Sunday Scribblings #134 - Bragging

This week Sunday Scribblings: bragging.

"I don't like myself. I'm CRAZY ABOUT MYSELF!" -- Mae West

What's awesome about you? You can pick one awesome thing, or list as many as you can. Don't be shy!

I've never been good at bragging about myself - bragging about my children, that's a big YES! But bragging about myself is hard. Although I dabble in any number of things, I wouldn't say I was profeccient at any of them.

One thing I am really proud of is the monthly column I write in the Mercer's Magazine, a subsidiary of our local newspaper, The Harrodsburg Herald. I have been writing personal essasys in the magazine for over 12 years, with no signs of slowing. Although I get much positive feedback from my family and other readers, I mainly write the column for me. It is a personal way for me to relate the memories of my past.

Recently, I've become involved in a writing workshop at the local public library. The gentleman leading the class has been very informational and he has helped me improve my writing tremendously. Last night, I was invited to attend a meeting of his personal writing group - a group of writers from the community who have been meeting together for years. After much soul searching to overcome my anxiety, I made myself attend. I'm so glad I did.

I have never been much of a social butterfly, but in the three years since my baby sister died, I've been hiding away more than usual. I realized this summer if I was ever going to break out of the comfort zone I have surrounded myself with, then I was going to have to become social again. This has been a slow, agnoizing process for me.

I first started my blogs, mainly to get my work out into the universe of the world wide web. By doing this, I was moving out of my comfort zone, but not far enough for me to interact with people face-to-face. After a few months of blogging, I joined my first face-to-face book club. I had been reading the monthly books all year, but hadn't the courage to attend. One month this summer I challenged myself to go, and I have been attending for the past four months. Each month, my comfort level grows and grows.

My next step was signing up for the afore mentioned writer's workshop. I had tried this several years ago, but dropped out after the first class. This time I was determined to stick with the entire 8-week course. I am proud to say I am 6 weeks into the course and loving every minute of it. I have become comfortable with the other participants and we are starting to share ideas.

So you see, attending the writer's group last night was another big step for me. I wasn't totally comfortable being with people I didn't know (although I did know about half of the people), but I will continue to attend. It may not be bragging, but I'm proud of the efforts I have made this year, and I plan to continue working on putting myself into the public eye.

Who knows? Maybe I can make myself participate in a poetry/short story reading that will be taking place in our community the weekend after Thanksgiving. I couldn't make myself attend the last public reading, but with the encouragement of my new friends, I may give it a whirl.

Pride in myself is a hard pill to swallow, and bragging just makes the pill much harder to go down.

Creative Writing is Alive and Well - Even in Teenagers

For the past few Thursday nights, I've been taking a creative writing workshop at the Mercer County Public Library. The class is being taught by a man I've known most of my life, and I'm really enjoying the atmosphere of other writers.

Yesterday, was the first class of a Teen Writers Workshop he is started, to encourage younger people to write creatively. He feels some kids are stifled by the rules and regulations of classroom writing and thought this class might open up a whole new world for them. My daughter was one of the participants, and I was the female "chaperone" in the class (the teacher is male).

I was amazed at the kids who showed up for the class! We had a total of 8 children - there are more signed up, but the kids are on fall break, so many are on vacation. Of the 8 kids present, 4 were homeschooled - I thought that was wonderful! One young lady was in the 9th grade and had plans to go to Harvard University and study to become a forensic anthropologist - can you say Bones?

These young people were so impressive. At first it was difficult for them to open up, but the teacher has a way of speaking on their level, and before the end of the class, each child had read out loud what they had written during class. He has told these kids that each one should have a completed story by the end of the workshop (it lasts 8 weeks), and he plans to print them in a booklet so library patrons will be able to read them.

So, I learned yesterday not all children are absorbed with video games or television. Many of these children are already writing creatively at home, and they brought many plans and ideas to this wonderful class. As an old dog who has trouble learning new tricks, I was awed by the creative talent surrounding me yesterday. Creative writing is alive and well - even in teenagers!

Write on Wednesday

Today on Write on Wednesday, Becca's topic is writer's groups.

"Are they better writers and better people because of their work with each other? What could be a better goal for a writing group - or any group for that matter?

How about you? Have you ever belonged to a writer’s group? Did it work? Why (or why not?) What would be your criteria for the perfect writer’s group?"

At one point I did belong to a writer's group, but all the participants were so much older than me and they never talked about any topics that interested me. I also had the same problem as Becca, every time a cell phone would ring, someone would answer it and then proceed to have a conversation. How rude! After 6 weeks of meeting once a week, I gave the group up. I was finding that I accomplished more by myself.

Of course, I think writer's groups are very important. It's great to have like minded people to share works in progress and to bounce ideas off of. My favorite fictional author is Laurell K. Hamilton, who writes the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series. She belongs to a writer's group called the Alternate Historians and they meet regularly to discuss each other's works. She is always blogging about the importance of her writing group and she typically gives them a mention in the acknowledgements of her books.

I really wish I had a small group of writers I could meet with, but I want to work on writing, not discuss personal issues. I love critiquing other people's works and I love getting feedback on my own.

I have found lots of writing inspiration from my bloggy friends, especially Becca, but I agree that ocassional face to face meetings would be great. But until I can find that perfect group, I'll keep writing and surfing the blogging world, picking up inspiration along the way.