Notes from the New Guy
By Thom Lofgren
I volunteered to write an article for our newsletter without really knowing what I would be writing about. The call was out for “articles” that would be of interest to our membership, but I wanted to provide something more than a filler article. After all, the end purpose of writing is to be read. So I thought I’d give my thoughts on what it’s like to be the new kid in class, my impressions of the other kids and look at what I’ve learned along the way.
I believe my first meeting was last October, responding to a note in the Alliance Review. I had just rekindled my own interest in writing a couple of months earlier. Back in college I had thoroughly enjoyed a creative writing course for short fiction and even followed through with some poetry. But life has a way of overtaking you and the issues of raising kids, working for a living, home maintenance, etc. etc. …you know how it is. My friend’s father used to tell him, “If you’re making excuses you may as well make it a whopper!” I couldn’t use “The dog ate my homework” but “alien abduction” has worked several times.
My youngest daughter was taking a writing course as part of her college studies which had caused me to dig into the archives and prove that I, too, had a creative streak. (She still can’t understand the concept of erasable bond!) Long story short, she enjoyed my early work and pushed me to take on something more. So I looked at the excuse list, couldn’t find a suitable one, and thought why not. Thus began my first attempt at a novel.
One of the member benefits of the guild is to have your work critiqued. While I feared I would be completely humiliated in the process I also felt compelled to have an adult take an unbiased look at my work. Besides, my kid’s critique went something like this: “Gee dad, this is great you should do more you know get back into it can I borrow the car?” Seems she had a hidden agenda.
I survived my critique. Mela’s and Carolyn’s encouragement was frank and helpful. The novel turned into a novella and things just seem to be happening! I confess that I feared the guild would be a bunch of old ladies reading rhyming poetry. Instead I’ve found it to be a very diverse lot, everyone from high school students all the way to my father’s generation are represented in our membership. The meetings have been quite informative and the writing exercises we’ve been tasked with have really caused me to open up and stretch my fledgling talent. Our more seasoned members (those who have actually been published) are very willing to share their experiences and counsel on what pitfalls to avoid.
I regret having missed the December meeting, which was strictly social but look forward to the plans for the summer and getting to know my fellow members better. It really is true, everyone has a story to tell.