The Value of a Writers' Group

So I contacted the leader of my local writers' group a while ago with the idea of joining them and improving my writing with some feedback. So far so good. Months passed and I forgot all about it. This morning I got an email asking me along to one of their meetings for a 'trial'.

Which gives me a dilemma. I'm not terribly confident with my writing yet and they want me to read out an extract of about 1500 words! Help!

Several things leap to mind. Firstly: the thought of reading out something which I have written is really scary. It makes me feel really nervous just to think about it never mind how I'll feel when I actually have to do it. Secondly: how do I decide what to read? Do I go with a short story or an extract from the novel? I guess if I want some constructive criticism of my writing I should choose part of the novel as this would be most useful. But the novel is the roughest of first drafts and I'm not sure it's fir to see the light of day.

So what to do? There's a bit of me that wants to duck out altogether but that won't help to improve my writing one little bit. Also, if I can't bear to read out my own writing why should anyone else want to read it? I need to get over this silly reluctance to share. If anyone has the magic bullet that will give me tons of confidence, let me know!

So this week it's less about What I'm Writing and more about What I'll Be Reading (with luck).

What I'm Writing - To Blog or Not To Blog...

My writing challenge is going well. Two weeks in and two short stories written. I'm worried that I may run out of ideas some time soon but I've decided that I need to complete the challenge more than I need to worry about the quality of what I write. Things can be tidied up later!

Now here's the question: do I publish my stories on my blog? I'm only recently feeling happier about sharing my work so part of me wants to take every opportunity to share what I've written. But here's the thing: if I do share here I can't submit the work elsewhere. Many publications and competitions won't consider anything that has been published on blog so by popping my story on here I take it out of circulation. It's something that I'm struggling with - to publish or not to publish.

As a fairly new writer (obviously not that new ;-) but new to considering myself a writer and sharing my work) I'm not sure how to decide whether a story is worth keeping for possible submission or whether it's ok to pop on the blog. I know there's no magic formula so I'm not looking for that but I'd like to know how other writers decide what to do with their work.

I've decided to keep the second of my short stories on the hard drive for the moment rather than share. It may have a life somewhere else and I don't want to lose that opportunity. But I'm also mindful that it may end up on the blog if I can't find an alternative home for it. So keep an eye out for it!

Startling Landscape

Another piece inspired by a date from 52 Dates for Writers. We were invited to visit a startling landscape and then write about it. As I had no time to go to a startling landscape I wrote about a landscape I saw on TV. Hope you enjoy it.


As they climbed the last few feet the wind dropped and there was a slight warming in the air. They felt the loose rock shift under their feet as they made it to the top of the ridge. The low clouds parted  and a shaft of sunlight illuminated the most perfect sight. Below them, obscured from view from most angles was a tarn, a mountain lake glistening in the sunlight. It looked like a perfect circle, nestling between the outcrops of rock. The sides curved round gently, framing the water that sparkled as the sun shone on the surface. As quickly as it had appeared the sun was obscured by the clouds again and the water changed. It was suddenly dark and menacing, looking like a bottomless pool from Anglo Saxon sagas. They had no problem imagining monsters living in the depths, creatures from the dawn of time who had slumbered there unmolested for centuries.
The temperature began to fall and the cloud cover threatened rain. They took out cameras to immortalise the scene then began their descent. As they disappeared from view a ripple skittered across the surface of the tarn, breaking silently against the shore. Darkness started to fall and the tarn returned to its slumber.

The Prompt - Return

Hooray! The Prompt is back from its summer break, all tanned and relaxed. So it's time to stretch out those writing muscles and get creating. So here's my take on 'Return'.

Return

I'm going back, back in time.
Back to my roots.
Taking the train to my home town.
The city that shaped me, made me,
Turned me out into the world.
Fully grown I return to the place
I left when young and green.
Memories flood through me as the train
Chugs northwards, heading back.
Mixed feelings assault me,
Nostalgia for happy, carefree times,
Sadness for those lost and gone.
Everything has changed, new and shiny
Replacing old and familiar.
Returning here has left me bothered,
Unsure how I feel about this place,
Once so familiar, now so alien.
The young me loved the noise, the busy-ness,
The life of the city.
Older me feels overwhelmed, disturbed
Not at all relaxed here.
Was it a mistake to return?
Should memories stay firmly in the past?

I take my leave of my old home town
And return to my now hometown.
Glad I did yet not keen to do so again.