By Cheryl Swayne
Thank you for taking time to read the Kansas Writers, Inc. BLOG. If you are not a member yet, I would encourage you to join. I was hesitant to join because I didn’t know anyone in the group. However, I found KWI to be welcoming and supportive. In fact, the groups’ focus is about mentoring upcoming authors, regardless of their genre. Each meeting has an educational section, usually in the form of a guest speaker.
Writers and writing are portrayed as a solo entity. I don’t believe that is true. Writing jobs, such as scripting, advertising, corporate literature or news agencies, require a commute to an office and high pressure deadlines. My favorite western author, Louis L’Amour, stated in his book jacket biography that he was not a fussy writer. He claimed that he could put his typewriter in the middle of the road and write a novel because he did not distract easily.
A writer needs support from his or her family, a wide variety of contacts, a writers group, totally awesome editors and professional services. Contrary to the vision of a writer sitting alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, this is work that takes time to complete. It doesn’t matter if you are writing copy, the great American novel, your family history or a memoir. It doesn’t matter if you plan to publish or if this is a personal goal. Surround yourself with good people.
I just turned 50 and was told to put together a PowerPoint presentation that represented my life. It was easy to come up with the embarrassing baby pictures and the names of all my pets. I often think of myself in terms of my work. I was a park ranger and am a farrier. But I never thought of myself as a writer, even though I am working on a novel. As I went through my collection of ‘stuff’ it made me realize how long I have been a writer.
Polly Cleary, my literature teacher in high school, signed my yearbook in 1977. She wrote that I was a good creative writer. I found a pin and certificate where I was awarded the National Quill and Scroll award for creative writing. That award put me in contention for a scholarship to a college in Boston. I found twenty years worth of letters with kudos from people because they saw an article of mine in a magazine and thought that was great. Then I realized I had over 40 articles published regarding boater safety, all kinds of trails, umpteen historical sites and countless community programs.
By the time I finished assembling the slide show, I had a whole different perspective on myself and how much I had accomplished in 50 years. I realized that it is OK to call myself a writer. My work as a horseshoer parallels writing. Most people who go to farrier school quit after the first year. My mentor was fond of saying that ‘if horseshoeing were easy, anyone could do it.’ Writing a novel seems the same to me. Everyone has a novel in their head. But not everyone can be a novelist. It isn’t just about the idea, no matter how exciting that idea is. You still have to know the techniques to good writing.
Our meetings are on the fourth Saturday of the month. We welcome new faces and new members. You can keep up with me on my personal BLOGS www.thereisnocryinginhorseshoeing.blogpsot.com or www.smokeywestford.blogspot.com.
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