Celebrate the Wins
I chipped away at my first novel for a LONG time—years!—although I refuse to count how many. The characters, plot, and setting presented themselves like Christmas gifts under the tree, but how to write so readers want to keep turning the pages—that’s the real magic, isn’t it? Which seeds to plant, where to hold back, the artistry of showing not telling—I’m not too embarrassed to admit—escaped me. (In my defense, I’d been a “Just the facts, ma’am” journalist for most of my career). So, I bought some creative writing books and took a course in, of all places, Bloomsbury. I can’t say I experienced the ghosts of Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster whispering in my ear, spurring me on, but the reverence I felt studying their craft in their old haunt was inspiring just the same.
Having that toolbox was essential—obvi—as were commitment, discipline, and the constitution to set yourself up for a solitary experience day after day (although truth be told, a compelling protagonist and a loathsome antagonist make for highly entertaining company). Still, I was missing something.
Then, two years ago this month, when my youngest child went to college, I joined my first writers’ group and wrote the back half of my second novel in six weeks. Headspace that had been prime real estate became owner-occupied again, and getting feedback from other writers on the pages I was producing proved essential. The following year, The Bay Area Writers Table was born. Brendan, with his mind-blowing plot twists; Megan, whose voice I hear in my head telling me when in doubt, “write it out;” Holley, my go-to line editor; Mike, whose gentle prodding only seems like a suggestion; and Laura’s “wait, what?” backstop ensuring none of us confuse the reader with one too many of Brendan’s amazing plot twists, have all become essential to my writing process. I can’t thank them enough for their feedback on all things, great and small.
We know what it’s like to hear crickets from agents, have QueryTracker run out the clock at 120 days, sit down to write 1,000 words and only eke out 300. So, thank you, BAWT, for creating an awesome tradition with our very own Golden Pen Award to celebrate our wins. They presented it to me when The Lights of Kirrie was named a finalist in the Killer Nashville unpublished fiction competition, and I look forward to passing it on as we each hit the many milestones ahead of us.