Ray Pace's Blog
January 13, 2019
Writer Groups and Deadlines
My writing career has been blessed with deadlines. In my broadcast news days, I frequently had eight deadlines per day, Newspapers were a bit better with only one or two each day but those stories required more ink, more research.
These days, I have a weekly deadline, self-imposed. I belong to a writers support group that meets each Tuesday morning. My job, I demand of my self, is to show up with new material each meeting, ready to present to the group. Everyone gets a printed copy of my latest effort and they are encouraged to write comments all over the pages as I read.
There is no requirement that each writer shows up with new material. Many in the group read new stuff only on occasion. I think they are short-changing themselves, waiting for perfection to come before presentation to their peers.
"The first draft," I keep saying, "is not the finished product. It might be crude and sloppy but give it a chance to see the light of day. It just might bloom with the help of your fellow writers."
These days, I have a weekly deadline, self-imposed. I belong to a writers support group that meets each Tuesday morning. My job, I demand of my self, is to show up with new material each meeting, ready to present to the group. Everyone gets a printed copy of my latest effort and they are encouraged to write comments all over the pages as I read.
There is no requirement that each writer shows up with new material. Many in the group read new stuff only on occasion. I think they are short-changing themselves, waiting for perfection to come before presentation to their peers.
"The first draft," I keep saying, "is not the finished product. It might be crude and sloppy but give it a chance to see the light of day. It just might bloom with the help of your fellow writers."
