Rainy Day

Having grown up on a farm in an age when kids were on their own to find amusement when chores were done, I always came up with satisfying activities. The past Saturday was a rainy day, not a normal desert rainy day where only the odor of rain came to earth, nor the torrential rain of Montgomery, Alabama, but a constant gentle rain, too wet to work in the muddy earth so Nancy and I were stranded, so to speak, indoors. The previous week I volunteered to critique romance entries in the Pacific Northwest Writer Association's annual contest. Luckily a package of ten entries arrived the day before and begged for the helpful judgment I offered.
Well, Nancy is as able to spot good writing as I am so we sat back and occupied ourselves on that rainy day. Romance is not her favorite genre but a plot is a plot and subjects and verbs are required in particular orders to bring out characters and action therefore she offered a perspective somewhat different from my own which turns out to be very helpful.
I am still responsible to inform the hopeful writers of their success or explain how the failures could be remedied. I have a week or so to complete my assignment. All in all a very useful exercise for a rainy day.
Naomi Sherer