The Writing Life in Dallas

Well, I made it to Dallas.  Since my arrival, New York had another snowstorm and it is currently snowing here so now my return home is in jeopardy.  I thought, you can’t make this stuff up, then I realized — we can and we do, all the time!  I’ve had some good opportunities to get some writing done and as a special treat, a friend took me to the weekly meeting of the Dallas Fort Worth Writer’s Workshop.  This group has been meeting every week for the past 33 years and welcomes writers of all genres at all stages.  It was a fairly large meeting, close to 35 people, who break up into smaller critique groups.  Several people have ten minutes to read, then the group gets five to ten minutes to critique. The group I was in had people reading a children’s story, a memoir, and chapters from a non-fiction work, a sci-fi fantasy, and a contemporary mystery/romance.

At first, I could not see the value in this.  I could hear the  words from the Huntington library talk in my head: “Read, and not just what you write.”  But as the night wore on and the critiques began, even of different works, I was able to apply the comments to my own patterns as a writer and began to see how coming each week could be a great forum for  testing out your work.  I would have to be very careful, though, not to let it shape too much of my writing as it developed.

I also met a woman active in both the North Texas and Dallas chapters of RWA who invited me to visit their meetings if I’m in town at that time.  She’ll also be at the RWA national conference in July.

I don’t think I would have had the courage do to any of this if I had not joined Dunes and Dreams. No matter what the IRS says, writing is not a hobby.  It is hard work, whether  you are published or not. You’re either reading, writing, researching, sending queries, preparing submissions, entering contests… truly there can be no greater myth than the leisurely life of a writer!

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