Lake Writers

Parts of this post were originally written as a magazine article, but the magazine ceased publication before my article was published. Prior to writing the original article, I had gotten permission from Patricia Hope to quote from her article in the June 2006 issue of The Writer. I lost her contact info when I changed computes a few years ago, so I hope she doesn't mind I have used some of her words in this post.

Friday I was officially elected as vice-president of Lake Writers, the literary branch of the Smith Mountain Arts Council. Actually, I'd been serving in that capacity more or less since the club was organized in 2000, but I considered myself "assistant leader" or "assistant referee." Jim Morrison had been the founder, and consequently our leader. But until the other day, we'd never had actual elected officers. 

We're kind of a loose group; we don't have any written-down rules and we like informality. Most of us started writing after we retired from real jobs, so most of us are senior citizens. Anyone looking in on a meeting might think we're a branch of AARP. (We welcome younger writers, though, and sometimes someone who isn't gray-haired drops in. A 50-year-old is considered a kid at Lake Writers.)  We're a diverse group, encompassing a wide range of talent, creativity, ability levels, interests, educational backgrounds, eccentricities, writing styles, personality types, life experiences, etc. But we have a common goal: we all want our writing to be the best it can be.

Since Lake Writers began, we’ve looked for ways to improve our writing—whether we write just for family or for the public. Many of us read books, magazines, and articles about writing on our own, but we share what we learn with the group.

When Patricia Hope’s article, “How to Run a Successful Writing Group,” in the June 2006 issue of The Writer (http://www.writermag.com) caught my attention, I told the other Lake Writers, “This could be about us!” They agreed. We are indeed a successful group. 

Here are Hope’s 10 suggestions and how Lake Writers follows them. If you're in a writing group, maybe you can use them:

1. Connect with other writers:

Hope suggests keeping a group small; we average a dozen or so at meetings. Not always the same dozen, but a half-dozen hard core regulars and others who come when they can. Some heard about our group from readings we’ve done; some through word of mouth; some through articles about members of our group. 

2. Meet regularly

We do—from 10 a.m. until noon on second Fridays  at the Moneta/Smith Mountain Lake branch of the Bedford County Library and fourth Fridays at the Westlake branch of the Franklin County Library. Female members sometimes “do lunch” after the meeting and keep the discussion going. A critique begun in the morning can thus run until late afternoon—and even later as we email suggestions we thought of afterwards.

3. Keep meetings informal

“There’s no need for officers,” Hope says. Until last Friday, Lake Writers didn’t have any, although Jim served as our discussion leader and/or referee. He’s well-organized and diplomatic. If he couldn’t attend a meeting, he'd ask someone else to do it—usually me. I’m disorganized and tactless. We balanced each other out. The new president, Chuck Lumpkin, is also well-organized and diplomatic. The balance ought to stay about the same. We don't have a treasurer (no money) or secretary, although Betsy Ashton, who does press releases for SMAC, acts as our publicist.

A month or two ago, when the idea of by-laws came up, members rejected them. We like informality. Often someone says, “Why don’t we—?” and then we discuss the feasibility of doing whatever someone suggested. We’ve held writing contests to honor a deceased member, done public “coffeehouse” readings, accepted invitations to read to clubs, and participated at civic events. 

4. Take personal responsibility

We don’t have any formal committees, and we don’t want any. If something needs to be done, someone comes forward and does it. Others jump in to help. We’ve had a few short-term committees that disbanded as soon as their job was finished. No one has ever been officially appointed to a committee, and we like it that way. Our focus is always on what we can do to improve our writing skills—not who serves on what and why. We don’t like—and don’t need—bureaucracy.

Whoever gets to the library first sets up the chairs and tables. After the meeting, we all put the room back the way it was. We appreciate that the library generously provides us with a private meeting place for free.

5. Critique constructively

Even when we tear each other’s work apart, we do it in a constructive manner. Even if we argue—and sometimes we do, we still respect each other and each other’s work. We want to make each piece of writing the best it can be. We usually critique with this focus in mind: what does a writer want to do with a particular piece? Sometimes the writer doesn’t know, so the rest of us brainstorm for particular markets. Finding the right market is as important as polishing grammar and syntax. Some only want to have their work as pieces of family history. No problem—but we’ll still help the author improve the work.

When one member has a book to self-publish or POD (use a print-on-demand company), we help with editing and proofreading. Each of us “sees” in different ways. Some of us school-marmy types point out grammar problems. Others point out plot problems. Some just give input on whether or not an idea works. When a member gets stuck on a point of plot, the rest of us pitch in to help. 

“Can a body be stuffed into a porta-potty?” asked Sally, the murder mystery writer, once asked. Bruce explained how it could be done: “First, you have to crack his back. . . .”

Occasionally someone drops in who only wants praise and validation. We don't do much ego-stroking. We want to encourage the best possible writing a person is capable of. Occasionally someone drops in who is seeking a fast way to get published. We can't help with that, either. We've learned the road to publication is slow and fraught with obstacles. We do try to warn others about writing scams and bad publishers.

6. Value your role as a reader

We do. Not only do we read our own work aloud for the group, we read each other’s work. And we’re all avid readers who recommend books to each other. When I raved about Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages, Sally borrowed it and liked it so much, she bought our own copy. I then lent it to Fran, who consequently bought her own copy. Now Jim and Rod own copies. We’re always finding good stuff to read and recommending it to the others. Rarely a meeting goes by that someone doesn’t say, “You’ve got to read this!”

7. Challenge each other

Hope suggests that members encourage each other “to enter contests, submit writings for publication or begin a local newspaper column.” This is one of our strong points. I’m the group’s official nagger—or at least the most vocal one. Because of my nagging (“When are you going to start your blog?!”), several members now have blogs, and I’m still working on a few others. We nagged Marion into finally publishing  When Men Move to the Basement. We convinced Jean to publish a chapbook of her wonderful poems; the first run of her Musings sold out in a few months. She published her second chapbook a few months before she died. 

We've persuaded others to submit articles to local magazines. A couple of us write—or have written— columns, commentaries, or letters to the editor for local papers. 

When Phyllis read us her article that a dog breed magazine had published, we encouraged her to rewrite and pitch to a local magazine for retired people. At the next meeting, she had most of her rewrite—a greatly expanded article with a focus on retirees with dogs. We were delighted when Prime Living (which, alas, no longer exists) published it. 

When Sally’s Smith Mountain Lake murder mystery, Secrets at Spawning Run, first came out, she was hesitant to approach local gift shop owners. Karen and I each grabbed her by the arms and propelled her into one of the shops. Now Sally pitches her books (she has two now with a third in the works) like a pro, and she’s sold over two thousand copies—not bad for a POD mystery.

Many of our group have entered writing contests and have won or placed. Often, their entries have been workshopped through the group.

A lot of Lake Writer conversations begin, “You know, you really ought to write about—” or “You really ought to query—” or “Have you thought about entering—?”

8. Expand your knowledge and strengthen your group

Some of us go to conferences and report back to the group. Many of us report on things we’ve read or found on the Internet. We warn each other of scams (one of us was once scammed by an unscrupulous agent, another once fell for the International Library of Poetry scam), suggest legitimate contests to enter, and tip each other off about possible submission sources. 

9. Celebrate each other’s achievements

We are each other’s fan club. We go to each other’s readings, signings, and bookfests. We brag about each other’s efforts. We help each other out. 

10. Give something back

Several years ago, to honor the memory of a deceased member, we held a writing contest for young people. We had such a good time doing it, that we did another writing contest again the following year and again the next. We're still doing it. Most of us judge. We like reading what young folks write, and we are inspired by their efforts.

Some of us go into schools or libraries and talk to students about writing. Some of us do readings at retirement homes. Sometimes we donate our books as prizes in local contests. Jim and Franz have donated profits from their books to the D-Day Memorial. Mostly, we give back by encouraging others to find their voices and get their words out.

If you live in the area and think you might have a book or a story or poem in you, and you’re looking for a low-key, laid-back, enthusiastic, mostly-retired writers group where members ages range from mid-50s to mid-80s, join us at the Moneta/SML Library some second or fourth Friday morning. Maybe we’ll challenge you to write, too.

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