We had a lovely little meeting at our favorite local coffee shop this past Sunday, November 19th. We kicked off the show by sharing some personal anecdotes about our writing processes: what’s been working, what had inspired us, what we’re trying to accomplish with our writing.
The brave souls participating in National Novel Writing Month shared a bit about their projects and how their processes differ (plotters vs pantsers!). This led into an engaging discussion about our relationships to our characters. How sometimes, from the very start, we are simply along for the ride with our characters as they live their lives out on our pages. And sometimes – even with the best of intentions (and miles and miles of plot arcs) – our characters surprise us, veer off our meticulously charted plot map, and take us somewhere very new and different from where we were expecting to go.
Characters are MAGICAL. Especially when they leap from the page and morph into actual human beings, real people with their own motives, dreams and attitudes. We often marvel at how the simple exercise of profiling a character can jump-start ideas for an entire story! Here is a link to a great article about crafting compelling characters, from Writer’s Digest. Well, okay why not… here’s another one.
After sharing our work, we discussed the idea of continuing the practice of organizing write-ins (such as those for NaNoWriMo) on a more frequent basis for the group. A write-in is very much what it sounds like: a group of people convening in the same place to write and work on projects, independently but in each other’s company. Interestingly enough, some of us find that we tend to write more, feel more motivated to write, when we physically remove ourselves from the comforts (and distractions!) of our homes. It also doesn’t hurt to surround one’s self with fellow writers for moral support and inspiration! Planning future write-ins is an idea we would like to bring to the group at our next meeting (Saturday, December 2nd).
Lastly, we chatted about the In Our Own Words section of the website, and how it is currently underutilized. We hereby extend this call for submissions!
- Do you have a piece of writing you’re proud of (one you’ve written through the WWG prompts, or have worked on independently)?
- Would you like to feature your writing on our website?
Posting pieces (we’re willing to have in the public spotlight) up on our site would give visitors a peek at the diversity of our group, and would share a lot about who we are as writers! Please let Jen or Mary know if you would like to participate; we can assist with typing handwritten pieces, converting Word documents to more secure document formats, and getting them up on the WWG website to shine!
Happy Turkey Weekend! See you next time, intrepid writers!
Next WWG Meeting:
Saturday, December 2, at 10:30am
Waconia Library (fireplace area)
Prompt: Write a piece or a story using the words: twin, crimson, rattled, exploded, aftermath, confession, barren
Is it winter yet? Today certainly didn’t feel wintery, as we met by the cozy fireplace at Waconia Library this morning! Although, you couldn’t miss the carolers on horseback who congregated outside the Waconia City Hall, adorned with holiday cheer.
What: NaNoWriMo Write-In
What: Waconia Writers Group meeting
Waconia Writers Group 