Well I didn't want to mention it because I was afraid I would jinx it. Everyone knows how that happens. But don't get too excited it's not about publishing or agents. I'll keep dreaming.
The last few weeks I've been meeting with a writing group. I'm one of three people. One of the writers is an old acquaintance from high school. The other was/is a teacher at my old high school, although I didn't realize it until the other group member pointed it out.
Every week I worried that one or both wouldn't show up. Leaving me alone again or in awkward conversation with someone I didn't know. But it worked for a few weeks so I've been pretty lucky.
And I just want to say that my meeting with this group does not mean that I have given up on a writing group with my southeast pals. Writing is my life and the more I get of it the more I'm thriving. Plus it's always wonderful to have more opinions. Not to mention that I hold back a little with the work I bring to this group because one of the writers seems a bit more conservative (not in a political sense) so I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. It's not like I'm writing erotica but some of the content of Human Decency might be a little harsh.
Besides the only reason I dared to mention the writing group today is because I'm not certain it will be around much longer. Both members are teachers, one that will be on vacation for the next three weeks and soon after that school will be starting so I imagine time will be limited. And the member who I went to high school with is also a teacher. She's going to Maryland next week to interview for a job that I hope she gets. Not because I don't want her around but she's been looking for a job and Michigan is pretty much out of them. So I'm fairly sure that it won't be long before the group is no more. We've been trying to get a few more people. There have been potentials and still are but so far not much has come of it. With as hard as it was to get it started in the first place I'm not holding my breath.
Anyway, I've gotten a few stories reviewed by my group so far. The first one is my story about companion animal abandonment. The second was a story that I just recently submitted to a somewhat prestigious magazine and to be honest I probably wouldn't have done it had I not had advice and proofreading from others. The third was a dark comedy of sorts about a somewhat unfortunate girl that my group wanted to make even more unfortunate.
I've gotten positive but constructive feedback. And I've gotten a lot of tips on grammar. I worry more about the story than the technical aspects so it's been a super bonus having two teachers read over my work. I've also greatly enjoyed reading their work. Second to writing, reading is a big chunk of my life and I love to read works in progress.
So I'm bummed that it may come to an end but glad that I had it for the short time I did. And I'm optimistic that I'll maybe have a writing group with others, no pressure though. I know everyone's busy having lives and careers.
**Oh and I just want to sincerely apologize to the person that was directed to my blog today while searching for "allergic reaction to paper and ink". In my last entry I did not mean that it was weird to have this type of allergic reaction but more that it seemed unusual to be allergic to the combination of the two. If this is a serious allergic reaction, I am so sorry for my idiocy.**
*BTW: On the subject of weird searches, in the last two days I've gotten two searches about whining. I've never had any searches about whining before but apparently the past few days have brought on people who wonder "why do people whine?" and "do I whine?"
Wouldn't it be awesome if it turned out it was two people fighting and one said the other whined. So why they were trying to calm down one went searching for why people whine and the other didn't think they were a whiner so they went searching to find out if they did. Oh the possibilities there.*
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