This week Vicki Mixon ask authors of Romance Writers Weekly  questions about their writing life. Hope you have already visited with Victoria Barbour for her answers.

Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were going to become a writer? If so, what was it? Definitely not. I loved writing as a kid until the red pen slashed my spirit. Decades later, a movie incited me to write a fan fiction story, which turned into its own entity. I wasted way too much time editing, however, I learned perseverance for other manuscripts to come.

My first beta reader (who read all types of book) encouraged me to continue refining my skills. Still scarred by the bloodletting red pen, I hesitated to join a writers’ group. When I finally took the plunge, the chapter had just restarted a critique group. The three of us who joined were all pretty close in skill and continued on our own after our leader quit. In those two years we’ve all grown in our writing and two of us are published. Our critique group has increased from three to seven. Using Google documents to submit our chapters, we’ve streamlined the process and stay current with technology, too.

When you write a story do you see it unfold as one big picture, or do you add layering in subsequent drafts? Although I see my stories as scenes from a movie, they’re not a complete film. In the beginning there’s a basic idea and evolves from there. Nothing is set in stone.

How many drafts do you usually write before you send your work to your editor? I’ll write a few chapters then put to the critique group. After incorporating their suggested edits, I’ll leave those chapters and move on. Once the group has critiqued most of the book, I’ll run through once more before sending to my PRO mentor and make edits on her suggestions.

This equals about four times for a book or novella. All for a dollar or less profit on my current release. I must be a masochist. BTW my novella, White Doe, is currently free on All Romance.

Thanks for stopping by for my post on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop. Hope you’ll see how Fiona Riplee answers.