Workshopping LET THE GLORY PASS AWAY

Last night I attended the second meeting of a new writer’s support group here in Columbia, SC called ‘Write Club’—the first rule of Write Club is that there are no rules, and the second rule of Write Club is that there are some rules, if that’s at all edifying—and I came away from the experience invigorated that the more ambitious of my two current novel projects is well on its way to a reasonably completed form. The pages I read to the group last night weren’t quite ‘there,’ but they were close. After taking to heart the criticisms of the group and spending a number of hours after the meeting revising the text, I start a new day of revision on the MS with a full head of creative steam, and the first 37 pages in much better shape than when the sun rose yesterday. A wonderful feeling, this.

And take it from me, there’s no high wire act quite like revealing one’s young work to (mostly) strangers—if we can’t muster the gumption to put it all out there on the table, however, we’ve no business trying to become writers. Reading aloud work that isn’t perfect or may be problematic is a wonderful way to spot errors; reading aloud to a critiquing group is a surefooted path to improving the manuscript.

LET THE GLORY PASS AWAY will be available for beta readers very soon. More on this project as it develops. Write Club meets at the Tapp’s Art Center in downtown Columbia every other Tuesday. For more information, visit the Write Club Facebook group.