Does this plot line make me look fat?

“Do I look fat in this outfit?”

Woe to the husband or boyfriend on the receiving end of that question. We know all too well that all too many women don’t want an honest answer. I admit that if I heard my better half blurt out, “Honey, you look like the broad side of a barn,” he wouldn’t hear anything from me for a day at least. Still, if I could go out looking better in a different outfit, I would like to know.

And yes, this does have something to do with writing.

I had polished a certain passage until it shined, and finally I felt courageous enough to share it at a recent writers’ forum. After some encouraging murmurings from the group, the young woman to my right timidly raised her hand. “The way you have the character positioned in the first paragraph - is that even physically possible?” I looked back at what I’d just read aloud. She was absolutely right.

How did I miss that?

That’s the question every writer asks about what they’ve crafted – indeed what every person asks about their day-to-day endeavors: There’s a blank spot in that paint job; There’s a typo in that memo; There’s a thread dangling from your jacket.

How did I miss that?

If you’re never asking that question, it could indicate that you’re not taking enough risks, not trying to live up to your potential. We must be made to ask that question from time to time, and that’s what a writers’ group can do for you. They can be the friends who feel safe in saying to you:

“Actually, that sentence is a little too long.”

or

“No, that narrative doesn’t suit you.”

or

“That dialogue doesn't coordinate with your historical setting.”

These are the people you trust to say, “Try something else … and be beautiful instead.”

Write Across Nebraska

In a newspaper article on why there’s a need for a writers’ forum like ours, I was quoted as saying, “Non-writers don’t understand.” My husband blanched when he read that. “It makes you sound kind of snotty.” Then it was I who blanched at his comment, but only because he was right. Though it wasn’t my intention at all, I now worried that readers would interpret the remark to mean that I considered non-writers incapable of processing the deep and complex concepts that writers deal with. What I was actually trying to say was that non-writers simply don’t care.

Anyone with a hobby knows on some level that it just doesn't interest other people on the same level. If it did, they’d be participating in it too. I try to listen politely when my violist friend expounds on performing folk versus classical music; likewise with a crafter friend who extols the virtues of 2-ply versus 3-ply sewing floss. But I just can’t get excited about those things as they do.

In the same way, when writers lament an exposition that’s just not getting off the ground, or a character who won’t adhere to our plot line, most people’s eyes glaze over. But these topics keep writers talking and keep us writing.

This very entry is a case in point. I'm writing it as part of an event called “Write Across Nebraska,” in which writers all over the state commit to writing over the weekend. They turn in a word count and the Nebraska Writers Guild tallies the total. It’s all done online and all based on the honor system. After pounding out a thousand words or more, the writer receives nothing more valuable than a certificate stating that they reached their word-count goal. I can see most of my non-writer friends shrugging their shoulders and saying, “What’s the point?”

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, that’s a little like asking, “What’s the point of going to church? Can’t you pray by yourself? Can’t you read the Bible (or the Koran, the Talmud) at home?” Yes, you can, and yes, you should if you want a rich spiritual life. But there’s something about being in the presence of like-minded people, even if you’re not talking about your common interests, even if you’re not talking at all. It helps just to know they’re out there.

I arranged for local writers to meet at the public library for the event, and it made a real difference for me. Had I been home and on my own, it would have been too easy to quit. Midway through the day, I did wind up alone for a time, and was about to pack it in. Then a couple fellow writers showed up, and I got a second wind.

Realizing that at this moment there are others laboring toward a goal like your own makes you more committed to your task, it inspires you to keep on track, and brings you closer to your destination. And by the way, I surpassed that 1,000 word goal, coming in with a grand total of 1798. It was a good day.