Sunday, June 4, 2017

Establishing the WhipCity Wordsmiths

It started out as a sleep deprived post on facebook when I jokingly posted that I was considering starting a writer's group of my own and asked who wanted to be a litwit..

It kind of floored me when five or six people fairly quickly posted that they wanted to join.

In researching the term litwit, I found that it's a registered trademark so that name cannot be used by a group of authors and writers, or anyone else.

So, I'll be creating a blog for WhipCity Wordsmiths that you'll be welcome to visit in the near future. You can read the sketchy basics below...things are still evolving...slowly...very slowly...

Why am I doing this after saying that I would not?

There are a couple of reasons. The primary reason is that I've been asked a dozen times to do this and have been reluctant to agree. However, the fact that I keep getting asked by different people has made me realize that there is still a need for some sort of a writing group in my home town.

The secondary reason is that I have a passion for writing and the written word. I also know that authors/writers are a different breed of people. I've discovered that non-writers have a very difficult time trying to comprehend how someone can pull a story out of their head (much like a stage magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat). Like the rabbit hidden in the hat, the story is already there in the gray matter inside a writer's head. A magician uses misdirection, deception, distraction, and sleight of hat to perform his magic tricks. A writer basically transfers words from their brain to their computer, notebook, journal, or any available scrap of paper that can take ink and creates a story, a poem, a research article, a teleplay, a memoir, a novel...whatever. The magic happens inside the skull where it is entirely INVISIBLE to everyone, except the author who may have visual images or something akin to a movie running through their mind. Making it visible in print- now that is a real trick! It's a trick that amazes me again and again every time I sit down at my laptop and start tapping the keys! (It pretty much astounds my family and friends, too, because whenever I drop a new book in their laps they look at me like I just sawed the cats in half and put them back together, half tuxedo cat, half tabby cat-how did you do that?.) Writing is just a part of me, a part of who I am- it's definitely not a trick or an illusion. It's a talent, a gift, a blessing, a curse, a passion...a natural part of me. It is so not a trick, although when I suffer writer's block I really wish that it was!

Anyway...

I have a busy life. I work full time. I write full time as a hobby. I'm actively involved in another hobby (vintage/antique button collecting). I'm a wife, a mother and I manage my home which is essentially a third full time job. I have a health issue that involves random flare-ups when I'm absolutely miserable and don't feel like doing anything but lying in bed or sitting in a chair impatiently waiting for a remission to kick in. I'm not exactly sure I have the time and energy necessary to devote to this venture, so I'm loosely creating a group that will have to be self-directing, self-supporting (with an overseer or two who'll step up to the plate if I go missing) that will connect people via a blog, a social media page, and a single monthly meeting that will not be attendance mandatory because people have busy lives like I do. What happens at meetings will go up on the blog (I hope) so no one is left out.

This will be a group for authors and writers at all skill levels where they can discuss writing, anything to do with writing, and their projects- and anything else they want to talk about as long as it has to do with writing and it's not offensive to others. It's for all ages, so bear that in mind. I've always encouraged young writers. Writing is important. Reading is important. I believe in mentoring young writers. I believe that practice does make you a better writer. I believe there are born writers because I didn't make a conscious choice to do this, to write. It has always been a part of who I am, however, I can honestly admit that I was not a very good writer when I first started applying pencil to elementary school lined paper. I have grown and evolved as a better writer because I never put my pencil or pen down. I kept writing. I kept reading. I used a dictionary and a thesaurus and learned a lot of words so that my writing would grow and get better- not grow tired and stale.

I believe that a bad day of writing is better than a day of no writing whatsoever.

I support local authors because I am one of those. I read big name authors because I enjoy their writing and the stories they have to tell. I've read good  books and bad books- awesome books and truly terrible books. (Well, I've tried reading truly terrible books...I've never actually made it through one.) Maybe I've even written some truly terrible books- I don't know.

Anyway- I'm working on step one- creating a blog for authors and writers who have a passion for the written word in all its myriad forms- haiku, poetry, prose, essays, themes, flash fiction, blogging, short stories, novelettes, novellas, novels, epics, speeches, plays, teleplays, movie scripts, magazine articles, research articles, textbooks, journal articles, how-to books, marketing materials...whatever you write.

As time allows, I will move on to step two....a social media page. And then step three...an actual group. Like with my writing, sometimes I don't start at the natural beginning, but jump in at the place that I want to start at first, and then I go back and fill in all around that central point.

We'll see what develops.


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