Critiquing a critique group

Over a year ago, I stepped away from a local SCBWI critique group I'd been part of for several years. There was nothing 'wrong' with the group or its members. They're all talented writers, working hard on their craft and focused on getting their WIPs in shape and ready for submission. But they were all working on picture books. I was working on a middle-grade novel.

So I set about creating a critique group focused on writing middle-grade novels. A month later, five of us, all avid readers and writers of literature for that age group, met virtually for the first time. After initial technical problems, we settled into a rhythm of monthly manuscript submissions and online critique of our middle-grade WIPs. The group seemed to be going well.

Six months later, one member withdrew. She found getting feedback early in the writing process derailed her vision for the piece. We all understood and wished her well. 

Last month, another member withdrew. Multiple demands in his work and personal life left him with little extra time and energy. Again, we all understood and wished him well. 

So the three of us who remain will decide the group's future. We've all been at this long enough to know that groups like this are malleable. They morph into what is needed by its members and are reshaped as members come and go. The three of us can tweak our guidelines and procedures or we can tear them up and start over. We can keep the group at just three members, or we can add another one or two. In any case, I look forward to the process of redefining ourselves and am excited about our future.  

A meme, and an open mic

At the recommendation of a number of marketing websites, I'm trying my hand at creating memes and sending them off into the world.

Members of the Endless Mountains Writers Group were the featured performers at the Dietrich's open mic night last night. I had the opportunity to sit back and listen to the creations of my fellow storytellers, which was just wonderful. So often during Group, with the paper copies before me and the author's request of things-I-want-to-know-about-this-piece, I have my critique hat on and don't really get a chance to just hear the story develop. What a delightful change of pace. I heard some nuances of voice and character that would have been less obvious on paper, and I definitely felt the overall story flow better by listening to it.
Hildy (aka fearless leader) says she wants the Writers Group to participate in open mic at least annually. For now, I've made myself a promise to let my eyes do less critiquing and to just listen more.

The TBR in 2015 list

For Christmas, Mike gave me "By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review." The volume is a compilation of 65 interviews of writers, artists, historians, and others. The focus of the interviews are books - favorite reads in the last year, favorite childhood books, which books most influenced career choice, that sort of thing.

It was a great way for me to add to my 'To Be Read' list. 

Books written by fellow local authors Eric Buffington, Heather L Adams, Regge Episale, Eugenie D. West, and John Koloski were already piled on my pseudo-desk, waiting for me. After reading "By the Book," I added dozens more to the TBR list, at this point still a list on the public library's website.

There's an interesting mix there of print and audio books, fiction and non-fiction, adult and juvenile literature. There's inspirational, fantasy, historical, and literary, some poetry and short stories - just about any genre imaginable. And with authors like Hilary Mantel, Laurie Halse Anderson, Elmore Leonard, John Irving, Toni Morrison, Laini Taylor, Alice Munro, Thomas Merton, Margaret Atwood...

It's going to be a very good year.

Choosing a community

Once we both retire, Michael and I want to live closer to our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. (They currently live 3 hours south of us.) We'd like to be close enough to help when needed, but not so close that we're a pain in the neck. So with that in mind, we spent a couple days this week exploring some communities in Lancaster County, PA.

We stayed at a little B&B in America's Coolest Small Town, charming Lititz, PA. As we explored it and other nearby towns, we used several features as our 'starting points' to determine whether or not we might want to make the town our future home - the local library, churches, and public parks among them. This approach is based on our own short list. We utilize those services in our lives now and most likely will in the future. We think a community which support a variety of faiths, has a strong interest in public lands, and is home to a well-utilized quality library system is a community in which we want to live and grow.

Which brings to mind an interesting parallel. No community, whether a place to live or a place to develop a love of stories, is right for everyone. But the Writers Group at the Dietrich , where I have been a member for 8 years or so, continues to attract writers of all stripes.
Some folks attend one or two meetings and decide it's not for them, and that's fine. Others come for a short time, contribute and grow, then move away. Some, like me, make the group their writing community. We use it as a place to connect with like-minded people who share the same values. We plant, nurture, encourage, and contribute to our mutual growth.

That's home.