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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Tiny Writers and other valued buddies

My blog buddy, Tod, asked in the comments section:

"What are tiny writers?  Are they like pocket sized authors?"

GOOD QUESTION.

Let me 'splain.  

I'm a part of three - yep, THREE - writers groups.  One is my big official group which meets every Monday evening, with our official town hall business meeting on the third Monday of the month.  

One is Four Corners, my little internet group.  We meet on email.  Two blogbuddies are part of that group: Jkb and Heidi, as well as Marcia who doesn't have a blog (yet but I might work on her about that...!)

And one is my Tiny Writers.  All three of us are women, mothers, who have been stay at home/ work at home mothers and are all petite, okay fine, we're SHORT.  We're all around the 5 ft tall mark.  Maissa writes business newsletters for a living, from her computer with a view to the street, often covered in cats with two crazy dogs nearby.  Lynn is a published author and is owned by a pretty little black cat.  And then there's me.  I'm writing this right now with the MacBook propped on one knee and the couch arm with my elderly black cat draped over the crook of my elbow, purring, while my dog flings himself against the back door.  

So now you know what a Tiny Writer is!  We meet whenever we feel the urge for a cup of tea and a good ol bitch session!  No, seriously, we don't just bitch and rant.  We talk about the challenges of writing and balancing our families and housework and all that real life stuff.  We talk about problems with our stories and how to get through it.  We ultimately talk about our critters.  

I get something valuable and different out of each of these groups.  There is a danger of following too many pieces of advice, and getting confused, but the beauty of having work critiqued by fellow writers is that you don't have to take all the advice.  You take what works.  And you are thankful for all of it. 

I'm not at the barn today, because today turned into a Crash Day.  I had to stay in my jammies and let the dog and cat breathe sleep on me for a few hours.  I haven't been sleeping well and eventually it catches up... so now I'm enjoying a quiet house... and a query letter... purring cat... agent list... Equestrian Federation Manual... and a manuscript from a friend.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

9 comments:

Anita said...

I tried typing with a cat in my lap with the laptop this afternoon.. it came out looking like Klingon... lol

Heidi the Hick said...

Yeah... but the purring makes it worthwhile.

Heidi Willis said...

you are amazingly blessed, although I might completely freak if I had more than two groups!

Your tiny group sounds incredible. If I lived nearby I might almost qualify (I'm 5'2and a half)! For now, I have to satisfy myself with the metaphorical tea and cheesecake with my online group.... they're pretty awesome themselves! :)

JKB said...

I too wish for a group in the physical world. BUT you guys are so tremendously talented, what's the odds?

I'm totally happy and thankful for our group. It is superb!

I am realllll impressed that you are in three, tho...and you're right, Marsh should start a blog.

Michael Colvin said...

Thanks for clearing that up. :)

Heidi the Hick said...

Jkb and Heidi- I love all my writing groups, but I confess that I sometimes use it as an excuse to not work on this incredibly difficult book that I should be writing. Truth is, right now I'll use anything to avoid it! Isn't that awful! I'll stop using my writer friends as a procrastination tactic, I promise!!

The metaphorical cheesecake is truly great though.

Tod... It's the least I can do for ya!

Lynn Sinclair said...

I remember discovering your blog, Heidi, and figuring out that it must be the Heidi I'd know for ten years in a "Hi, how're ya doin?" kind of way. It's amazing that the three of us live within walking distance.

Balloon Pirate said...

Thanks for being there.

And I'm back.

At least for now.

yeharr

Heidi the Hick said...

Lynn, I know! I really must tell that story, eh? It's so funny how you think ya know a person, and then find out you have so much more in common than you thought you did!!

Pirate, yay!!! You're back!