Accountability

This week, I finished an online writing course. The class is called Writing Fiction with the New York Times, and it’s offered through Stanford Continuing Education. They are offering the class again during the spring semester and I definitely recommend that aspiring writers look into taking it.

We read a wonderful book called The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop by Stephen Koch. There are a lot of writing books out there, and this is definitely one of the better ones I’ve read. Koch explores the writing process from the beginning (how does one get inspired?) to the end (dreaded revising).

The book was great, and it will sit in a prominent place on my bookshelf. The other great part of the class, however, was interacting with other writers. Having the opportunity to turn in creative writing pieces each week and have them critiqued line by line from classmates, a Stanford professor, and a New York Times book reviewer is a process any writer would be happy to have. You may think your work is wonderful, but seven people pointing out that they have no idea why Princess Rialta is climbing a tree in pursuit of a squirrel is priceless. It’s never fun to have work you think is finished critiqued by well-meaning classmates, but it’s better than being clueless when every agent in New York rejects your work.

In the past, I had half-heartedly looked for a writing group in my area, but I hadn’t found one. I figured my lack of results was more a lack of trying than a lack of resources. I live in an artsy community, and I was sure there were writing groups I hadn’t found. Fortunately, my sister-in-law looks harder for friends than I look for writing groups, and she told me about a website called meetup.com. She said it was for anyone looking for people with common interests, but in my head I still thought it was for singles.

When my class ended, I felt like I needed to resume my search for a writing group, so I started searching for writing groups in my area. I found one that met on Saturday mornings, and I decided that I may as well try it out. What had I got to lose (other than three hours on a Saturday morning)?

The group was surprisingly well-organized considering it was comprised of a group of writers. We met at a coffee shop where the meeting started promptly at ten. The first hour was a lecture about traditional publishing versus independent publishing. As I writer seeking representation, I’ve done a fair amount of research into the publishing industry. However, the lecture provided me with new insights into websites I’d only heard about.

The second hour was comprised of critiques for two people who had submitted work online before the group. The critiques were well-organized, each person getting an opportunity to speak. When every person had the opportunity to offer a critique, the writer had a chance to address any critiques or ask questions.

The group ended promptly at noon, the designated ending point. I was thankful that it was kept to a time schedule. I’m a schedule-oriented person. I hate being late, and I hate when things I attend run late. That day, I had to hurry home to make sugarplums before we celebrated our family Christmas.

I’ll continue to attend the writing group, and I’m hoping this post encourages some of you to find people with whom you can share your passion for writing (or drawing or running). One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who’d like to write but don’t is that they don’t have time. Like everything else in life, finding like-minded people who will keep you accountable will help you make time to write.