Companions on the Writing Journey

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One of the best things a writer can do for herself is to join a critique group. More than two decades ago, my friend and fellow writer Judy Wolfman twisted my arm and convinced me to give her critique group a try. When I say she twisted my arm, I'm not being literal, but I'm not being sarcastic either. I was terrified to show my writing to other people and it took some convincing, along with the promise that I could just observe until I was comfortable, to get me to try just one meeting.

I'm still going.

Over the years, the composition of the group has changed. In fact, only three of us who were part of the group then are still part of the group now. I've brought five novels to this group (six, if you count the one that I revised and brought back for a second pass) along with a non-fiction book that I was struggling to put together. One novel was published, a second self-published and a third -- the one going through the group right now -- is one I hope to self-publish before the end of the year. Another novel (the one that went through twice) is next on my to-be-revised list and the non-fiction book is coming out this spring.

You might say their feedback has been useful.

When it comes to integrating their feedback, though, it took me a while to figure out the best way to do so. I always read their comments as soon after the meeting as I can, but I sometimes don't dig into the changes they suggest right away. Depending on where I am in the writing process, it might be months -- or maybe even years -- down the road before I settle down with their notes in front of me and weigh the changes against what's on the page.

Fellow writers are surprised when I tell them I often tuck the critiques away, returning to them only when I dig into revisions. While the discussion isn't as clear in my mind, I'm also a little more removed from the prose, making it easier to consider cuts and drive the revision process, which I hate. Because I'm not a happy reviser (I just hate the revising process in general), saving their feedback -- both positive and negative -- helps me to power through the process. In addition, once I've finished the first draft, I have a better idea of where their suggestions fit into the plot or overall scheme of the book. I can also see which comments are recurring, which helps me to shape the book.

Revision is a necessary but, for me, less than pleasant process. Having friends along for the ride makes things a bit easier and it makes my books better as well.

Writers' Group Wednesday

My critique group meets tonight, which officially makes this my favorite Wednesday of the month We are single/married/parents/grandparents/young/young-at-heart, fiction/non-fiction/article/ novel/poetry writers. Some of us have been critiquing one another's work for twenty years or more; others have been with the group less than five. We're respectful in a no-holds-barred kind of way; that's the beauty of growing together as writers.

Lately, our group has been having trouble getting together. Life circumstances, family obligations and crazy schedules have gutted our last few meetings. I'm always sad when that happens. When we don't meet, I miss not just the perspectives on writing this group provides, but the people as well. We've entrusted one another with one of our most personal possessions -- our words on the page -- and along the way, relationships have grown up around those words.

In some ways, this group is like the small groups I ran for my elementary school students. There's a camaraderie and a level of trust that develops as a result of sharing time and talent, publishing contracts and rejection letters, births and deaths and retirements. And though confidentiality is not mandated, it is, in many cases, assumed -- both for the words on the page and the events of our lives. Together, we have centuries of experience as readers and writers, and these common bonds connect us.

Some critique groups are genre-specific: all poets, all screen writers, all novelists. This group is not. Most of us have at least one longer work-in-progress -- usually fiction, but sometimes non-fiction -- among our monthly submissions, but they vary widely. Sometimes, I feel a little out of my league, as I sit, pen in hand, reading works that are outside the realm of what I'd choose off a bookstore shelf. Consequently, I sometimes critique more as a reader than a writer, marking both the spots that sing and those that trigger dissonance.

I know beyond any doubt that I owe my publishing contracts to this group. The books may have my name on them, but without this group, those books would be sitting on my hard drive, rather than gracing bookstore shelves and catalog pages. Without this group, I'd have found the editing process leading up to publication much more heartbreaking because I wouldn't have learned that editing a book is like pruning a rosebush -- when it's done right, it makes the blooms more beautiful.

As writers, we sometimes struggle to decide which words are flowers and which ones are weeds. Though I've gotten much better at that over two decades of writing, sometimes I miss a few weeds, mistaking them for wildflowers. This group tells me which ones need to be yanked and which ones should be bulldozed so that the ones that remain have room to grow and tell their story.

We don't always agree when it comes to weeding one another's word gardens, but that's part of the beauty of the group. Writing is, after all, an art, requiring a combination of personal experience and collective wisdom.

In the end, the writer sits alone before a screen, deciding what to keep and what to excise. But one Wednesday a month, this writer is lucky enough to sit in a room with a group of people who love writing as much as she does.

Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening.

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