Becoming a better writer: the importance of silence

As a writer, you have voices in your head.

There’s your muse, inner critic, and story characters; your mentors, friends, and parents; other writers, agents, and literary pundits. It makes for a lot of noise in there. Add the barrage of external chatter and you have quite the cacophony. For most of us, it’s a ceaseless stream of incoming information, internal monologue, and the slippery and shadowy musings of the subconscious. It can easily become overwhelming, but we’ve adapted to the constant onslaught. We find a way to keep working.

But, to become a better a writer, you need to find a way to quiet all those voices.

There is a place inside you where stillness reigns. It’s not easy to get there, but there is creative magic in that haven of quiet and calm.

My friend Bernardo recently talked about this place, this “heart of the hurricane.” In this brief video, he talks about how we hold the whole and complete essence of our life’s experience at this core.

Episode-263 from Yourgreatlifetv.com on Vimeo.

I believe Bernardo is right. I believe we have the answers within us, if only we could get quiet enough to hear that small, still voice. In response to his post I wrote, “Finding the center and establishing a home there is so important to a life well lived. We each have to be able to hear the whisperings of our own heart if we are ever to know the secrets and dreams that are ours to hold and realize.”

As writers, we need that connection more than most.

We need it understand what drives us to create. We need it to unearth the stories that are ours to tell. We need it to become better at our craft.

A theme of silence has been twining through my days lately. Last week I was mostly absent from the web, abandoning Twitter, Facebook, and my beloved blogs for a week off with my beau. We spent a couple of afternoons at the beach – walking and talking, walking and not talking. I could almost feel the noise and rush of my hurricane edges settling and falling away – opening a wider and wider path to that quiet place in my heart. My head began to clear. Ideas emerged, shyly at first but then more boldly. Pieces of puzzles I’d been worrying at for months fell effortlessly into place.

As I came back to the Real World – the world of email and deadlines and the daily chaos and joy of my daughter – it’s wasn’t easy to hold onto the delicate thread that I was following through the forest of voices. As I sat to write, the voices began their usual clamoring. Having been neglected for a few days, each was eager to be heard – to imprint its opinions on my heart, direct my writing with critique, or divert me entirely from my task. But then I was reminded of the value of silence by a Twitter exchange with two friends – one old and one new – who were planning silent retreats. I’m not ready to go days without speaking, but the conversation reminded me that silence is, indeed, golden when it comes to connecting with my creative heart.

How often do you give yourself the gift of silence? What can you hear when you hush all the other voices in your head and listen to the one voice that really matters? How do those conversations affect your writing?
Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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The Pact

Bottom (L to R) Deborah Lee Luskin, Lisa J Jackson, Wendy Thomas
Top (L to R) Lee Laughlin, Julie Hennrikus (me), Dianne MacKinnon

Two weeks ago six of the eight bloggers for NHWN had dinner. Most of us had never met in person. We spent a little (very little) time on small talk. Then we each talked about our work, where we were, and our challenges.

Challenges seemed to fall into three areas: time, inspiration, and motivation.

Now the terrific part of this dinner, and these women, were that suggestions were made to help. Support was offered for new avenues of creativity. Successes (big and small) were celebrated. Ideas were batted around.

And a pact was made.

Both Wendy and I have manuscripts that are in revising/rewriting stages. Wendy has someone willing to look at it. I have a conference this fall, an agent pitch, and a new idea brewing. Neither of us had hard deadlines.

Until dinner. And our deal.

We agreed that we would have finished work by September 1. It gave us both the entire month of August. At stake? If we don’t meet the deadline, we have to write a check to the presidential candidate opposite our choice.

Now, as if that wasn’t motivating enough, Wendy talked about the pact on Facebook, and tagged me. I also posted something. We have a lot of friends encouraging us to write.

We have two more weeks to go. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

In the meantime, what do you think? Would this give you motivation?

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Strength in Numbers

Writing is a solitary occupation. – Deborah Lee Luskin photo

Writing is a solitary occupation, but marketing doesn’t have to be. In fact, there are only benefits to joining others as part of a good marketing strategy. All it takes is someone with energy to start the ball rolling, someone like Beth Kanell, an author of adventure travel guides, poetry, local history, and young adult novels, who just launched The Vermont Book Shelf.

Beth Kanell, author photo

Since most of Kanell’s work is set in Vermont, and since she and her husband run Kingdom Books, a bookshop specializing in Vermont literature, Kanell started The Vermont Book Shelf to help promote the work of Vermont authors and fiction set in Vermont.

In a recent interview on Vermont Public Radio, Kanell explained that the idea behind The Vermont Book Shelf is a loose affiliation of Vermont-based literary artists seeking fellowship and sharing marketing strategy. There’s nothing formal about it: no president or secretary, or obligatory meetings. So far, there’s a blog to which Vermont writers are invited to join by contacting Kanell (bethpoet@gmail.com). The group grew from fifteen to over a hundred in a single week.

As Book Shelf member and author of Heron Island, R.A. “Robbie” Harold explains, “It’s like a farmer’s market for Vermont authors.” Readers interested in Vermont fiction can now find a bountiful harvest of fiction set in the Green Mountain State. Rather than foster competition between writers, the Vermont Book Shelf actually makes it easier for readers to find us all in one place.

It’s also a resource for writers. When a writer new to marketing is invited to speak at a school or a library, that newbie now has several dozen colleagues with experience to guide them through the process of asking for advice from what to wear, how long to speak, and how to ask for money. Since most writing is a solitary endeavor, most of us don’t realize that 1) we can’t show up in our pajamas; 2) public speaking is a one-shot chance; endless editing from the podium not allowed; and 3) our time is worth something.

The Vermont Book Shelf also makes it easier for outside organizations to find and to engage Vermont writers to speak at their events. In just a few weeks, Kanell, who seems to have endless energy and boundless generosity, has put out calls for various speaking gigs, serving as a kind of clearing house or speaker’s bureau. She’s also figured out how to have a bit

Vermont Home, Deborah Lee Luskin photo

of fun. She sends quirky questions members can take a moment to answer, similar to this blog’s Friday Fun. Last week, she asked us to name our favorite place in Vermont. While the majority of us answered “home,” “home” is a different place for each of us. This week, we’re invited to confess if we’ve ever based a character on a grandparent. Beth posts a few replies each day, so that the site is always refreshed with new content.

Vermont is home to many writers; it’s an environment that fosters creativity. It also represents an almost mythical place of rootedness, especially to people from away. These people translate into a potential audience for Vermont writers; The Vermont Book Shelf helps develop audience for us all. It’s a win-win way to market our books.

The Vermont Book Shelf is also a place where a writer can post information about a local reading or author event that might not otherwise be publicized in a mainstream news outlet. Once readers of Vermont writing catch on to the blog, they will learn to check it for the cameo appearances Vermont authors regularly make at parades, history fairs, and other community events.

Echo Lake, NH

Perhaps one of the reasons I’m so enthused about the collaborative and regional nature of The Vermont Book Shelf is due to my positive experience with the New Hampshire Writer’s Network, the parent of this blog. Live to Write – Write to Live is about the writing life in all it’s myriad forms and it has shown me the success of shared work and shared glory. No single one of us could produce the variety of essays we post each week, but each of us is able to produce an essay once every two. And while the group is nominally based in New Hampshire, it includes outliers in two neighboring states as well. In addition to learning from my comrades in ink, I also benefit from extending my reach to their audience base. As a result of joining this group, I’ve developed a wider audience. And when we talk about audience, we’re talking about readers. As a writer, my object in life is to be read.

What this blog and The Vermont Book Shelf have in common includes shared effort, common purpose, expanded audience, and regional identity. At a time when competitive capitalism has landed us in a recession, and national branding has created a bland culture of sameness, cooperating locally to promote homegrown stories makes great marketing sense.

How else could writers collaborate? What kind of collaborative group would you like to be part of? How would you go about getting it off the ground?

Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of Into the Wilderness, an award-winning love story set in Vermont in 1964. She keeps bees and chickens in southern Vermont.

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Giving script writing a shot

I’ve done it. I couldn’t wait for November this year for another National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), so I went ahead and signed up for April’s madness known as Script Frenzy.

Where the NaNoWriMo challenge is to write 50,000 words in November’s 30 days, the Script Frenzy challenge is to write 100 properly-formatted pages of original scripted material in April’s 30 days.

The script can be: a screenplay, stage play, web series, TV show, short film, or graphic novel.

Like NaNoWriMo (the two are related) Script Frenzy:

• is no cost to enter
• uses the same login as NaNoWriMo – so if you’re a wrimo, you’re ready to go!
• has cool banners and badges (like the one to the right) to download and post to a blog, website, or Facebook page
• has forums for moral support and advice
• offers regional forums to connect with other participants in the local area
• sends participants motivational emails
• is a great opportunity to push to achieve a new writing goal
• looks like a lot of fun

This will be my first-ever Script Frenzy and I haven’t decided on the type of script I’ll write yet. I started a TV show script a million years ago while working on my master’s degree in writing and literature, but have been more into short and novel-length fiction since then.

What drew me to Script Frenzy?

• Perhaps it’s that I got a discount on Scrivener (writing software) for ‘winning’ November’s NaNoWriMo, and Scrivener has a tool to help format scripts so I don’t have to stress about formatting
• Perhaps my muse needs something completely different from the non-fiction articles I’ve been focused on the past few months
• Maybe it’s the 2012 Script Frenzy logo that caught my attention

I’m not sure what drew me to this challenge, but in looking around the scriptfrenzy.org site, I’m impressed with the how-to guides they offer under Writer’s Resources.

They have great descriptions of the different types of scripts, examples, and even some self-paced ‘boot camps’ to get folks started. The only thing I know for sure is that I won’t be scripting a graphic novel. Every other script type is up for grabs though!

The scriptwriting starts at midnight the morning of April 1 and ends at midnight the night of April 30, your local time.

What do you say? Are you ‘frenzied’ enough to join me in the April challenge?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent editor, writer, New England region journalist, and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. 

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Blog like a honey badger

What do you think it takes to succeed as a blogger – top notch writing expertise, innate networking capability, cover-to-cover knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style, jacked up creative juices, mad marketing skills, loads of free time? There’s no question that each of those elements has the potential to contribute to blogging success, but there’s something else you need more than any of those – something you can learn from our badass friend the honey badger.

Before I explain, I suggest you watch this video narrated by “naturalist,” Randall. Fair warning: it contains a healthy dose of bad language. If you’re offended by that sort of thing you may want to skip the playback. On the other hand, if you have a slightly sick sense of humor (like mine), prepare to laugh until you cry.

Ok, are we all back now? I’ll give you a minute to regain your composure.

Honey badger might be a slightly unsavory character (lacking good table manners and general etiquette), but he is called the most fearless critter in the animal kingdom with good reason. When honey badger sees something he wants, he goes after it. He doesn’t care who or what is in his way. He doesn’t second-guess his approach or motivations. He just does what his honey badger heart (or, stomach) tells him to do. Bloggers can learn a lot from his example.

Blogging like a honey badger means “going for it” every time. It means putting yourself out there, even if you have to risk bee stings or cobra bites. It means doing your thing the way you do it and not caring if anyone thinks you’re too uncouth (or too naïve or too opinionated or too nice or too whatever you might be). It means being slightly crazy. It means being yourself and saying what you mean – what you want to say – not what you think you should say.

Our snarling, spitting friend might seem like an over-the-top mascot for bloggers, but I believe that releasing your inner honey badger is one of the most efficient ways to carve our your blogging niche. Let me be clear, however, that I’m not suggesting every blogger out there should be savage and care only about ripping the heads off cobras (or any other living creature for that matter). My love for the honey- badger-as-blogging-coach stems from my admiration of his single-minded and ferociously confident pursuit of his goal.

He does not ask about the rules; he makes up his own. He doesn’t get tied up in proper methods; he just does whatever it takes. If the cobra is up in a tree, honey badger climbs the tree. If the cobra is deep in the earth, honey badger digs. No need to agonize – just get it done. The honey badger does not apologize for being a honey badger; he just is one – 110%. And even when something slows him down (like a dingo stealing his meal, or his meal biting back and knocking him out with lethal venom), honey badger gets back up and goes right back to what he was doing. He’s not distracted, diverted, or persuaded to change his ways.

Blog like a honey badger. Be confident in your voice and your message. Know what you want and go after it. Do not pay attention to the chattering of others who want to tell you how to be you. Listen to your own heart and your own hunger. Don’t worry about bee stings or cobra bites. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – makes you fearless. And the best bloggers – the best writers – are the ones who are fearless.
 
Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

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Image Credit: Badass of the Week

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24-Hour Short Story Contest

Last weekend I submitted a story to a 24-Hour Short Story Contest. I’ve never entered a writing contest before, but my friend Lisa was doing this one and it sounded like fun.

On Saturday at 1 PM Eastern time I got an email with the topic and a word count. I had to submit my story within 24 hours for my story to be considered for the contest. On  Saturday afternoon, I took a couple of hours to write—not something I normally do. In the evening, after I put my son to bed (and let the story percolate in my brain) I went back to the story. Since getting sleep is right up there with breathing in my world, I stopped writing at a decent hour and went to bed.

My plans to get up early and write did not exactly work out. I got up early, that part worked out. But breakfast, playing with my son, and getting out the door to church took up the rest of the scheduled “writing time.” When we got home, I was shocked to see that it was 10:30 AM and I only had 2½ hours to write–no, I really had 1½ hours in case my email took a while to send (the contest guidelines cautioned, repeatedly, that submissions received even 1 minute past the deadline would be disqualified.)

So, I asked my husband to do the lunch and nap routine with my son while I went to my office to write. As an aside, that was an inspired plan. Usually if I’m home, I’m the person who puts my son in for his naps—apparently, it does not need to be that way!

I sat in my office and looked at my story. I had almost 1400 words written, no ending, and the word count maximum was 850. So, what did I do?

I did what any self-respecting writer would do. I called Lisa to find out how she was doing and if she was in the same boat I was. She was. We commiserated for a few minutes and then, bolstered by her company and her attitude (“we can do this!”), I got back to writing—and cutting words.

My husband, Tom, came into my office at 11:52 AM and asked me to help him write our grocery list. (Yes, after putting our son to bed, he was getting ready to go grocery shopping. Isn’t that great?)

I looked at him and said, “Can you give me eight minutes?”

“Sure,” and off he went, leaving me to finish my story.

At this point I had finished the story, but I still had way too many words. So I spent the next thirty-eight minutes (Sorry for the delay, Tom!) seeing how many words I could cut without destroying the flow of the story. Turns out, I could cut almost half the words without losing anything significant (in my, hopefully accurate, opinion.)

I cut words, printed, line-edited, and–repeat! After the fourth round, I got down to 850 words, exactly (I double- and triple-checked,) so I submitted the story—with 20 minutes to spare. That last 38 minutes was fun and focused and playful. And…

I submitted a story!

The results won’t be available for six weeks, but I feel like I’ve already won.

What makes you feel like a winner as a writer?

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Despite all, words must go on

As many of you know, we, in the Northeast got hit very hard by the recent freakish October winter storm. Many are still without electricity. Ours went out on Saturday evening and we just got it back late last night.

We are probably the only family in town without a generator or a wood stove (and yes, we are in discussions about this as I write) and things in our house can get pretty cold, pretty quickly.

Because we have kids, some of whom were sick (croup), we ended up at the local Red Cross shelter for a few days. There we had food, warmth, COFFEE, and even showers. Another perk is that we had wi-fi, so even though we were away from home, I was still able to write for my blog, answer some emails, and generally keep up (to a limited degree) on what was going on in the world. (alas, when you are staying in a school, the really fun internet sites like Youtube and Facebook get blocked – much to my kids’ dismay.)

We were at the shelter on Halloween, which, after my kids learned that our town had moved trick or treating out one week, became bearable. Halloween was also the start of nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month.) My son Trevor who had returned to the shelter after his gymnastics night practice waited up with me at the folding tables set up outside the gym where people were sleeping until the stroke of midnight so that I could get in a few words before I went to bed.

In all the confusion, concern, and worry, this was something concrete that I could do.

When life throws you a curve, no matter how dire it seems, there are some things that still need to get done. The kids need to have a schedule and be assured that although things are disrupted, all is well and under control. The animals need to be watered, fed, and kept safe. Older people need to be looked out for. Offers of food, warmth, and transportation are extended to those worse off than you.

And moms who deal with things by writing and assuring themselves that even without electricity, words will still get out, stay up late just to prove that point.

About Wendy Thomas 

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

We got our power back late last night after 4 days. We are one of the lucky ones. 

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Why you should bother to write

There’s no question that it’s all been said before. Every story has been told. Each archetype has been trotted out thousands of times to play out another tale of boy-meets-girl or impossible quest or journey of self-discovery. Rare to the point of being mythical is the story that can’t be defined through comparison – it’s a modern day Emma; Eat,Pray,Love from a man’s perspective; Harry Potter for grown-ups. The redundancy is enough to make you want to pack up your pens and keyboard for good.

Don’t.

Yes, it’s all been said before; but there’s a reason we keep saying it: people still want to hear it, need to hear it. The human hunger for story will never be sated. Story is how we make sense of the world. It’s how we define ourselves. Your life is an intricate web made of thousands of intersecting stories. You play different roles in different stories – hero, villain, sidekick, buddy, narrator, incidental character. As your roles change, so does your perspective. You see the world through the story and the story through new eyes. Where once you thought only the hero could be right, you now see where the villain was coming from.

When you write, you bring that experience into your creation.  Though you may start with the same story core as countless other writers, your story will be your own. It will be written in your voice, grounded in your perspective, and embellished with details drawn from your life and imagination. No one else has lived your life or stepped inside your imagination. This is your exclusive domain – your private wellspring of original twists on the age-old themes. When you bring these things to bear on the story you tell, the result will not be a tired retelling of the same old story, but your unique interpretation of a universal piece of humanity.

That’s what art is – a personal interpretation made visible to others. It is the manifestation of your experience. Though every artist starts with the same canvas, brushes, and colors, no two paintings are exactly alike. It is the same with stories. Every writer starts with the same set of basic premises, character archetypes, themes, and genres, and yet no two stories are exactly alike. Writers borrow from each other as even the most celebrated painters borrow from the masters, but what they borrow is transmuted as it passes through the filter of their lives and imagination.

So, why should you write? Why add your interpretation to the endless archive of variations on a theme? What is it that we hope to achieve by sharing our version of the human experience? I cannot speak for all writers, but those I know (myself included) write to effect change – not sweeping change, but small and subtle changes. Words have immense power to open eyes, hearts, and minds. Our stories carry the potential of change like seeds waiting to germinate. When we invite a reader to step inside our stories, we invite her to see the world through our eyes. We invite her to consider new possibilities.

Those possibilities may be clearly stated, or may only coalesce into clarity after repeated appearances in a series of thematically related stories. Either way, they work their way into the reader’s mind and heart as agents of change. Your story, told in your voice, rooted in your unique experience may be the story that tips the scales and activates that sleeper agent. Just as there are patterns within the vast collection of stories, so there are patterns within the diverse human population. Different groups of people need to hear different stories, and within those groups are subgroups of people who need to hear each story in a certain way. Your interpretation may be their missing piece. Your story might be the one that makes a connection and ignites new understanding, resolve, compassion, or insight.

So, when you feel discouraged, like it’s all been said, like you have nothing new to add, remember that for each writer there is a reader. There is someone who needs to hear the story told your way. There is someone who will be changed when she accepts your invitation to step inside the world of your words. Trust in the intrinsic value of those words. Lean into the truth of your experience. Know that if you put yourself fully and lovingly into your story, it will be as unique as you are and it might change the world a little.
Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

Image Credit: L. Whittaker  (Make sure you visit the full-size version of this image for some inspiring quotes about originality.)

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Micro fiction – stories in 140 characters or less

There is a site called Seedpod Publishing that will “publish” (push out on Twitter under their account) your 140 character piece of micro fiction.

That’s right, a full story in one tweet. 

The idea is based on Hemingway’s “saddest story ever written in 6 words”

“For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

And yes, for the record, that little story can bring tears to this mom’s eyes.

Last week we played around with anagrams of our name, how about this week we play around with a complete story in 140 characters or less. The only requirement is that you have to include your twitter username (for attribution) in your story. Mine is @wendyenthomas which cuts greatly into my word count, oh why wasn’t I named SueWest?

With only 140 characters, you’re going to have to put some thought into your story. It must have tension, convey a bit of a plot, and get readers interested. In short, it may not be as easy as it looks.

Some previous stories from Seedpod’s twitter feed are:

His wife: “And just what are we supposed to do with a used gondola now?” @darrencormier

“If only you were born one hundred years earlier,” my wife said, “you would have been fifty years ahead of your time.” @EvertAsberg

Old now, toes gnarled and deformed; it hurt to walk, but she had loved wearing stilettos. Pretty shoes came at a high price.@GayleBeveridge

And here’s my entry:

By buying the wrong brand of coffee, I knew that once again, my mother was wishing I’d never been born @wendyenthomas

So go ahead, try your hand at micro fiction and then send it off to Seedpod Publishing and let us know what happens. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll end up being a published micro fiction author, 140 characters at a time.

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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

And yup, you can bet 140 character stories are being added to my “get the juices going” exercises. 

Photo credit: roadsidepictures

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Friday Fun – Writing Organizations and Groups

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, writing-related question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: Do you belong to a writers’ group? Any organizations? What are the benefits you have found? Any drawbacks?

ANSWER:

Deborah Lee Luskin: In addition to the New Hampshire Writers’ Network, which produces this blog, I belong to the Vermont League of Writers, though I don’t make it to their quarterly meetings as often as I’d like. I also belong to a local writer’s organization, Write Action, based in Brattleboro, Vermont. And as I’ve written in a post here, I’ve benefited greatly from belonging to groups where we gather to write.

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Jamie Lee Wallace: I have participated in a few writing classes (online and in the real world) – mostly of a creative, stretch your writing muscles type. I have also been a member of a critique group, which I wound up leaving because I wasn’t really ready to be critiqued (though I wrote pieces for the meetings, I was – and still am – in the research and planning stage). I don’t belong to any professional organizations (other than this blog), but I intend to join Grub Street Writers – a Boston-based organization whose mission is “to be an innovative, rigorous, and welcoming community for writers who together create their best work, find audience, and elevate the literary arts for all.” They have an annual conference that I missed this year, but definitely plan to attend next year!

Julie Hennrikus: I belong to Sisters in Crime (national) and Sisters in Crime New England. I also belong to a subset of SinC called the Guppies, which stands for the great unpublished. These are all groups for mystery writers.  I am also a member of Grub Street, and have taken a few classes with them. There are meetings of the SinCNE, but the rest of these groups meet online (unless we plan meetups at conventions, which happens.) I have tried a couple of writers’ groups but for one reason or another they haven’t worked for me. I do know many writers who benefit greatly from them, and perhaps will find one that clicks at some point.

Susan Nye: Other than NH Writers Network I am not currently a member of any professional organizations. I was recently contacted by another food writer/blogger about starting a NH Food Bloggers group. I’m looking forward to meeting with her after the summer. I was a member of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project and have attended their conference and one of their networking meetings. Both were valuable experiences and I will attend again in the future.

Wendy Thomas: I belong to this group, as well as,  a writers’ goal setting group (one of the most powerful tools in my writing toolbox IMHO). Coincidentally this weekend I’ll be leaving for a self organized writers’ retreat with 2 friends from that goals group. That will be the first time I’ve tried anything like that (and hopefully not the last.) I’ve taken many online courses (back in the day when Barnes and Nobles had them online for free) and read tons of “how to” books on writing. I don’t go to meetings (conventions) but it is my goal to make it to at least one by the end of this year.

To be perfectly honest, I tend to stay away from groups. Too often people are at a different place or stage than I am and I often get frustrated. I tend to work best with a small group of like minded writers with whom I can bounce ideas around.

Lisa Jackson: I belong to Sisters in Crime (a national group for mystery authors, where I’m part of the membership committee) and Sisters in Crime New England (where I’m into my second year as treasurer). I’m a former member of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project (I was their book review coordinator for a number of years) and attended their annual conference a few times. I find the more I’m involved in volunteering in an organization, the more I get out of it. I also belong to a small critique group which is weekly inspiration to keep me writing.

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