Ask most anyone who is involved with writing or publishing to give their best advice to writers, and among their tips, they’ll usually say two things:
*Write something every day or as often as possible – writing improves with practice and discipline.
* Join a writing group – sharing works-in-progress with peers, and getting their feedback and criticism helps to give insight and direction in writing projects and helps to make the overall writing better.
And over the many years of my writing avocation, I’ve found it to be true – my writing seems to thrive when I try to write as often as possible, and especially when shared with and critiqued by other writer friends and peers.
Several years ago, I took a long-term private, small group writing class, led by Laura Jan Shore, author of the historical YA novel, The Sacred Moon Tree (Bradbury Press, 1986) and also a longtime writing teacher. She guided her group of aspiring writers with wise and gentle critiques, born of many years of experience. She also stressed the importance of feedback from the other members of the classes. She led afternoon workshops on enhancing creativity, and encouraged us participants to be fearless in our self-expression, whether in writing poetry, molding clay figures, or dancing around her living room to vibrant tribal music. This was the first time I’d read my work aloud, and despite my discomfort with it, I learned the value of sharing my writing and always appreciated the constructive comments and encouragement. And although I’ve put the book I’d worked on while taking those classes on the back burner, the lessons I learned there have been invaluable.
I also took two years of writing and media classes at New York University, where weekly assignments were work-shopped among the other classmates, under the direction of instructors, who were all professionals in their fields. And although those classes were all in journalism instead of fiction, my writing improved greatly, especially in the short article forms that were the focus of the program. I learned to write strong leads, copyedit the articles, give them interesting headlines, and especially to write under the pressure of a weekly deadline. It was daunting having to read my pieces aloud to classrooms full of (mostly) seemingly more sophisticated New Yorkers; and instructors who were long-time professionals at newspapers and magazines such as The New York Daily News, The New York Times Magazine, and Time Out NY. But I learned to push through my anxieties, and the instructive comments I got from my teachers and classmates helped me to improve my work. And despite having two jobs at the time, I worked hard for the positive criticism and A grades I received, and I consider that one of my best writing accomplishments.
Currently, I’m a member of SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, whose local chapter meets at Barnes & Noble on the last Saturday morning of every month. I’ve been attending these Shop Talks for several years now, since I’ve been focusing my writing on teen novel projects.
The group is open to anyone with an interest in writing for children and/or teens, and it covers all formats – novels; chapter books; picture books; poetry; short stories; and magazine articles. And although my concentration is on teen novels, I’ve learned a lot about all aspects of writing for every age group. Each month, newcomers are welcomed to join in with several regulars, and many also become frequent attendees. The 2-hour sessions are led by one or a couple of moderators, who are long-term members of the organization, and help to organize the local conference each year. There’s a discussion of conferences, and publishing news; and people are encouraged to talk about and share their works-in-progress. Anyone can read a piece of their current project, for some constructive comments from the group and the moderators.
I went to the most recent meeting, a couple of weeks ago at the end of January, with my friends and fellow writers Michelle M. and Lisa K. This time, Barbara Wells, the former regional advisor; picture book author and newspaper columnist Karen Kaufman Orloff; and picture book author Della Ross Fererri led the small group through several topics.
They gave an update on the June 11 Eastern NY Regional conference, that will be at the Ramada Conference Center in Fishkill this year. Susan Campbell Bartoletti will be the keynote speaker – she’s the author of several historical non-fiction books and novels for young readers, and has won a Newbery Honor as well as several other awards. I know of her work, but haven’t read any of her books – I’ll have to catch up on them before the conference. They’ve also booked an editor, an agent, and an art director so far, to give presentations.
Karen (www.karenkaufmanorloff.com) shared with us her new picture book, “Talk, Oscar – Please!” – to be released on March 1st by Sterling Publishing. It’s a sweet story about a little boy who wishes the family dog could talk, and imagines all the fun they would have. And also, her book, “I Wanna New Room” (GP Putnam) that was released in December – it’s a companion book to her humorous, persuasive-kid story, “I Wanna Iguana.” She also read her latest picture book manuscript for us to critique.
Della (www.dellarossfererri.com) is the author of several picture books, including “How Will I Ever Sleep in This Bed?” (2005, Sterling Publishing) – about a child’s first night sleeping in a big-kids’ bed; and “Star of the Show,” (2009, Shenanigan Books) – about a little boy having to share the spotlight with his sister when they put on a circus show. She read her new picture book manuscript and the group critiqued it, too. She has been submitting it, but wanted some feedback so she could polish it more.
Being part of this group has shown me that peer critiques can be valuable, no matter what level of writing and publishing you are at. Karen and Della both appreciated our feedback, and their experience and knowledge have been very helpful for those of us who haven’t been published yet.
I’ve only read part of the book I’d been working on a couple of times in the past. I appreciated the feedback I got from my peers each time, and I’m considering bringing in the beginning of my current novel-in-progress, to hopefully get some helpful comments and advice. Then I should be able to rewrite and prepare my manuscript for an editorial critique at the local conference this summer.
Afterwards, Michelle, Lisa and I had lunch in Barnes & Noble’s café (actually a nice, relaxing place on a day off from work!) and talked about our current book projects. Michelle read the beginning of her newest book, about a young girl whose father owns a boarding house in the 1930s. She already has a good grasp of the many colorful characters who live there, and she always has a good feel for the early-20th century time frames that many of her books are set in. We had such a good time that we said we should try to get together again, for an informal writing talk.
Up until a couple of years ago, I was part of the “Wildwood Writers” group, with Michelle, Lisa, and our friend Rich. We met every couple of weeks at Michelle’s place, and shared our works-in-progress. I’ve missed our meetings – it was always inspiring and encouraging for me to share my work with such supportive and creative friends; and it was great to hear them read their interesting and imaginative works-in-progress, as they developed and refined over time.
So I was glad when Michelle, Lisa and I were able to get together the other day, for an afternoon of lunch and writing talk. This time, as we met in the Barnes & Noble café, we all brought something to read. Michelle read more pages of her middle-grade historical novel; Lisa read the beginning of her novel about a young woman who unwittingly becomes involved with a cult; and I shared (actually, Michelle read it for me – I just don’t feel comfortable reading my work in public; I have to get over that someday!) the prologue of a teen novel I’d started a few years back and then shelved, until I decided to get back to it recently. We had a great time, and to me, it felt almost like old times with our Wildwood group – but we all missed Rich. Maybe he can make it down from Albany, where he now lives, to join us sometime.
Because my current novel is in the very beginning phase, I’m uncertain about the direction of it, and so I talked about my concerns with Michelle and Lisa, and they gave me some good advice. They both liked my prologue, and encouraged me to keep going with it. And so I’m continuing it, especially since I’m clearer on some aspects of it, like some characters and the story arc. But without their honest, thoughtful and helpful feedback, I’d probably still be spinning my writing wheels.
And that’s one of the best things about being part of a writing group – everyone has the same hopes and goals for their writing, even if they’re working in different genres or formats; everyone hopes one day to be published and to have an audience for their work. And in the writing groups I’ve been in, everyone genuinely hopes for the success of their fellow writers, as well as for their own. Everyone strives together, everyone supports each other, and hopefully, one day, everyone will be able to share in each other’s writing achievements.
And that kind of inspiration is one of the things that keep me going, through all the ups and downs of this writing life.
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