Whoa there, just a moment, paleeze!

The date is Friday, 07 January 2011. I’m anticipating, possibly nervous about upcoming, first meeting with Riverside Writers Group (RWG).  Each member was asked to bring paper and pencil, plus something for the other members to critique. So, what do I bring?

I decided initially to do a short handout, with a printed cover of Golden Gate ©, plus the author bio, and an invite for RWG members to e-mail me for a copy of the novel, noting the Blog about writing the second book.

“The wife” as my oldest brother would so eloquently say, countered with a different approach. She suggested bringing several printed pages so the RWG critiquers would have something tangible to physically read and digest. I adopted her approach.

“Quid me Vexaris?” as Alfred E. Neumann of MAD magazine once so lucidly put it; “What, me worry?” For those slow on the uptake, I’m expressing natural anxiety one gets as one approaches an unknown, or in this case, a critical review of some dimension and severity by a group of more experienced writers.

“What if” they’re not only mildly critical, but deeply so. What if they chew up my words and spit them out … after I’ve given the book away to friends, Romans, and countrymen? Will they chop up my choice of words, my development of characters, the flow … or use of passive tense in certain scenes?  This would be most evident as my characters transition across several millennia in the first seven or so chapters. This is the typical anxiety one faces and experiences, but something uncomfortably new to me as a rather new author. What will they think of … me?

What will they think? Yes, but will they say it, those real feelings?  Probably if they’re motivated. Unlike a familiar family member, my oldest brother, whose words have been encouraging – “Don’t change a word!” and “Good flow” and “Interesting.” What will they say? Then the question became a defensive one … Do I take their criticisms seriously? It depends! Will I cry? No!!!! Will I dramatically change any words … perhaps, but it’s unlikely. I would or maybe will tweak wording. Writing isn’t as easy as a reader thinks. I think in a stream of consciousness … my mind rambling from idea to idea at a fast pace. This unnerves my wife and frequently frustrates our conversations, as my mind races to an answer before she asks the question. These streams of thought remain creative, but often out of sequence to the timeline of the story …. So I have to regroup, rewrite and resubmit. R&R! This will be a big challenge in Sooley Base ©, while the character development and their interaction will be the bigger challenge in Kashan Kashmeeri ©.

The plan for the trilogy … is, or maybe was, to give away the first two novels, and market the third, with most proceeds donated to charity. Of course, being either a visionary, or a complete dolt, I envision a huge advance and then a movie offer for the third novel. My wife thinks I’m in La La Land … Nevah Hatchee!!!!