Writing Groups

Glad

A group that will take anyone yields fuzziness and undermines commitment to anything except its own frenetic politics

Mother America

It became an issue in the poetry workshop with Sam Hamill that I attended whether America was a Fatherland or a Motherland.

Undoing the Flesh Curl

The headaches, the loss of sleep, the anxiety I felt both before and after the meetings, the feeling that I have had a friendly circle taken from me -- these things hurt because I am a human being.

Taking it Personally? No, Just Annoyed

Something's become clear to me. The difference between taking things personally and being annoyed.

Value and Respect

One observed: "They value you, but they don't respect you.

The Grand Canyon Dilemna

Do you go after your hat or find a new one?

Writing in a Circle

First meeting of a new group of writers held today.

Critique and Ego

The worst critics I know in my writing groups deliver critique verbatim from notes they have inscribed ahead of time.

Critique

I've been thinking a lot about emotion and the critiques we deliver in writing groups.

Reflections on a Return from Vacation

I must admit that I played my part -- not minding my diabetes in the days following the Halloween washout and eating too much of the leftover candy -- but when I consider all evidence, the worst that can be said about me is that -- within the context of a self-fouled up body chemistry -- I failed to hold my temper in the face of a tantrum by another writer.

Critical Voices

"I'm having trouble visualizing this," say the old men who love thrillers.

Things were different in the 1950s

During the 1950s, high school seniors could watch stag films, get drunk, and dance with "pert" and "plucky" girls and not have a hard on!

Rude Awakening in a Critique Group

Pardon me for waking you up to tell you this,

but I need my sleep.

Inhabitant of B&N

When no fewer than three people asked me if I lived in the place tonight, I decided that enough was enough: I'm not showing until Wednesday.

The Presence of Pollock

Bill J. (who doesn't do art of any kind as far as I know) wants to be able to name the elements in what he sees and connect them to real world objects. I feel that there are things which are unnameable. The best art practices the presence of those.

The Muse at Poetry Readings

I'm ashamed to admit it, but one of the best places I have found for revising my poems is at a poetry reading.

A Philosophy of Critique

Critique groups meet to make better writers.

Glop in the Mind

Only rest will freeze it so that I can extract the lessons of the essence.

Critque Group

Listen to the critiques to see if there are holes that need to be filled or sentences that are truly tortured. Fill the holes and take the skewers out of the sentences. And stick up for what is good!

What Color is this Mood?

"I'm in a mood."

"A blue funk?"

"No more gray."

South Orange County Writers Walk
Until I get some people to help me write a group blog (oh Kiril....), I'll stick announcements like this here....

Holy Jim Canyon 5

Critiquing Poetry

They get to the line that says "Truth is Beauty and Beauty is Truth" and they cry 'Aha! This is the meaning of the poem!' But that line's bullshit.

Beer Drinking Characters

The angst-ridden beer drinking louse is becoming a cliche.

A Bad Attitude

When the circle got to me, I said "I hate this kind of thing. My past is this...." and I rattled off the various things that I had done or published over the years. "....but that's not important. I'm in this to do the writing, to make good stories."

Freezing Up

I had to look a fellow writer in the eye and point out to him that his writing, though technically perfect, fell short when you looked at how he handled the subject matter.

A Response to Bad Criticism

On the top of the pile was a copy liberally marked in red. Next to the title of the piece, "Mount Likavitos", was the question "Why are we here?"

Another Thought on Sanity Check

The art comes first. Critics who can't accept the fact that time is a continuum and change rules should get out of the business.

Sanity Check

I love the chore of editing....Am I crazy?

A Parallel Strategy

I'm getting nervous about the feedback that I will get from the writing group in two weeks yesterday.

Over A Tea Cup

I had to tell someone in the writing group a hard truth last night.

Some personal rules for criticism

As much as I hesitate to state anything in a postive, I enjoy the writing group. Tonight I was one of the two people with work on the table. I've been learning how to sort through criticism as a result of these meetings.

The Chopping Block

The idiots who don't know how to give criticism weren't there.

Monday at the Writers' Group

Does one have to know what every symbol means? Does it have to be a symbol in the first place or can it be set decoration that tells you something subtle about the character's priorities?

Writing Group

As I struggled to keep in my chair, I realized why the LA bloggers and the Quakers had not seen my shyness.