Start Anywhere

This is one of the best self-critique exercises I've ever read, no matter what form you're writing in, from Bill Roorbach's wonderful blog, Bad Advice Wednesday:
"Here’s a test exercise to invoke as you’re writing a book or story, a play or essay, really anything: flip to any page thereof and declare any paragraph or scene you find there the first paragraph or scene of the work in hand.  And read as if it were.  Read it aloud.  Does it rise to the occasion?  It should.  Does it inspire a new way of thinking about your material or story?  It might.  Does it seem to cast a different character or idea or storyline in a newly leading role? 

I'll be following this blog! I'm done (I think) with my novel about travelers in Northern Italy, but of course the editing is never over until they grab the file out of your hands forcibly. Happy writing!