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In Die by the Pen, Jared Gniewek discusses what feeds his fires as an author of comics, screenplays and radio dramas.

Writing can be lonely.

It can hurt when you empathize too much with your characters and allow yourself to feel what they are going through too clearly. It is a solipsistic activity that can drive you to tears of frustration and joy. It is a good thing, to be this involved with the act, but sometimes it can make accepting criticism all the harder. You feel like a judged parent on a talk show screaming, YOU DON’T KNOW ME!

Remember that your work is NOT you. Remember that all the work you did on a piece; thinking about it (sometimes for years) and executing it really are meaningless to a reader. You can’t call everyone who went “meh” over your piece and yell at them. Their job is to receive and they are good at it. They’ve been doing it since their moms were staring at them in the crib and playing pee-ka-boo. Your job is to transmit artfully and in an entertaining fashion. At least as good as Mom.

One of my writing pals told me that I learn to need to “phone it in” but to me that is unacceptable. While I could work a bit faster that way I feel that any emotional depth I’m reaching might be sacrificed. I mean if it’s not worth the time to write it “for real” is it worth it to read? But, at the same time, is being a slave to my personal muses making me too personally involved in each work?

Sometimes, though, when you get too drawn into your own work and stuck in quandaries like this it can be beneficial to join forces with other writers and support each other’s work. Getting together, throwing back some grape sodas and exchanging thought and ideas can give you some much needed perspective.

Here are a couple structured activities that are great for writing groups, try them out with your crew:

1) Pitch Party: All my writing buddies and I believe in the art of the pitch and there’s nothing like an excuse to practice your chops. One of you plays “editor” and solicits pitches from rest of the gang. Everyone should take a turn. Be as vague or specific with your needs as you want. Pick the best and then on to the next editor. Ten minutes is a good amount of time, longer if you like.

2) Sharing is Caring: Everyone bring a script and read them out loud to each other. You can all take on roles. This can be fun in public. Every piece needs a negative comment and a positive. Starting with positive softens the blow quite nicely. It really is important and freeing to work out kinks with friends, but do be careful. Taking criticism is a sign of maturity and writers tend to be anything but. Be prepared for huffiness…lots of it. It’s part of the process.

3) Personals: This is one I used to do in my college writing classes at dear old SUNY Brockport. Everyone writes personal ads that inform the reader of far too much information. Let little nuggets about the lives of your characters slip into the advert. I’ll give you an example:

SWM, 39 iso animal loving SWF to share movies, long walks, trips to the zoo and the aquarium. No allergies or meat eaters. Must love cats and snuggling.

I think we know who this is. I think we know how many cats they have. I think we can all do better with a little more go-time.

Anyway, I hope these activities lend themselves well to your writing groups and open your talents up to different activities than you usually participate in. I can’t wait to see my group and throw these down. Just the same, even if these aren’t your particular cup of tea, let’s keep writing.

All the best!

Jared Gniewek works in the music industry as a back line technician, performer, and promoter. He is also a freelance writer whose work can be seen in the recent re-launch of Tales from the Crypt and heard on The Dark Sense, an audio anthology of the macabre for which he is also the story editor — http://www.earstage.com/darksense.htm.

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