Judy Reeves - Writing Alone, Writing Together: A Guide for Writers and Writing Groups

Writing groups...we writers have a love-hate relationship with them. Yet, theres no denying they are invaluable for building skills and confidence in our craft, and for enjoying camaraderie in an art that otherwise can be lonely indeed. When put together as Ms. Reeves describes here, youll create a group that is supportive and nurturing. This is an important book for any new writer.

Writing Alone, Writing Together is an impassioned call to write, one you will return to often for inspiration. Judy Reeves shows with engaging insight and clarity how writing with others can help you and your writing flourish. Judy genuinely loves writing and people who write (or want to!) and that creative energy makes every page of this book come alive.

A Writers Book of Days is the best sort of writers book: You feel like writing as you read it! It is a spring-fed fountain of inspiration for the writers in us all. This book dances around the imagination and makes you take out your pens and journal to play.

The book is so jam-packed with inspiration, practical advice, and wise observations and examples... that you feel yourself being eager to get at the writing.... The method Judy Reeves uses is designed to make you dig deeper, free your creativity, and write, write, WRITE.

Copyright 2002 by Judy Reeves

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.

Front cover and text design by Mary Ann Casler
Typesetting by Tona Pearce Myers

Jan Phillips, The Artists Creed, from Marry Your Muse, published by Theosophical Publishing House. Copyright 1997 by Jan Phillips. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reeves, Judy

Writing alone, writing together / Judy Reeves.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-57731-207-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Authorship. 2. AuthorshipCollaboration. I. Title.
PN145 .R44 2002
808.02dc21

First Printing, October 2002
ISBN 1-57731-207-4
Printed in Canada on acid-free, partially recycled paper
Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Like writing itself, most of what I know about writing groups I have learned by participation and experience. From the youthful exuberance of my first group to the rich tapestry of my current involvement all these years later as both student and teacher, I am grateful for each of the groups I have been part of and for everything they have taught me about writing and life. There are far too many to list and Im certain I wouldnt remember them all anyway, but I especially want to acknowledge the Brown Bag and Thursday Writers groups, the many and various marathon gatherings, and my Monday Night Read and Critique Group. The spirit and community of The Writing Center inspires me still.

I also want to thank the Journeymen Writing Group, where so much matters: Denise Nicholas; Rita Williams; Beverly Magid; Lisa Loop; Victoria Clayton-Alexander; Lavina Blossom, bright light in so many groups and gatherings; Amy Wallen, with whom I share the before and after and in-between; and my teacher and friend Janet Fitch.

The concepts for this book were formed amid the lively discussions and energetic exchanges that transpire during writing classes and in the sudden communities of writers conferences. However, it took the steady navigation and experienced hand of my editor, Georgia Hughes, for it to find solid ground. I am grateful for her trust and her equanimity.

My heartfelt thanks also go to:

Mary Ann Casler for another splendid cover and the fine crafting of interior design, and Tona Pearce Myers whose careful typesetting and attention to detail enhances the design.

Mike Ashby, whose observations and queries were as valuable as his copyediting. Maybe more so.

Dale Fetherling, who I count on for his expert wielding of editors pen, which is always knowledgeable and sensitive.

Linda Corey and Lynne Friedmann for their thoughtful and generous comments on one of the many drafts of the manuscript.

Jan Rhodes for the play-by-play of the early structure of her writing group.

Diana Guerro for sharing her experience and perspective, and members of the Alliance of Writers for inviting me in.

The Compass Rose Travel Writers for use of their still-wet by laws.

Jan Phillips for her generosity and inspiration for community.

Im indebted to my sister traveler and best writing friend, Dian Greenwood, and Im thankful for the friendship, trust, and teaching I receive from Drusilla Campbell.

My life and work take shape with the love and support of my family and many generous, understanding, and good-humored friends. Always, I am grateful I get to share the journey with my friend Camille.

And for Roger, thank you for keeping the light burning.

I think all artists, and especially poets, are forever in search of a community. Its a solitary act, and you need a community of like-minded souls to survive and to flourish. So the search of a community is really a lifetime engagement.

Writing is a solitary act. We must do it alone. We must go into our own singular place of creation, where we sit long hours before our computer, or with pen in hand, notebook on table, and dip down into our own well. Even when we write together, we must go to the page alone. Even when we collaborate, each of us must pull needles from our own internal haystack.

Yet for all the ideas of writer as solitary, tortured soul alone in her cramped garret or shambled studio working into the night, in reality writers, like the rest of humanity, are basically communal creatures. We search out our own kind and build community as naturally as we breathe. It is within community we connect with others and, through our connecting, find home.