May 7, 2013

• Writer’s Group…

  The thing about Writer’s Group is that I have a love/hate relationship with it. When I first started, the love/hate was all about me and my reaction to the feedback. But I quickly learned that the feedback was helpful – even when it wasn’t- and that trying the different suggestions made me a better writer as I learned what worked and didn’t work for me.

  In the middle, the love/hate was about the other writer- the one who was writing something I was uncomfortable with, or the one who was… OK… I’ll say it… very very bad…. but then I learned that it made me a better writer as we coached the newbie in the basics gently or encouraged a rewrite or listened to the same piece rewritten and still not working for the third time. It helped me spot those trouble areas and helped me figure out how to approach them.

  Now… my love/hate relationship is more love than hate… when one of my favorite writers shares a new piece, it’s more exciting than a roller coaster to turn the page and I beg for more, or when a new writer offers up their first draft to strangers for the first time, it’s a holy experience. But there is still that time when something someone writes bugs me and I have to figure out if it’s me or the writing.

  We had a writer storm out one night when we didn’t get to his work (even though we’d worked on it the last time) and had “wasted” the night reading about zombies (a very funny but very bad first work that left us all laughing), and vampires (sometimes there are lots of new works about vampires), or romance novels (my own offering that night), and didn’t focus on serious works (his own work about a kid who kills cats). I don’t plan on writing about zombies or vampires (because it’s hard for me think of a fresh take on them) in the near future, but I loved the whole trying to figure out why the action sequence in the zombie one didn’t work and how to make the vampire one seem unique. I write a lot of action sequences so figuring out why his didn’t work saved me a world of hurt in the future (since the advice about acting out the sequence with friends who like you and don’t really want to clobber you with a table leg seemed very relevant). Plus, not being cliche is critical in all my work.

  I’ve learned a couple of things from writer’s group:

  1. respect the work- even if it is a genre you don’t like or a first draft. The work comes first. It is always IN PROCESS and fluid so you can’t reject it.

  2. Respect the writer. They are writing the best they know at this time in this place. If they could write better, they would bring better, and in time, they will bring “knock your socks off” work if they keep at it. (Many don’t return after their first time though… are we too intimidating? Hmmm…).

  3. Listen when others talk. This is so hard for me. When something doesn’t ring true to me, I want them to fix it, not justify it and give me excuses, but in the end, it is their work and their decision and it works for them. It doesn’t have to work for me.

  4. Don’t use the group for what it can do for you- give as much as you get!

  So… in two weeks, it’s back to the writer’s group where who knows what we’ll hear… last night it was the new chapter in the second book of a sci-fi series, a twisted space pirate flash fiction, a character driven short with heart, and part of a cyber-punkish anime/manga influenced work. It’s one of the first things I ask when someone tells they write. “Are you in a writer’s group?” If the answer is no, I suggest they find one- either on-line or in real life. If you want to learn the craft, you need to participate in the writing process with others.

  • 11:18 am
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