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You are here: Home / Authors In Our Midst / Calling All Writers

Calling All Writers

by | 68 Comments

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The view from my office:

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I have been toying with an idea since Authors in Our Midst.  I really enjoyed the comments on those threads and it seemed like we had a lot of people who were in progress on some writing project or another. Do we have enough interest to start a writing support group here?

I was thinking we could “meet” a couple times a month and encourage each other, offer advice and suggestions. Maybe a secure drop box to share work to critique. I can see if our published authors would be wiling to pop in and offer their experiences and answer questions.

Hillary Rettig has offered her support/expertise with this, too! So if you’re interested, leave a comment in this post and I’ll take it from there if we have enough interest.

Reader Interactions

68Comments

  4. 4.

    jacy

    I’d love to participate and offer whatever. More cogently than this morning –I’m not very alert yet….

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    As one who used to write a lot I would probably lurk (pretty sure you guys would only do it when I am not around). Who knows, might even reinvigorate my desire to write.

  8. 8.

    wonkie

    I would love a writing group. My collection of short stories has been picked up by a publisher an is now available in paperback. I am working on a second book, non-fiction this time. I would enjoy beig part of a group.

  10. 10.

    Elmo

    Been working on a novel off and on for twenty years. Like most lawyers, I think. I would *love* this.

  12. 12.

    Diana

    As Elmo says, like most lawyers, I have some fiction I’ve been writing on and off … wouldn’t mind participating…

  13. 13.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    (peeks out cautiously from behind potted plant)
    I’m in; I’ve had some ideas for short stories rattling around my head for years, and other than very vague outlines haven’t gotten much further. Thanks for doing this!
    (returns to safety of potted plant)

  14. 14.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Ok, I think we are getting a good group. I’ll keep checking on the thread, please don’t think it’s too late to comment, this is just us see what size group we can get together. Cheers!

  15. 15.

    Hillary Rettig

    Very psyched to do this, too!

    Also, I would encourage any academic writers (grad students, faculty, etc.) to join us. The principles are the same.

  17. 17.

    Josie

    I would enjoy lurking in such a group. I have a historical novel that has been sloshing around in my head for many years. This might be just the push I need.

  19. 19.

    HRA

    I would be very interested in this group. I have 2 different works I have to get busy on as soon as my new home office is finished.

  21. 21.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    I don’t know… Not sure if want to join any writing group that would have someone like me as a member.

    Groucho snark aside, I’d be interested in joining.

  26. 26.

    WereBear

    @EBT: On this topic I am curious as to what others do when the creative juices won’t flow.

    There’s a fantastic book, On Writer’s Block by Victoria Nelson. You can pick it up used via Abe’s Books or Powell’s or Amazon.

    Every writer should.

    She goes through all kinds of reasons the well might be dry: unrealistic expectations, perfectionism, outright fear. And different ones can come into play at different times.

    If I get stuck in a novel, I use that as a signal I should be writing in a different section, and that usually works. I do better when I’m not trying to power through from beginning to end; I’ve learned my plots should grow organically, from the character’s actions, and those don’t always occur to me chronologically, even if the novel unfolds that way.

    Also, I’ve run a cat blog for nine years now, and for the last three I have also blogged for my day job. When you’ve blogged that long, there is no such thing as Writer’s Block. :)

  27. 27.

    MazeDancer

    Likely to lurk, at least. Depending on format, also likely to offer advice where it might be helpful.

  28. 28.

    EBT

    @WereBear: Thank you, I will look at that. I am 77k words in to a first draft of an interactive fiction I am trying to do and hit a lull in creation that has been stressing me, doubtlessly making said lull worse.

  30. 30.

    ChrisGrrr

    I haven’t been too motivated by fame, but I’ve been chugging along on work of all “lengths,” and would probably like to participate. Tnx.

  31. 31.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @EBT: When I get stuck, it’s usually because I’ve noticed some problem and am afraid I can’t solve it. It’s helpful to me to remind myself that noticing a problem (and the discomfort that comes with that) is a good thing. If you don’t notice the problem, you’ll never fix it.

    I also find it useful to consider if I’m suffering from the delusion that there’s a perfect way to fix the problem and I just don’t know it. In reality, there are a lot of possible ways. I just have to choose one and make it work.

    Or revise later of course. I’m lucky in that revising is my favorite part of writing.

  32. 32.

    Peter

    I’m interested. I have a book coming out in March about a restaurant in the Hudson Valley. It took us a long time to get it done; we planned on self-publishing but ended up selling it to a great publisher after it was largely finished (including the design). So I have some perspective/experience (this is my first book) on some of the issues surrounding both strategies.

  36. 36.

    maurinsky

    I am participating in National Novel Writing Month, which starts today. I’m in!

    I have completed 3 novels so far, but while I love writing them, I am a lazy slacker when it comes to re-writing them. This year’s novel is called The Hot Flash, it’s about a 50 year old woman who is going through menopause who finds out she can use her hot flashes as a weapon against bad guys – and she knows who the bad guys are because she can read people’s thoughts. I am ridiculously excited about this story, I’ve been planning for several months and I dream about it almost every night.

  37. 37.

    Applejinx

    Hey, that would be interesting. I have a nonfiction thing going, and after that will be transitioning to a fiction project I’ve been preparing for. Not sure how relevant any of that is to the Balloon Juice crowd, but what the hey?

    I’ve written around two million words of genre fiction, 1.28 million of which is currently online for proof, so even if you loathe my actual writing (and technically I ain’t bad) I can at least promise you that I know how not to be stuck :)

    And maybe it’d be helpful to get me to not consciously decide NOT to write and instead do other stuff. When I don’t have a public deadline, I choose not to write much more often…

  38. 38.

    Greg

    I’m querying agents right now. I’m also Nano-ing the project I should have started 3 months ago. So I’m out of the lurk and saying I’m in.

  43. 43.

    maurinsky

    It was inspired by my own hot flashes mixed with fury at the fucking world right now, with a dollop of reaching the age where one becomes invisible, and thinking there is a lot of power in invisibility.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @WereBear:

    I do better when I’m not trying to power through from beginning to end

    I finally figured that out this year — it only took me about 30 years to realize it. I invested in Scrivener, which I adore because it lets me write chunks and then assemble them.

    I’m also getting ready to form a writer’s group IRL but I’m a little intimidated because they’re all published authors, but it will be good for me!

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, my stupid carpal tunnels are bugging me (too much phone typing!) so my brand-new ergonomic keyboard should be arriving today.

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    @Mnemosyne: I ADORE Scrivener, and I’m so glad you are enjoying it.

    My husband would never have been able to attempt his fantasy trilogy without it. (He’s like 40% done with the first draft.)

  48. 48.

    MzRAD

    Yes, please. I’m writing about Mont Blanc, the ecological sublime, and vision/blindness in the poetry of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Would love some accountability. I also blog about sustainable food & drink at CentralCoastFoodie.com.

  51. 51.

    Mary G

    I’m a pathological wannabe writer who’s too scared to write, much less share writing, for fear of it being bad. What I am really good at and love to do, is edit and critique. I won the all-California junior college contest for copy editing and have been in a long string of writing groups where I almost never submitted anything but critiques. I had minor success as a freelance editor in the past, but I’ve mostly given it up in recent years because of torn tendons in my hands from my RA prohibit most typing. Voice recognition technology has improved a lot (I use it in some of my comments here on this tablet). So, long-winded story short, I would like to join, if lack of contributions is OK.

  53. 53.

    stinger

    Count me in! Also count my up-vote for Scrivener–I find it indispensable for long-form fiction.

  55. 55.

    Marjowil

    I have been writing fiction on my own for decades, but I don’t do anything with it. I’m not sure I want people reading and criticizing as it will not help my confidence. (btw I make a living as a writer; not a complete amateur) But I am open to a support group or threads. I love this blog but sometimes I find people on it hostile.

  56. 56.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mary G: I didn’t know you could win prizes for copy editing! How do they judge you on it? Before-and-after copy? : )

  57. 57.

    Travels with Charley

    I’m mostly a lurker, but I would love to join this group! I used to write – journals, dreams, snippets of stories…but kids & life eventually pushed writing out. I would love to get back into it…

  58. 58.

    Mnemosyne

    @Marjowil:

    I doubt we would do actual critiques here — way too much opportunity for trolls and griefers to mess with people. People will sometimes get wound up over blog stuff, but in general we’re one big dysfunctional family and I think people would be able to modulate themselves for a creative critique.

    But, yeah, there’s going to need to be some kind of accountability to make sure people are being constructive in their critiques.

  59. 59.

    tokyo expat

    Don’t know if it’s too late, but I’m interested depending on what’s involved. I do both academic writing and fiction. I have a book coming out-romantic suspense–soon. Would love if we could also tap into marketing. I find social media very intimidating.

    For anyone who wants to learn Scrivener, it’s not too late to check out the RWASD workshop this month on Scrivener. The instructor has videos you can watch so you can see how to use it.

    I’m also doing NaNo this month, mostly to push myself on my next book. Not sure I’ll hit 50k, but I’ll take what I can get.

  60. 60.

    Miss Bianca

    I’ve heard a lot of people say good things about Scrivener, including members of my writer’s group. Me, I’m using True Novelist, which has some of the nice features of Scrivener, but is completely online (and free), which given my situation right now works out better for me.

    And Tamara, it just occurred to me that you are seeing roses in full bloom from your window in November! Freaky weather we’re having, ain’t it?

  61. 61.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @Marjowil:
    @Mnemosyne:

    Let me assure you, there will be no hostility if I can help it. I was fairly strict on the Authors in Our Midst threads. I will not do this if people cannot be civil and kind. I have the same rules on my recipe threads – criticize me all you like, but must be kind to those who are brave enough to share their own favorites.

  62. 62.

    maurinsky

    I tried Storify today but I’m abandoning it – I hit command C to copy a section and the whole section disappeared. So back to Google Docs for me, since I will be using my Chromebook to write when I’m not at home. It was only a small chunk of dialogue, and I’m sure a rewrite will only improve it, but it was irksome.

    I have an IRL writing buddy this time around, he is writing a textbook on leadership while I write my novel.

    I got off to my best start ever, 2,037 (it was closer to 2500 with the missing chunk still included).

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne

    I got off to a good start — 1,989. And for some reason, I decided to write the ending and epilogue today. Have I mentioned that I love how Scrivener lets me write in whatever order I feel like writing?

  64. 64.

    maurinsky

    I think I’d like to try Scrivener, but I don’t think I have time to learn how to use it.

  65. 65.

    JanieM

    A Scrivener question: can you save files from within Scrivener in e.g. Word format? I mostly use Word, but I edit for someone who has a Mac and uses Pages, and we pass files back and forth with very little hassle (not zero, but little enough).

    You folks are making Scrivener sound tempting, but I too am daunted by the thought of trying to learn it at the same time when I’m trying to jump/re/start a writing habit.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @maurinsky:
    @JanieM:

    There are two tutorials included — quick start and deep dive. The quick start tutorial only takes about 30 minutes and covers all of the essentials. You can always go back for the deep dive. I love that all of my story chunks are available at the same time, so I don’t have to mess around with having a bunch of Word files open.

    And, yes, you can export to Word and (I think) Pages.

    ETA: Did I mention that it has a 30-day free trial period? If you hate it, you can delete it.

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