Today was an overdue gathering of my most dedicated writers from the 2018 writing groups, the ones who are earnestly trying to get their stories/manuscripts or articles together during 2019. The venue was a Forest School room within charming Devon woodland. It was airy, spacious, light, a harmonious, conducive work space within a beautiful natural environment. We missed the noisy ducks from our previous studio environment but had perfect peace and tranquility here.
The group (of five) is a joy because all members have astonishingly different writing personalities, yet gel so well together. It's a trust thing, a willingness to lay their writing souls bare (tough, I know, from personal experience).
Between them, they have a remarkable set of skills and talents (some too complex for me) making them awesomely rewarding to work with, but they are also really lovely, down-to-earth people who are working hard at their craft. They have amazingly imaginative ideas, and captivating stories to tell with daunting descriptions.
What makes a writing group is the ability to constructively critique each other's work and to learn from the comments which are meant for self-improvement. Additionally, to identify issues within their own writing to bring to the group for discussion and guidance; hence, why I love to see writing, re-writing and scribbling out. "I am struggling with this" is so hard to say, to admit, in most walks of life, and yet it opens up a whole new world of positive input.
Much of today's discussion was personal to the writing of those involved and it would be remiss to share that on an open platform. However, we also looked at blockages to writing. These are universal:
1. Space - both physical but also mental (headspace). To write effectively and efficiently, you need a writing space, somewhere to go where you are ready to write as soon as you sit down. It may house your desktop or laptop or a writing notebook but it needs to be a space where you feel extremely comfortable, not in the plush cushion sense of the word, but creatively unconstrained. More importantly, you need your head to be in the right place for writing. External issues can/do impact/get in the way - family stuff, illness, worries and 'to do lists' that weigh heavily. Writing requires an ability to push these aside and sometimes, it is not possible.
2. Occasionally, when we write it "doesn't feel right". Author Stephen King in his book "On Writing" mentions that writing should be enjoyable. Above all things, this is true. There can be little more trying than writing when it is a struggle. So, what was superb today was hearing about people getting their confidence back, enjoying playing with words, loving the process, regardless of the outcome. Listening to descriptive writing as we did today was at times almost symphonic. If, when we are writing, we are miserable, or the words don't come together, or we feel it just is not working, then it is time to cast our ramblings aside and start afresh. Writing has a way of telling you if it is right or not.
3. It is so often said that we should ensure we write something every day, yet how many of us do? I do, every single day, including Christmas! We do not have to write lots (some days I set myself a target of 1000 words of notes for a book but other days, it may be bullet points, with the focus on reading/researching). Filling a page of a notebook daily may not lead to a massive manuscript but it gets you into the habit of writing, and within your 'stream of consciousness' scribbling, you will undoubtedly encounter a saying, a word, or a thought which you can use somewhere. That word or thought may be a crucial part of your creative process.
