Writer on Fire!

For several years I studied about writing, and a recurring theme I found was that meeting with other writers is enormously beneficial. I was afraid, though, that mingling with gifted writers would make me feel like a mere wannabe. Ironically, it was when I finally attended a meeting of the Bay Area Writers League (BAWL) for the first time -- and not only felt right at home but also comprehended the many helpful things that were said -- that I felt like a legitimate artist. And nothing stokes my passion for writing more than congregating with other writers to focus on the craft.

Attending the monthly gathering of my writers group is like fanning my writing flames. The meetings offer informative speakers and encouraging news about BAWL members who have recently been published or have been brave and resourceful enough to submit their manuscripts to various publishers. One of the biggest boosts I ever got was the time our speaker was helplessly trapped on the Gulf freeway. To fill the gap, all of us in attendance shared something about ourselves. When I said that I wrote the BAWL column The Ready Writer, a round of applause erupted. Since then, my embers have never gone cold.

The feedback I get at critique meetings has been the most helpful tool for shaping my words into reader-friendly stories. The meetings keep my pen to the page, too, since I don’t like missing opportunities to get help with my work. Participating in critique groups is like putting fresh logs on my fire.

BAWL’s monthly workshops -- amazingly priced at $10 each for members -- have a combined benefit of leisurely networking and power learning about how to be a better writer. Going to writing workshops is like squirting lighter fluid on my flames.

Attending a writers conference is like constructing a huge bonfire. With every session I go to and writer I speak with and goody placed in my conference bag, my passion for writing is intensified.

The experience I’m looking forward to and that I hope is in the not-too-distant future is going to a writers retreat -- most ideally, the famous Maui Writers Retreat held annually during Labor Day weekend. I expect I’ll have become a veritable writer on fire after that dream comes true, whether it happens in Hawaii or Texas. But even those consuming flames would probably go out if I didn’t keep them stoked. So I plan to make it a lifelong practice to meet regularly with other writers.

(published August 2006)