INKLINGS, Our Writers Group

INKLINGS

Hello, my name is "Siggy", and I have been asked to write a "guest blog". I will get right to it; you can find out a little bit more about me at the end (and hopefully, by reading my story about the Inklings)!

Last year, my wife and I watched a documentary of C.S. Lewis, the British author whose impressive list of books includes the well-knows, "Chronicles of Narnia" series. (By the way, every book C.S. Lewis published during his life time--over twenty--is still in print.) The documentary was actually a Christmas gift from the year before; one of those things that just are put aside to get to "later", you know? Well, I guess the time was right, and we put it on to watch. During the program, it was mentioned that Lewis belonged to a small group of writers who got together regularly for several decades (another notable member of the group was J.R.R. Tolkien, famous for "Lord Of The Rings"). They called themselves the "Inklings". My wife loved this name, and told me if we ever started a writers group, that was what we should call it. We talked about who else might be in the group, and we both suggested our friend and fellow-writer, Eydie -- hence, the connection to this website since it is her blog you are reading!

Our small writing group, Inklings, is very important to me. To me the name is really important. If our group can provided even a little spark and motivation for the participating members it is all worth it. Inklings is a perfect name. I want our small writing group to encourage the writers it in to continue to improve--to be the best writers they can be.

I never forgot an anecdote related by Arthur Gordon which told the story of two writing groups that had met decades ago, when the participants were still in college. The two groups were about equal in talent. One was a group of women whose members were kind to one another and did everything in their power to encourage each other, while the all male group, who aptly called themselves "The Stranglers", were brutal with one another and ripped into each others work. Years later, not one prominent writer had come out of The Stranglers, but several emerged from the woman's group, including Marjorie Rawlings, author of "The Yearling".

After hearing that story, I was determined that Inklings would be a place where we could encourage each other, not tear each other apart. We held our first meeting in August 2008, just three of us -- myself, my wife, and Eydie. Now Inklings is starting to grow. A graphic artist came twice, she works for the publisher who printed Eydie's first book of poetry, "September Butterfly." In February we gained our first (and second!) virtual members. Blogmaster, Brother John, is now a member and I am sure he will bring us into the 21st century, and beyond, with his networking talents, and hopefully we will be encouraging his creativity in the writing area. My old friend, Sara, who recently married and moved to North Carolina to begin a new chapter in her life, also joined us long-distance. Sara just this past week completed her studies and became an ordained minister because she wanted to marry people! And this month, another person, a registered lobbyist, joined us for the first time and expressed an interest in coming back. As you can see, our growing group is diverse.

Each time we meet (usually at Eydie's or our home) we talk and get to know each other better. I usually pull a few passages from my writing resource library to inspire discussion and then we do a few exercises. In the past, they might have consisted of writing about a piece of music one member shared. Sometimes I pick an interesting photo for us to write about. The ground rules are usually the same: write five minutes without lifting your pen, neither changing anything or crossing out. Then we share what we wrote with each other. We usually have a break and a snack or two.

At the moment, Inklings is doing a "chain" story. This exercise will probably take at least two months to complete. One person write a chapter and then another adds another, etc. We usually have another home assignment. This month we are writing a description of someone, then next meeting we will compare notes. Last month, we shared our stories of one significant event in our lives.

We try to meet once a month, coordinating our schedules to pick a date. So far, it has all worked out. It has been a challenge to figure our how to include the virtual members in our group. E-mail and snail mail certainly help. We are still working that one out. But my goal remains the same: I want each person, present or virtual, to get better as a writer, to NOT compare their writings with others, but only to feel that they are improving as a writer. AND, to be encouraged to WRITE!!!