The lost art of learning for yourself

First, I don't believe anyone learns in a vacuum--no, I don't mean inside a Hoover or a Dyson, I mean something devoid of outside influences.

These days, especially from my thirteen-year-old, I hear a barrage of "Dad, what does _________ mean?"

Fill in the blank with whatever you wish.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind answering questions for my children.  But I'm finding more and more often they already know the answer.  When I was young I wasn't much of a question-asker.  I sought out the answers to whatever questions tickled my fancy.

While growing up, my parents had a large set of encyclopedias.  They took up one whole shelf, with a volume for each letter--what, you don't know what an encyclopedia is?  Imagine Wikipedia in physical book form.  I was constantly looking something up in either the encyclopedia or the dictionary.  You do know what a dictionary is, right?

At our town's little library, over the past few years, we've had a few writers grace our presence and give enlightening talks--two of which were award-winning Minnesota author Will Weaver and literary coach and publisher Ian Graham Leask.  During both of their talks, someone undoubtedly asked the old standby question: how do you get an agent?  This question did not come from me, for I've been researching how to contact literary agents for years.  How did I do it?  I sought out the answers.

I don't mean to sound like I am completely against asking questions, and I get a lot of questions asked of me on a daily basis, but I just feel that sometimes one should be accountable for themselves and try find the answer.  Especially in today's Information Age, where the answers to your wildest questions (for the most part) are at your fingertips.

Debating the need for a writers' group

You've been writing a while, you've got your first (or fifth or tenth) novel finished, your short story is done . . . now what?  You'd like to have someone else read it, but who?

My friend, let's discuss the need for a writers' group.

Do you absolutely need one to get published?  No.  But what a better way to, not only connect with other writers who may be struggling with the same issues as you, get a group of impartial critics of your work.

Over the next several weeks, I'll touch on the finer points of a writers' group.  Today, I'll start with where to find one.

I live in northwest Minnesota, where there are probably more white-tailed deer than people (or so it seems).  Back in college, I attendeded a few fiction writing classes (taught by famed award-winning Minnesota author Will Weaver) and for each class you had to read something to the rest of the class.  This was my first taste of a writers' group.  Even though we were classmates, all of us were writers, with varying aspiration about the craft and skill level.

Let's jump ahead to the year 2003.  This would be in the early summer and my daughter Mariah was just born.  The librarian at the time knew I loved to write and asked if I'd be interested in joining a writers' group that she was starting up.  She did some writing, but ran into several others who also did.  At this point, the only writers' group was about 90 miles away in Roseau, MN.  Long story short, the Permanent Ink writers' group was born in Red Lake Falls, MN.

I won't dwell on the group's history, except for one: over the years (8 and still going strong), we've had an eclectic sort of people attend our group meetings.  We've had poets, playwrights, novelists, and short story writers.  We've had people working on their family histories and others who are working on a fantasy epic.

Great, Mark!  But where do I find one?

First, I'd check with either your local library or bookstore to see if they know of one.  Chances are, if you live in a town of at least 5,000 people, at least one exists.  Then again, where Permanent Ink meets every three weeks, our community has a little over a thousand people.

What if there are no such groups?  Create one.  Ask the librarian about where you can meet, ask them to help promote your group, and do it.  Once you do, you might want to set up some groundrules on how often, how long each person can read for, and what type of material.  Don't worry about electing a board of directors or having a group president or anything like that.  We don't, and we've been operating pretty consistently for over 8 years.

I'll explore this topic a little more in depth soon, on how to set one up and who you want in your group.  The bottom line is that the people who join need to be dedicated to writing and offering both positive and honest feedback.  If your story sucks, have them tell you specifically.  Do you need to take each and every person's advice.  No way.  Take what works, and you'll find your stories will start to improve.

Happy writing!

Sage advice from a former teacher

Last week, at the Red Lake Falls Library, I had the privilege of meeting a former professor of mine from Bemidji State University, one who taught me a lot about writing: award-winning Minnesota author Will Weaver.

Throughout my entire academic career, I can name two teachers who have had an impact on my writing. One is my 6th grade college-prep English teacher Mrs. Anne Olson. (I hope I spelled her name right). Never before in high school was I ever asked to write a creative piece. What? I thought at the time. You mean, make something up? I had always dreamed of being a writer and was always working on something, but this was the very first time I was able to do it for a class. She taught many of the mechanics of creative writing, from character sketches and such, and her advice was always positive.

Will Weaver, on the other hand, took my writing to a whole new level. I took two classes from him: Introduction to Fiction Writing and Intermediate Fiction Writing. (Yes, my Criminal Justice advisor didn't think too highly of my taking such classes when I was getting a degree in Criminal Justice, but oh well - I'll have the last laugh when I'm sitting on top of the bestseller's list). Will Weaver's advice, albeit simple and straightforward, was right on the money. And, last week, proved it once again.

Will Weaver first talked about the art of the short story and how beginning writers can use that format to learn about the craft. He taught about keeping your focus on a small, defined period of time and even a limited number of characters. He even said that a narrow subject matter would also help make one's short story better.

He read several pieces from his books, many of them young adult, and also talked about "writing more about less." This means to write about the finer details of one's story (just the right amount of details, but not too much that would overload one's senses and also not too little where the writers is screaming for more).  There was much more advise he shared (and this blog simply cannot name them all) but one that really stuck with me was the following: write well enough so that you don't give the reader a reason to stop. The same is also true with an editor, because if you can keep an editor's attention, you have the makings of a good story.