We Need Each Other

MUSE

June column for The Greater Canton Writers’ Guild Newsletter

We need each other. The act of writing is a solitary endeavor and in that process we have a tendency to cut ourselves off from the world in order to pursue that which drives us. Do we have support networks at home? Some of us may but if I may hazard a guess, I would say that they are tentative at best if your spouse or significant other is not a writer or another creative. No one understands a writer like another writer. To others around us we may seem a little “off” marching to our own drummer..  But that’s okay, for we’re all weird in our own way here at the Guild.  Really.  This is your support network. Right here.

No matter our different personalities, backgrounds, genres or whether we’re writing novels, short stories or poetry, we all have one thing in common: the written word. And that unifies us.  There’s a sense of kindred spirits when we all come together and many, many times after our meetings, I come home energized and on a creative high simply by being with other writers and sharing ideas. You understand that. Most people would have no clue about creative highs. Writers’ think differently and that sets us apart from the rest of the people in our lives.  Because of that, being different in our own spheres, we do need each other for support.   Many, months ago I was told that the Guild didn't meet often enough.   Critique night meetings are a definite plus.  There’s no program on those nights, instead it is face to face writing, and talking about your writing.  It’s a great support system.  This is where you will get feedback on your writing and where we help each other.  Hope to see you all there this month!

Happy writing.

Eureka!
I finally figured out why I detest that trite saying "I may not know anything about art but I know what I like."  A few weeks ago I was with my parents as they went to an art exhibit. And then my dad had to say that. I cringed. The person who uses that phrase proudly admits that they don't know anything about art; they are claiming ignorance.  And then in the very same breath, they are announcing to the world that in their ignorance, they like what they're seeing.  Please...never, ever make a value judgement on something while at the same time tell a person you don't know enough to make that very judgement.

I'm glad I got that cleared up in my head.

Writing is a lot like exercising - something I feel good about once it is done, but finding the time to do it is another story.  I’m a procrastinator and the more anxiety I feel toward my writing, the more I tend to put it off. Everything else comes first: the laundry, errands, cooking. And after all that I end up exhausted and the last thing I want to do is exercise or write. I’ve discovered something: there is no perfect time to write and if I wait until that time presents itself I’ll never get anything done. Sometimes we have to make choices about how we use our time. Do we watch television or chat on the phone or do we sit down and work on something that’s been problematic for us within our writing? I’m sure I can find all kinds of excuses to not write, but the need to write is still there, the characters gnawing away inside my head, all trying to get out at once. Yes, I’m fairly certain that I need to write more than I need to watch tv.  My mother always called that inner urge to create a “fire in the belly”.

Marion Roach Smith, author of The Memoir Project, has suggested that rather than write in bed (of which I am guilty), that the writer be “hospitable” to their writing, meaning that one makes an appointment, a set time to sit down every day at a table or computer and write free of distractions