Writing requires a lot of alone time. A quiet room, a desk or table, pen and paper, laptop or desktop, some books for research. And most of all, the writer’s own ideas.
Some writers can handle all that solitude and still keep producing. Most of us, though, find ways to share our passion with other writers. We attend conferences and take classes, and we join writers’ groups.
A year or so after my husband died, I was toying with the idea of starting my first novel. Over the years, Eugene had told me many tales about his early childhood in China during the Japanese invasion, and I wanted to write a story about a family like his.
As I suggested above, writing, especially something as long as a novel, can be a lonely task. Nevertheless, I sat myself down at my desk and worked on it. After months of work and many false starts, I had only a handful of pages.
I needed a writers’ group!
But how to find one? I hadn’t lived there long, and I didn’t know any local writers.
Then one day I just happened to hear about a contest sponsored by Tidepools, the literary journal of the local college. Maybe by entering the contest, I thought, I could meet some writers. I had no idea how that would happen. Nevertheless, I entered two stories I’d written when we lived in Vanuatu.
And ….
Success. Not only did they accept both stories for the journal, but one of them won first prize for adult prose.
Better yet. At an assembly for the contributors and friends, I met K, the winner for adult poetry, and she invited me to join her writers’ group.
It was a terrific group! The five of us met in our houses, one after the other, each house unique, as was each writer. And I loved them all. For the next four years, we shared and critiqued what we’d been working on. During that time, I made real progress on the novel, which I later called Tiger Tail Soup.
Here’s an excerpt from my prize-winning story, “A Blind Eye.”
After seven months in Port Vila, Natalie might have been able to say she was enjoying the experience of living abroad—might have, that is, if it hadn’t been for the way her husband had changed. She wasn’t sure when it started or what the cause was. The first couple of months were a blur—the strangeness of life on a little South Pacific island, the hassle of getting set up in a new house and enrolling Mariko in a new school. If Yoshio’s attitude toward her had started changing immediately, she hadn’t noticed. The first incident she remembered was the night of the dinner theater performance at Ma Barker’s.
It was March, a week after the second cyclone, and big stacks of broken branches were still piled everywhere along the streets waiting for garbage pickup. The two sandalwood trees inside the grounds of the French Embassy had lost so many branches the Indian mynah birds hardly had enough nesting spots for the night. Yoshio had parked their car two blocks away from Ma Barker’s in front of Pilioko House.
Almost as soon as they’d slammed the car doors, Natalie found herself trailing behind. She called to Yoshio to wait, but he didn’t answer and he didn’t slow down, so she ran to catch up. As soon as she was beside him, she relaxed and he pulled ahead again. Running once more, she caught him by the arm. “Hey, what’s this?” she shouted over the raucous squawks and clicks of the mynah birds. “You want a wife who walks three paces behind?” He pulled his arm away and kept walking.
To read the whole story, click “Stories” at the top of the page. It’s included in the black strip that starts with “home” “author” “novel” and so forth.
I enjoy hearing the backstory behind the stories, books, and contest entries. Yay! Writing can be lonely, but it sounds like you found your tribe early on. And what a wonderful way to forge livelong relationships in a way that’s quite different, more intimate than the conventional way.
Members of a writers group do form a special and oftentimes tight relationship. After four years with my first group, I moved again. Within my current group there have been many changes, but a couple of us have been together for more than fifteen years.
I was saying to my coach the other day that a writing group is just what I need and that I was going to start looking for one. Of course she put me on the spot and said “why don’t you just start one?” Sigh… If I don’t find one, perhaps I will give it a try, but right now I’ve got too much on my plate, so would prefer to look first.
Your writing group sounds much like my book group was when we first got together. I do miss that time…
Writing skill is nice in a writers group. But kindness and the desire to support each other is even better, especially when you’re critiquing each other’s work. I hope you find a good group.
So nice to see a picture of Eugene! He will always be one of my favorite memories from college days. God does work in marvelous ways. May you have many small miracles in this new year.
I know what you’re thinking of, Mary. Eugene showing up at our apartment with stories and jokes and enough wine for all five girls. Thank you for the good wishes, and may you be blessed with many good things this year.
I’ve never found a writers group around here. I’ve heard of a few but decided that considering who was mentioning them to me I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy the group. I’m glad it worked for you, it gives me hope.
With so many people reading and commenting on your blog, you already get a lot of feedback. You may not need a writers group. But if you ever find one you like, it might be fun.
It’s hard to find one that is a good fit. A good friend of mine was in one. They wrote a “group book.” She asked if I would edit it. It was awful and disjointed (and also the last time I accepted a “free” editing gig). I wasn’t sure what she got from the group, maybe socialization, but I haven’t found one in my area. Then again, I’m a very casual writer.
Oh, dear! Sometimes good friends get us into unpleasant situations. In a situation like that, you don’t know how much to edit. They may not be able to do what you suggest or even want to.
I’m guessing that you’re an experienced enough writer and also disciplined enough not to need a writers group.
What a great opportunity to meet writers. And congrats on your win. I used to have writer’s groups–one for screenplays, which was so helpful because we read the dialogue aloud, and then a critique group for YA books. The last one was good for having writing deadlines, but I think I gave out way more feedback than I got back. Not so helpful. I’m not working with one right now, but there are still some folks I look to as beta readers.
Did you have any actors in your screenplays group? When I was working on my MFA, a couple of the students were also actors, and I felt they had something special the rest of us lacked. It’s hard to find a group that suits your needs. Even harder to find good beta readers you trust.
Congratulations on all you did to get to that point, and on the prize
Thank you, Derrick.
Wow! I see why that story won first prize! Congratulation it, Nicki! So glad you found a great group. I did too–some of my classmates from VCFA. I had tried other groups previousy. None of them lasted long. A friend and I tried one at our local library and quickly realized that it was not a good fit.
Thank you, L. Marie. Do you have classmates from VCFA who live nearby, or do you do it online?