Serendipity, defined

By Pamela

Have you ever eavesdropped on a conversation between two strangers? Gone a weekend road trip with a woman you've yet to meet? Had someone contact you after stalking finding you online? Do you have the nerve to approach a stranger in a public restroom?

For me, the answers to the above questions are: Yes, yes, yes and hell heck, yes! (my mom reads this blog)

In the fall of 2006, I attended a meeting of the newly-formed and not-yet-officially-named Writers' Guild of Texas in the basement of the Richardson Public Library. I slipped into the back row (because I'm Baptist and we never sit up front if we can help it) behind two women who quietly chatted during the meeting's breaks. At one point my ears pricked a little at the mention of "critique" and "emails." So, I leaned in as the meeting ended and said, "I couldn't help but overhear that the two of you said something about critiquing." Those two unsuspecting women were Joan and Kim.

Flash forward nine months or so and the three of us (as well as Kim's mom, Deb) attend our first writer's conference together in Austin. Later, Joan would connect with Elizabeth at a Lesser North Texas Writers' critique group at the Barnes and Noble in Plano. Then I met Elizabeth when she rode with Joan and me to the OWFI conference in May of '08. (This is the "weekend road trip with a strange woman" part.)

Julie happened to contact me after stalking me on stumbling upon my personal blog. I agreed to meet her for lunch (in a well-lit, very public place) and we immediately connected.

In the spring of 2009, I ran into Susan in the restroom at the DFW Writers' Conference. We were both about to pitch our manuscripts to agents and formed a bond based on shared nerves.

Lots of emails and lunches later, we had the idea that all we discussed--the critiquing, the goal setting (Who wants to join me in writing 10,000 words this month?), the encouraging, the networking--might benefit other women who write. (And possibly even a few men?)

Most of us were maintaining our own blogs anyway and Kim had a website dedicated to her great-grandfather's story and art, so how hard could it be to put together a group blog? Turns out, not hard at all. Since there are six of us, we determined it would be most feasible and manageable if we posted three times a week--Monday, Wednesday, Friday--and we set a schedule that, nearly 250 posts later, has varied little.

In order to drive traffic and attract new readership, we reached out to people more famous than we are--published authors, editors and agents--who generously lent their time and expertise to our blog posts. And continue to do so still today. (For a look back at who we've interviewed, see the list below our head-shots here on the right hand side of the blog. Click on any name to read the interview or guest post.)

Then, as most of us hopped on the Facebook trend, we decided we could reach readers that way, too. So we added a fan page on Facebook and continue to add new fans there as well. Folks who twitter can also link to us there.

Those who know me well have probably never heard me use the word "fate" or even "coincidence" much. I'm a believer in events happening for a reason. Every cross-country move I've made in my adult life, every meeting I've decided to attend, every stranger I've approached in a restroom, I believe has connected the dots in my life for a greater purpose.

While it's wonderful to have a support system at home or a mother who thinks you're the next Harper Lee, having friends in your camp who know firsthand the sting of rejection, the frustration of making time to write and the struggle to create prose that sings cannot be measured.

If I had had the opportunity to dictate whom I would meet, the women I would connect with and form life-long friendships with that extend far beyond our shared writing goals, I would have raised my hand and said, "I choose: Elizabeth, Joan, Julie, Kim and Susan." Rather serendipitous, I think, that they were chosen for me.


Photo by Rick Mora

What Women Blog

by Joan

As we've recently mentioned, next week the six of us will present a program at the Writers’ Guild of Texas. We’ve been asked to talk about how we formed our group, why we decided to start blogging, and what we blog about. We'll also share our experiences with critique, the social media monster and our annual retreat.

During my five minutes of fame, I'll address content. Interesting, since as I mentioned in my last post, I’m the one staring at my computer for hours trying to be half as engaging as the other five! Often I share the same dilemma faced by many bloggers: What should I write about?

What I’ll tell our audience at Writers’ Guild is to first consider what you're trying to accomplish by blogging and what you can offer your readers. Are you trying to reach a certain audience? Gain a following? Promote your book? Air your deepest secrets? Since there are probably millions of blog posts published daily, yours should be, well, something that could only be written by you. (Readers who already blog, we'd love for you to share your link in the comments below!)

By just clicking on my Google reader, I can gain information about the Victorian Era from author Lee Jackson at The Cat’s Meat Shop, find the name of a new agent at Guide to Literary Agents, enjoy an insightful reflection from Dani Shapiro, appreciate gorgeous photography by Sarah Laurence, pick up querying tips from the all-powerful Query Shark, get a book review from Bibliophile by the Sea, read author Jamie Ford's BitterSweet Blog, peer into an agent’s world at Dystel and Goderich (our friend Jim McCarthy in particular!), throw out a story hook at TaleBait, and learn about the craft and business of writing with Writer Unboxed. The list goes on and on.

We started this blog with a simple mission—we wanted to share a little about our experiences and offer advice and insight to our writing lives. We offer observations on point of view or character, share personal reflections about struggles with issues in our manuscript--or lives. In lighter moments, we run book reviews, Q&A with authors, agents and editors, a list of our favorite reads, or a sneak peek at our annual retreat.

I hope we’re on your list of must-read blogs. We appreciate your stopping by, visiting us on Facebook, and mentioning us to your friends. And don’t forget, if you’re in Dallas next Monday, January 17, stop by the basement of the Richardson Library at Arapaho and North Central Expressway at 7pm. You never know what we might talk about.

What Women Write

by Joan

I’m a loner. My office is a cocoon, outfitted in a wrap-around desk, favorite paintings and prints, and plantation shutters closed off to the elements. I often have no idea whether it’s a sparkly, sunny day or a dreary rainfest. The only way I know a storm is coming is when my mother-in-law calls to tell me to batten down the plants and patio chairs. I don’t like talking on the phone, the result of three years as a headhunter in the ’80s when I had to make phone calls at night and attend networking gigs. If I’m on the phone too long, the person on the other end will often sense my unease and let me go. I like the solitude of a writer’s life, taking a phrase or sentence, working it into something that not only I love, but also has some meaning to someone else. Which is odd, when you think about it, but a common trait writers share.

But as any writer knows, it’s nice to connect with other writers, to share ideas, work through mistakes, celebrate achievements and, yes, rejection. I joined the Writers’ Guild of Texas, a young organization that has grown to almost 80 members in three years, and became its treasurer. There I met my first critique partner, Kim, and subsequently Pamela. I met Elizabeth at the Lesser North Texas Writers’ Critique group, Pamela and Julie connected online, then we met Susan at a conference. And here we are, our own little writing village.

Today we celebrate our fiftieth post. When we started What Women Write, we knew our styles were all quite different but wanted to find a way to connect with the writing community and share a bit about our writing journeys. We set up a schedule and committed to following it, making small adjustments for when life interfered (flu, day jobs, family emergencies, travel). I’m constantly amazed at the posts my partners have written, the authors we’ve been lucky enough to interview, the response and support from our readers.

Like many writers, when I look back at my manuscripts from a few years ago, I cringe. Reading them makes me want to send apology notes to all those agents I queried with what I thought was the best book I could write. I should also apologize to unsuspecting friends and family members who also read my early drafts and offered unworthy praise. Since then, I have studied writing how-tos and written daily, but my partners have pushed me to become even better. Yes, our styles are different, but each one in her own way has helped me gain perspective of my work, stretched me, provided me with honest feedback, and kept me laughing when I wanted to cry. (Some diligently reading revisions of the same manuscript numerous times!) Next month, the six of us will go on the first of hopefully many writing sojourns together, to a remote cabin far away. Maybe I’m not a loner after all.