All we quarter-finalists got "Publishers Weekly" reviews, but those of us who failed to make the next cut received them in private. Which is probably just as well. My one begins: "The writer of this novel simply hasn’t learned how to tell a story," then goes downhill. But at least they called me a "writer," says she, clutching at straws. "...after the 20th character, the reader begins to lose track..." probably means I shouldn't have had so many people in the story, or else I should've made it clearer who was who. (The review lists the same character as being at least two different people later, so perhaps the latter). "...no motive ever discovered" might mean I didn't mak...