I was really bummed out because the icy weather here in Atlanta canceled my first meeting with my critique group. It’s been a minute since I’ve met up with them. Almost a year I think.
I was going to blog about critique groups but will save it for next week when we meet again (weather permitting, I hope).
So I thought I would talk about writer mentors. I believe aspiring writers benefit from having a writer mentor. Someone who they can learn from and who they can go to with questions and/or rant when dealing in this crazy business.
I have several writer mentors that I’ve met over the years. They have helped me grow as a writer, given me advice, and also by looking at their choices and strategies—they also help me navigate in this crazy writing business.
It helps if your writer mentor is someone who you want to emulate—a published writer or a teacher. My first writer mentor, Carol Lee Lorenzo, was my first writing teacher. I remember in class when her words mesmerized me. She introduced me to a whole new world of the writing craft. Then came the reality of the day she gave me back my first writing assignment—it was covered in red marks. I knew I had a long way to go. But when I started to get good comments, I knew they were earned.
I believe getting a writer mentor happens organically. It starts by putting yourself out there in the writing community. Whether online or through writing classes or conferences. I’ve learned that if you get out there and get involved, your kindred spirits gravitate towards you. It is how you can develop relationships. People who feel like they know you are more likely to help you.
Of course, having a writer mentor is not required to have a good writing career, but it definitely makes the journey easier.
As a pre-teen and a teen, I had teachers who unwittingly were my writing mentors. In college I took no writing classes and was mentor-less. Then later on I wrote in a bubble, because I wasn’t a part of any groups until recently. I think my writing skills would have multiplied if I had a mentor, or at least a group who was a support and sounding board.
Hey Medeia: Like you I write in a bubble for years until I met my first writer mentor. She helped me so much. She had a “tough love” approach but she told me I should get a thick skin ASAP to make it in this writing business.