Posted: Dec 31, 07 8:34am
The sand runs swiftly now as the year draws to a close. Have been quietly considering The Writing Group - its mission, its pitfalls and successes. And its future.
When I started this group, TBD’s first, on August 2 I hoped for a lively small community of people interested - passionately interested in the art of writing. I envisioned TWG as a nourishing place for anyone who writes, or wants to. Nourishing in the sense that shared ideas and experience feed the inner writer. I also wanted to offer a respectful platform for critique for any writer seeking comment on his or her work. And finally, to be plain about it, I wanted a forum to share my own fables and foibles, to bring special books and authors to the attention of the group, to remark on the nature of all things related to writing.
On August 2 I had no idea what to expect.
I still don’t.
I certainly never expected the initial double-digit membership would bloom to almost 250 in five months time. I couldn’t have imagined the schisms, the breakups and make-ups, the tumult and tempests in this little teapot.
And how could I have foreseen such wonders as Bmichael’s innate and pitch-perfect story weaving talent? Or CarolT’s droll, concise wisdom on any topic posed. Or DeeCross’ eloquent voice from the South? Or Westerly’s unabashed glee, which has sustained me through thick and thin. Or lostmutt, who coined “TWG,” and sends quiet, thoughtful dispatches almost daily. TraumaGoddess, a breakout talent, who sets us back on our heels with fierce, uncompromising truths. KenWritez, a vastly talented polymath who switches effortlessly from a broadside analysis of his “gaseous” personal habits to the sublime rendering of two men connecting unexpectedly over a holiday dinner.
MiltT, a sage eminence with more writing experience in his left pinkie than most of us can hope to see over a lifetime. Jameliz, who prompted us to write about love – and unearthed a bountiful treasure chest of pain, pleasure, regret and remorse.
Marilyndevine, a bright and witty escapee from the advertising world, otter354 whose embrace of risk and truth makes her writing shine like precious metal.
And wonderful newcomers like Michael047, whose plaintive wee-hour quests for meaning and salvation mirror my own. And a character named bubbadee who has found in TWG a place for his latent songwriting aspirations.
And dozens more.
Who could have imagined?
Is it perfect? No. Are changes in order? Yes. Can more be done to encourage and support those with serious writing objectives? Most certainly.
But for now - on this, the eve of a New Year - I just want to say that in spite of its pratfalls and potholes, its frequent missteps and occasional muckraking, its bouts of inanity and bursts of gibberish:
I am so proud of this community of writers. I wish us all the very best in the year ahead.
- akabukowski
