Nobody cares if you don’t write. Sorry if you weren’t clear on that point, but unless you’ve already signed with a discriminating agent, have a looming deadline, or a reading club awaits a book jacket with your name, the only reason to write is that you must.
A good critique group can be the angel on your shoulder urging you to press on, when you’d rather listen to the punk with the pitchfork digging into your deltoid.
Is it done yet? Have you hit your word count? How many queries did you send this week?
Accountability is a valuable thing. Good critique groups encourage you to get your stuff on paper and out to the marketplace. The members of this tribe are writers too. They know the hard job you’ve chosen. They know what you’ve given up to write. They know the sting of rejection.
And when you succeed, they’ve got someone notable to write blurbs for their books.
When it comes to the process of writing, your critique partners should be noisy, raving, totally-biased fanatics that rah-rah you when the agent wants your work, but help you dust off and get back up when a solid query is ignored. These people should champion your efforts, help you hone your skills, and most importantly, celebrate your strides.
Sometimes “the next meeting” is the only deadline a new writer has. It’s self-imposed accountability. The critique groups is that crazy, cheering, friendly boot tied to your hiney. Keep yours mirror shiny.
Do you have a tribe to champion your writing? How have they helped you press on toward your goals? Have you kicked any punks with pitchforks off your shoulder?
p.s. Photo By ms.Tea
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m SO glad I found your blog! I haven’t written creatively in YEARS, but now I know that’s what I have to do, so I joined a group last week to help motivate myself to write once again (meaning: something other than blog posts). You are so right. Thanks!!
If you made it up, it’s creative. Blogging helped me keep a personal deadline. As with muscles, any exercise contributes to improved performance. Thanks for the comments.
Love reading your writing. I like writing. I find my writing gets better the more I write. There are mistakes which drive English majors crazy but I like to write anyway. I had an English teacher tell me to use a dash when in doubt. That was great for her but it drives others nuts too. I keep putting myself out there anyway. Your writing ability encourages me to write. Maybe I will get better before I die. A bucket List Item. Thank you
eileen
Your writing has to make you happy first. Otherwise, why bother? Take care.
We’ve got a writing group. What I like best is that it makes me accountable – I need a new piece of work to turn in every 6 weeks.
Accountability is vital for me, too. Besides, it’s nice to have others that understand: when you search for poisons on the web, you really don’t plan to use them.