I’ve taken a big step; plunge might be a better
word. I found a writer’s group in the Bakersfield area and joined it, and am
now a part of a writer’s critique group, a sub-group of the larger one. I’ve
been feeling it was time to get back writing on my book, which I started quite
a while ago, but which I put on the shelf after my first writer’s conference
when we newbie’s to writing were encouraged, while working on our first book,
to also write shorter stories for publication, researching the various
publications we were interested in. I had looked especially at writing
devotionals since my writing tends to that application. I did the research;
every publication has their guidelines, all variations on a theme, and after a
while I figuratively threw up my hands and said, phooey! I’ll write what I want
the way I want! A bit of the belligerent in me, I guess you could say.
Now, about 15 months and a move across the country
later, I believe it is God who has prodded me to pick up the book again. I read
through what I have already written and actually got misty eyed and choked up
in places. I feel like it is going to be a chore to get my brain back into the
right thinking mode for the book but I have to take that first step. Or plunge.
Enter the writer’s club and the smaller critique
group. I am hoping for good feedback on what I write; some guidance and
direction for moving forward. I’ve felt like a boat adrift at sea: no sail, no
wind, and no idea in which direction I should be headed!
The Writer’s of Kern (WOK), based in Bakersfield,
welcomes writers from all over Kern County (which covers a huge geographic
area) as well as writer’s from all over the central valley of California. One
of their boasts is that not even Fresno, their big sister to the north, has a
writer’s group! WOK is a local chapter of the California Writer’s Club, founded
in 1909 by none other than Jack London. Like I say, I am hoping to get some
good input for my writing.
One of the things I learned at my first monthly WOK
meeting is that everyone is writing something for publication. Well, naturally
(not to say ‘duh’), all these writers are writing for publication, ultimately. But
I mean articles and stories for popular magazines and books, like Chicken Soup
for the Soul. And most of them are working on books. The members of WOK write
across various genres: fantasy/sci-fi, other fiction, non-fiction. It appears,
from my first critique group meeting (a sub-group of the larger group), that
the others in my group of 6 are writing fiction of one sort or another. One woman
is a screen writer. My short-article writing, the kind of thing I often post on
my blog, as well as my book, are non-fiction and within the sphere of
‘inspirational’ or ‘spiritual’, according to the genre options listed to check
as a new member.
So, being encouraged once again to write articles
for publication, guess what? I’ve capitulated! I’ve written a story to submit
to a popular publication! Whether or not it is published is another story, the
important thing is it gets me writing. In fact, one of the requirements in the
critique group is that each member must be writing and submit something at each
meeting for critique by the other members. We meet twice a month so I have to
write frequently. I’ve made a start on my book by submitting the first chapter
for next meeting’s critique. It is not all that long and hopefully it is not
too long as a submission.
Like I said, I believe God is prompting me to
continue what I started. If my book, whenever I finish it, helps others, the
work will be worth it. And maybe I’ll have some fun along the way and see some
articles in other publications. You never know until you try.