Writers' Group

A work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.

Joseph Conrad (1898)

What Conrad means, of course, is to make sure every line is essential. As writers, our egos are largely tied into our writing. We find it difficult to revise our own words, because those words are like our children. We gave birth to them creatively. This is where a writers' group can really help you tighten your piece. Even the most seasoned writer needs an objective eye. Consider that even Pat Conroy or J.K. Rowling are edited (perhaps repeatedly) before being published.

Just finished reading...

For years now, my husband has bothered me to create a blog. I kept refusing for two reasons: (1) I'm not computer-savvy. Computers generally annoy me. (2) Blogs seemed odd to me. I thought, "Why should just anyone be able to give his opinion? What are his qualifications?"

Eventually in surfing the Internet, I discovered the blog The Huffington Post. I started reading it everyday. I became addicted. Now, it's the first thing I read every day. One day recently, I was in the bookstore wandering around and found, "The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging." Available here at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+huffington+post+complete+guide+to+blogging&sprefix=the+huff

I just finished reading it. The fact that I started my blog before I even finished the book should tell you how good the book was and how easy it is to create a blog. The book tells you everything from how to follow traffic to where you can create a free blog to how to decide what to put on your blog.

I'm really excited about my little blog and I hope eventually you all will be too!

Steven Wright

From the truly funny deadpan comedian Steven Wright, "What's another word for thesaurus?"

Shut the Door

I need a quiet place to write. I'm sure most of us do. Most of the offices I've worked in have been loud. It's always difficult to write or edit when your office-mates are loud. While they were fun environments, they made it very hard to think. Now that I work from home, I feel guilty shutting the door. After all, (I think) how loud can a teenager, two dogs, and a husband be? Very, it turns out. The dogs always want to be where I am and preferably on my lap, the sixteen-year old always needs to go somewhere or eat something. The husband needs a lot of attention too. Usually, where is this or that since we just moved. I've decided to dedicate an hour a day to writing. Will it work? I hope so. Writing is cathartic for me. My mind needs time to rest from the craziness of life. I'm overwhelmed. We should all shut the door and take an hour a day. If you need to go outside or in the basement next to the washing machine so be it. Just do it!

Inspiration is Contagious.

I created this blog because I find other people's writing inspiring. As writers, we all need encouragement and sometimes it's hard to find. This is a place where you can comment on works posted by writers and also get information about how to write and publish your own material.

We've all been where you are. Sometimes collaboration can help you over the hump.