TIS THE SEASON TO CELEBRATE...
On the weekend my writing group, Lazy River Writers, had our Christmas break up. We tend to have a meal out to celebrate, there is usually festive decorations, a secret Kris Kringle, we also hold a meeting.
This meeting is not for workshopping nor fine tuning a WIP...but we do the usual talk of what we have achieved the past month, our brags, as well as catching up with what has occurred personally.
One member puts together our Top Five Achievements for the year which is always a great way of looking back over what we sometimes feel has been a year of little success.
We also discuss how our goals for the year have gone. This usually brings much chair scraping, much mumbling of 'didn't do anything' or the announcement of 'it was a crap year'.
This year, amongst the tinsel and Santa's...and the most yummy food.....
(I have told you that our group does food very very well haven't I?)
It was a great way to end the year. To look back on what we have achieved not only singly, but as a group. It is with the groups pushes and pokes, the 'I know you can do this' and the 'have you sent it out again?' when another rejection tumbles in...I believe that the group has helped us accomplish so much.
It was a fantastic way to end the year. To watch as member after member placed item after item after item. There was much reminiscing. The "I remember when you got that published'...'three of us were published in that edition'....'I forgot I shared those pages with you'.
After looking back at our year's goals and the majority of us feeling a bit of a failure it was great to end the year on such a high.
Yes, sometimes the year doesn't go as planned. Sometimes we take a turn here, back track there...even get totally lost. But we have achieved so much already.
Look out 2016 we are coming for you!
Vicki
This meeting is not for workshopping nor fine tuning a WIP...but we do the usual talk of what we have achieved the past month, our brags, as well as catching up with what has occurred personally.
One member puts together our Top Five Achievements for the year which is always a great way of looking back over what we sometimes feel has been a year of little success.
We also discuss how our goals for the year have gone. This usually brings much chair scraping, much mumbling of 'didn't do anything' or the announcement of 'it was a crap year'.
This year, amongst the tinsel and Santa's...and the most yummy food.....
(I have told you that our group does food very very well haven't I?)
It was suggested that since we celebrated our fifteenth year together that we should put together a visual reminder of what we have accomplished.
To bring in all of our published works over that time. One member forgot her work, but most of us brought in bits and bobs, not everything that has been published. We couldn't find this and that, and what happened to that magazine, that collection (and so much these days is online which is another story).
The result?
Isn't that amazing?
And that is not everything. There was so much more...more books, more magazines, more awards, more prizes...just so much more.
This of course also didn't include the writing groups, the writing classes we have taught and managed...the speeches and talks we have given.....the editorial work we have done. The mentoring of like minds, the nurturing of new up-and-coming authors we believe in. The feedback and critiques we have given over that time period.
I can't think how many poems, short stories, essays, scripts, picture books, chapter books and whole novels we have read over those years. And given honest and valued critique on.
It was a great way to end the year. To look back on what we have achieved not only singly, but as a group. It is with the groups pushes and pokes, the 'I know you can do this' and the 'have you sent it out again?' when another rejection tumbles in...I believe that the group has helped us accomplish so much.
It was a fantastic way to end the year. To watch as member after member placed item after item after item. There was much reminiscing. The "I remember when you got that published'...'three of us were published in that edition'....'I forgot I shared those pages with you'.
After looking back at our year's goals and the majority of us feeling a bit of a failure it was great to end the year on such a high.
Yes, sometimes the year doesn't go as planned. Sometimes we take a turn here, back track there...even get totally lost. But we have achieved so much already.
Look out 2016 we are coming for you!
Vicki
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