Cartooning Class 2015

I'm very grateful to the kids and parents who made my first art-teaching experience exciting and encouraging. Here are some examples of comics the kids created while taking the class.

EMILY H.

ADDISON MANZANO

BRANDON NICHOLLS

CARSON NICHOLLS

LOGAN NICHOLLS

TYGER SAPP

Abolition Now story: The Common Thread

Click the link to read the story I wrote about a ministry called Divine Threads that seeks to bring hope and restoration to scared and broken women.

The Common Thread: Loving Women Where They're At

I've been writing stories for Abolition Now for a year and a half, and it has been a very good experience. This is my last story for them for the time being, as I'm moving on to other ministry opportunities. If you feel drawn toward helping rescue and restore those who have been hurt by human-trafficking, I recommend you take a look around Abolition Now's website.

Eight Great Things about a Writers Group

Coffee and Inspiration: Winter Birds

In February 2011, I was present at the birth of a writers group. Gathered around a table were a college-age girl, a former drama group leader, a psychologist, an artsy grandmother, an armored truck driver, a Romanian poet, a white-haired man, and a young mom. No one would have picked these eight people out from a crowd and thought they belonged together, yet we all shared the compulsion to create with words. There was a glow and a hum of energy around that table, excitement crackling in the air.

            So began FellowScript. [Note: we didn’t settle on that name until much later.] Our mission is to nurture and support while providing accountability. We critique each other’s work, do writing prompts, discuss books, and share experiences. Over the years, we’ve lost some members and gained others, and have had many adventures like carpooling to a writers conference, breaking into e-publishing, and sharing the ups and downs of each other’s lives.

            From my experiences so far, I’ve come up with a list of eight things that are great about a writers group.

Community

Set out common interest. Add people. Season with sharing. Mix well. And there you have a pretty sure recipe for connection and camaraderie.

I spent the first few years of my writing life working on my own, only getting input from family and friends. I was craving more companionship. I told this desire to a friend of mine, and one thing and another led to FellowScript being created. When the group first started meeting, I was giddy with delight simply to know I wasn’t alone anymore. I wrote in my journal:

“I can’t quite comprehend that God has answered my longing to be part of a community of writers who can sympathize with and challenge me. It seemed so unreachable before…and then it was like God snapped His fingers and laughed at my surprise that He could accomplish it so easily.”

Safety

I knew I was ready to take my writing to the next level when I joined the group, but publishing was still a distant dream. All I needed was the courage to bring my first pages of manuscript to be read out loud. We did this at the first official meeting, everyone taking turns reading from someone else’s work. My voice came out fast and shaky, at first. It was an intense, good exercise in stepping out and building trust.

I was still trembling a little when I sat down to face my first critique, but the experience proved invigorating, and has since become much less nerve-wracking. If I get a little shiver, it’s more from excitement than fear. I’m not afraid, because I know my fellow writers are motivated by wanting to help me do my best.

Fresh Perspectives

Artists can have trouble with near-sightedness—and not just the physical kind. You have to get close to your work, and that often results in a loss of perspective. Even when you step back, you might not be able to figure out what’s not working.

Time to bring in fresh eyes.

A good critique will not just point out things you never noticed—it will also confirm things you already knew but were hiding from, such as lazy plotting.

One time, I submitted a chapter for critique that had the hero suffering a bad accident—basically falling off a cliff—for no apparent reason except to have him spend more time with the heroine while recuperating. Knowing this was not very compelling, I tacked on the bonus that because he had been riding ahead when he fell, the carriage behind him—containing baggage and servants—was spared…though no explanation was given for why they took a carriage on this dangerous, narrow path, or how they turned it around afterward.

One of my fellow writers looked up at me and asked, “Why’s the carriage so important?”

The dumbstruck look on my face was quite amusing to the rest of the group.

That began my crusade to weed out lazy plot devices, which eventually led to a massive rewrite of much of that book…

Humor

You need to be able to laugh at yourself. I did in the “why’s-the-carriage-so-important” moment, and many more. A writers group should be a place where you can geek out about literary stuff, tell funny stories, lovingly poke fun at your fellow writers, and welcome fun being poked at you.

Differences of Opinion

You might worry that a writers group will influence you too much, and you will end up writing just to get their approval. This is a legitimate concern, and I sometimes feel the temptation, having a pleaser-personality. But I think the far greater danger is being unwilling to take any advice at all. ‘In the multitude of counselors there is safety’ (Proverbs 11:14).

Things always get interesting when critics disagree:

“I thought that paragraph was vague and confusing.”

“WHAT?! I thought that part was beautiful! I totally got what she was saying.”

This is where the author has to be brave and make her own decision.

Free Advice

If you join a writers group that contains a “grammar Nazi”, a spelling fanatic, a get-the-facts-straight nerd, or someone who dares to give formatting advice, please don’t complain. Don’t tell them to buzz off. Don’t give them dirty looks.

Thank them.

Chances are, if you take their advice, your writing—and you—will be smarter, and stand a better chance of being published and purchased. In a good group, you will be receiving constructive criticism on everything from plotlines to word choice. Even if you think they’re just plain wrong on something, it’s a wise idea to consider it carefully. For instance, someone underlines a word and notes that they don’t think it’s real. You know it is—you found it in the dictionary. But maybe it isn’t the right word for the situation, and that’s why it struck them wrong.

Shared Minds

Your fellow writers’ minds are a treasure trove of information. The more variety in the group, the better. Men and women of different ages, from all sorts of backgrounds and occupations, bring a lot of experience. A psychologist can give insightful advice on character development, a young mom can share thoughts on the behavior of a small child, a man can help a female author write more masculine heroes, and some people can even give tips on things like swords and ancient medicine.

Photo by Starla Pearson

Personal Concern

FellowScript is made of Christians. I believe what keeps this group going is that we know there is a higher purpose for our gifts than getting wealthy and making a name for ourselves. We know about the things that are going on in each other’s lives, and we pray for each other. Though we have mess-ups and misunderstandings, we all serve Jesus, who set the example of love and forgiveness.

These eight great things I’ve talked about have all been in the context of a writers group, but I think every artistic pursuit could benefit from this kind of fellowship. Gathering with like-minded—yet so beautifully different—people is a joy. We often open our meetings by giving thanks to God for the gift of being together.