I’m going to share something with you. For all the years that I have been writing, I’ve never before belonged to a crit group. I’ve had beta readers for years, people I trust to help me make my writing better. And for a long time, that was enough. But I’ve been lucky enough recently to find a home with an online crit group. When I was asked to join, I was just so blown away.
And more than a tad bit worried. I’d never done formal critiques before, am not an English major, and, well, doubted my ability to bring anything worthwhile to the table. And I really didn’t know what to expect or how things worked. I’m happy to say my group members have been incredible. And I’ve learned a lot already just from my time with time.
Write it Sideways has a great post here about the joys and benefits of an online crit group. Check it out and tell me: Do you belong to a crit group? On line or in person? How did you find your group? Is it everything you hoped/wanted it to be?
Showing posts with label craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craft. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Standing on formality
I have a confession to make. I have no real, formal training in writing aside from high school English classes and the required Comp class in college. I’m not an English or Creative Writing major and my degrees are not in the Humanities.
I’ve always written on and off, but didn’t begin to write fiction regularly until about ten years ago. And my friends, both of whom have English degrees, did beta and critique. And I’ve been wondering off and on if/how that affects me as a writer. I mean, I'm not always very technical in my analysis and craft. Does that make me a fraud?
So, I’m thinking of taking a writing class. And I wanted to know: How did you come to writing? Through a program, degree, or classes? Some other way? If you took them, in college or on your own, did you find classes on writing helpful? Or did you find books on writing equally or more helpful?
I’ve always written on and off, but didn’t begin to write fiction regularly until about ten years ago. And my friends, both of whom have English degrees, did beta and critique. And I’ve been wondering off and on if/how that affects me as a writer. I mean, I'm not always very technical in my analysis and craft. Does that make me a fraud?
So, I’m thinking of taking a writing class. And I wanted to know: How did you come to writing? Through a program, degree, or classes? Some other way? If you took them, in college or on your own, did you find classes on writing helpful? Or did you find books on writing equally or more helpful?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
How do you do it?
I’ll admit it. I can be a little slow. Even so, it took me a while to realize just what an act of courage writing is. Good writers/writing evokes feeling on a visceral level from readers. We craft and shape our words to draw our readers in and make them part of the story being told.
But in so doing we have to open ourselves up, reach deep inside ourselves, and spill our deepest innermost fears and sorrows and joys onto the page with our words. And the risk of failure is great, the learning curve steep as we hone our craft and open ourselves up to others’ judgment. Writing is at once an act of affirmation and of courage as well as an act of defiance. Failure will not prevent us from trying as long as we feel we have something to say
Alan Rinzler over at The Book Deal had an interesting post on how writers build courage.
So how do you do it?
But in so doing we have to open ourselves up, reach deep inside ourselves, and spill our deepest innermost fears and sorrows and joys onto the page with our words. And the risk of failure is great, the learning curve steep as we hone our craft and open ourselves up to others’ judgment. Writing is at once an act of affirmation and of courage as well as an act of defiance. Failure will not prevent us from trying as long as we feel we have something to say
Alan Rinzler over at The Book Deal had an interesting post on how writers build courage.
So how do you do it?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Coming to voice
Continuing my catch up with links I made note of before being swallowed by the Nine Muses Challenge, Roz Morris over at Nail Your Novel had a lovely discussion about Developing a Strong Writing Voice, what it is, how it developed for her, and how it is the make or break of telling a story. Rachelle Gardner also had a discussion about Craft, Story, and Voice that raises some really interesting questions about which of those is most difficult, and how they all come together to create a story.
My journey to voice did not come easily or quickly. I was well into graduate school before I really got even a glimmer of what voice was. And that wasn’t even in reference to writing or anything creative, it was in reference to change agents and being a transformative societal force. Of course I was in graduate school working on my MA in Education but still, I was so woefully unaware of not only my own voice but anyone else’s as well. And it wasn’t until I actually left academic writing to return after twenty years to creative writing that I began to worry about voice.
It’s elusive, difficult to quantify and qualify, and absolutely essential to good story telling. And even after all this time, I’m still not sure I have a handle on what it is or how to find it.
So here are my questions to you. What do you think makes good voice? What was your journey to it? Have you found it or are you still searching? And between craft, story and voice, which of those has given you the most difficulty?
My journey to voice did not come easily or quickly. I was well into graduate school before I really got even a glimmer of what voice was. And that wasn’t even in reference to writing or anything creative, it was in reference to change agents and being a transformative societal force. Of course I was in graduate school working on my MA in Education but still, I was so woefully unaware of not only my own voice but anyone else’s as well. And it wasn’t until I actually left academic writing to return after twenty years to creative writing that I began to worry about voice.
It’s elusive, difficult to quantify and qualify, and absolutely essential to good story telling. And even after all this time, I’m still not sure I have a handle on what it is or how to find it.
So here are my questions to you. What do you think makes good voice? What was your journey to it? Have you found it or are you still searching? And between craft, story and voice, which of those has given you the most difficulty?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thinky thoughts
Given the discussion that's been going around, I thought Rachelle Gardner had a lovely guest post about being kinder to yourself as a writer. Go check it out.
Another discussion going around is the one over at the Literary Lab about what makes a good story and the need for a good idea to do so.
Writing is a long haul exercise. A long term investment of yourself in words and craft even if you write short stories or flash fiction. And over the long haul, a story will take on a life of its own. Plot affects characters; how characters react drives plot.
What I think is imperative here, what needs to be present for the story to work, is honesty. And respect. For your craft, your words, your characters, your story, your readers.
For your good idea. Wherever that idea takes you.
And after all that pontificating by me, here's two hundred words of flash fiction.
--------------------
She shivers hard, wraps her arms around her middle.
It doesn’t help.
She kicks out her legs; stares at the tiny, bare feet in front of her.
The door cracks open. She drops her feet.
The gap widens; she’s not alone in the room anymore.
He drops onto the stool, rolls to the desk.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
If there’s anything she’s sure of in this life, it’s that she doesn’t want this.
“I’m nobody’s mother.”
“A simple yes or no will do.”
There’s no room in her life for this.
“Yes.”
A long forefinger taps the file; he doesn’t bother looking at her. “The father isn’t…”
“Relevant.” Her eyes are as flat as her voice.
“Here?”
“Should he be?”
“Does he know?”
A glass-edged smile slashes her lips. “Does he care?”
No, he doesn’t. And she doesn’t need what he hasn’t got; doesn’t need the weight of his disinterest or pity.
She doesn’t need anything small and needy weighing her down.
“You shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not alone, my…friend is waiting.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“Can we just get this over with?”
He pushes back, leverages himself to his feet. “I’ll get my assistant.”
Another discussion going around is the one over at the Literary Lab about what makes a good story and the need for a good idea to do so.
Writing is a long haul exercise. A long term investment of yourself in words and craft even if you write short stories or flash fiction. And over the long haul, a story will take on a life of its own. Plot affects characters; how characters react drives plot.
What I think is imperative here, what needs to be present for the story to work, is honesty. And respect. For your craft, your words, your characters, your story, your readers.
For your good idea. Wherever that idea takes you.
And after all that pontificating by me, here's two hundred words of flash fiction.
--------------------
She shivers hard, wraps her arms around her middle.
It doesn’t help.
She kicks out her legs; stares at the tiny, bare feet in front of her.
The door cracks open. She drops her feet.
The gap widens; she’s not alone in the room anymore.
He drops onto the stool, rolls to the desk.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
If there’s anything she’s sure of in this life, it’s that she doesn’t want this.
“I’m nobody’s mother.”
“A simple yes or no will do.”
There’s no room in her life for this.
“Yes.”
A long forefinger taps the file; he doesn’t bother looking at her. “The father isn’t…”
“Relevant.” Her eyes are as flat as her voice.
“Here?”
“Should he be?”
“Does he know?”
A glass-edged smile slashes her lips. “Does he care?”
No, he doesn’t. And she doesn’t need what he hasn’t got; doesn’t need the weight of his disinterest or pity.
She doesn’t need anything small and needy weighing her down.
“You shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not alone, my…friend is waiting.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“Can we just get this over with?”
He pushes back, leverages himself to his feet. “I’ll get my assistant.”
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