I am in a writers group, and it's life-changing
I have been a lone wolf for much of my writing career. That is especially true as I launch my desire to be a novelist. It isn't that I see myself as lacking a need for criticism, or that I am so good that others' views are immaterial. I simply haven't found the right fit. I had the option of three writers groups in Colorado. Two were rejected because they involved a considerable amount of travel to attend meetings, and I already had a daily 52-mile round-trip commute to get to and from work. The idea of getting into the car for another commute was not attractive. The third was rejected on the basis of one meeting notice posted at the local library. It suggested that members bring their scrapbooking and other outside activities for the next meeting so everyone could see what activities were attractive to members other than writing. This was an immediate turn-off.
I loved my times attending the Pikes Peak literary conferences in Colorado Springs. I got to meet great authors such as John Hart, Joe Lansdale, and Jeffery Deaver. I got so much needed information in sessions about copyright, the ins and outs of a literary agent's life, story structure, etc. I loved my time at Donald Maass' writers workshop in Virginia. Don is one of the great teaching literary agents, if not the best. I learned so much in detailed sessions about the craft of writing. So, it's not an issue of not wanting critiques or information that changes the way I write.
I just didn't find the right folks when it got down to a local writers group. That ended last week.
Nikki Rizzo put out a notice on Meetup that a new writers group was starting in Anderson, S.C. It is called Electric City Writers. I immediately declared my intention to join, as did eleven others. We had a meet-and-greet session on Thursday, then had our first working session on Saturday. Only four people attended each session, but that number surely will increase.
Four was still enough to get a good cross section of writing experience and talents. Nikki is what I call an atmospheric writer (she relies heavily on details of surroundings, at least in her first work) and a love for all things Irish. Victor is a young writer who is only beginning this journey as an author. Ann is very British and tends also to be an atmospheric writer, with a strong bent toward English and Scottish history. Dale is a poet and has a great eye for analyzing others' styles and what needs to be done to improve their work. He's a good guy for critiques. I am the journalist, and my style is to line up facts as I unveil characters and events. I lean heavily on declarative sentences. Atmosphere is of secondary importance.
I will get more into the impact the other writers had on my style in the next few days as I analyze their critiques. I submitted the first chapter of my latest novel. The critiques were helpful in seeing the need to blend more atmospheric elements into my story while keeping that "just give me the facts, ma'am" foundation on which journalists rely.
Again, I will give details on exact impacts as I do blog entries later this week. The only thing I can say for sure is that this is a good change in my life. The lone wolf won't be alone anymore.
I loved my times attending the Pikes Peak literary conferences in Colorado Springs. I got to meet great authors such as John Hart, Joe Lansdale, and Jeffery Deaver. I got so much needed information in sessions about copyright, the ins and outs of a literary agent's life, story structure, etc. I loved my time at Donald Maass' writers workshop in Virginia. Don is one of the great teaching literary agents, if not the best. I learned so much in detailed sessions about the craft of writing. So, it's not an issue of not wanting critiques or information that changes the way I write.
I just didn't find the right folks when it got down to a local writers group. That ended last week.
Nikki Rizzo put out a notice on Meetup that a new writers group was starting in Anderson, S.C. It is called Electric City Writers. I immediately declared my intention to join, as did eleven others. We had a meet-and-greet session on Thursday, then had our first working session on Saturday. Only four people attended each session, but that number surely will increase.
Four was still enough to get a good cross section of writing experience and talents. Nikki is what I call an atmospheric writer (she relies heavily on details of surroundings, at least in her first work) and a love for all things Irish. Victor is a young writer who is only beginning this journey as an author. Ann is very British and tends also to be an atmospheric writer, with a strong bent toward English and Scottish history. Dale is a poet and has a great eye for analyzing others' styles and what needs to be done to improve their work. He's a good guy for critiques. I am the journalist, and my style is to line up facts as I unveil characters and events. I lean heavily on declarative sentences. Atmosphere is of secondary importance.
I will get more into the impact the other writers had on my style in the next few days as I analyze their critiques. I submitted the first chapter of my latest novel. The critiques were helpful in seeing the need to blend more atmospheric elements into my story while keeping that "just give me the facts, ma'am" foundation on which journalists rely.
Again, I will give details on exact impacts as I do blog entries later this week. The only thing I can say for sure is that this is a good change in my life. The lone wolf won't be alone anymore.
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