Help From the Buddy System

Our neighbor has a big green van that is critical to the business his wife runs. With his plumbing work suffering in the current economy, that business has become their primary source of income.

So having the van throw an engine rod a week or so ago was a very bad thing. Without the van, the business simply doesn't function.

The van had just been paid off, and replacing it--even with a used vehicle--was out of the question. Having a shop replace the engine would cost even more than replacing the van. Renting a van to keep the business operating was going to cost over a thousand dollars a week.

It's safe to say that he was in a bit of a pickle.

Fortunately, our neighbor has a network. He's been in the area for a while, and has been active in a number of organizations. It's a rare evening when there aren't a couple of extra Harleys parked out front, and I've lost count of the conversations we've had that he starts by saying, "I was over helpin' my buddy..."

In fact, more than once our neighbor has helped my family with a problem, many times when I was out of town.

So it was no surprise when a small army of capable-looking men appeared and began assessing the situation with the engine. (Okay, they actually looked like a motorcycle gang, but capable nonetheless.) Soon large tools arrived and parts began coming off the van. I noticed that different people seemed to be in charge at different times, each sharing their expertise.

For my part, I donated the use of our sunshade--an important addition even late in the Texas summer.

It took nearly a week of hard work, but by Saturday the old engine had been removed and a rebuilt motor installed in its place. The van was reassembled, and is now running as good as new. All for significantly less money than I would have thought possible.

I was impressed by the way people rallied around our neighbor in his time of need, giving of themselves to do what he couldn't do by himself.

I thought how great it would be if I had a network like that, too. And then I realized that I do.

I am part of an excellent critique group. Recently I have gotten some great feedback on Into The Wind, my sequel to Bumpy Landings. Feedback that will help me take a good story and make it great. Each member has a different perspective; a different area of expertise that they can draw on to help make my writing better.

I'll admit that there are occasions when it's hard for me to use my limited writing time to read through someone else's work. Yet I'm always glad when I do, as I can't help but learn from their work, and there is no doubt that both critiquing and being critiqued has made my writing better.

Crafting a superior story may not be as physically challenging as dropping a big-block Ford V-8, but it's every bit as complicated. And while my critique partners are somewhat lacking in leather and tattoos, they are all extremely capable writers.

I am grateful for the help that I get from my writing buddies. Having a support network can make all of the difference in the world.

The Hawthorne Effect in Writing

The Hawthorne Effect is a phrase coined in 1955 to explain the findings of experiments conducted at the Hawthorne plant for the Western Electric Company from 1924-1933. In essence the experiments set out to measure the effect of lighting on employee productivity. Will employees be more productive if they have better lighting? Will they be less productive? Does it really make a difference?

Researchers found that regardless of whether there was more or less lighting provided, productivity increased because the research participants knew they were being watched. They knew they were part of an experiment and their productivity was being monitored. Therefore their productivity increased. Interesting.

So how does this apply to writing?

Writing can be a solitary activity. We write in the quiet of our office or in our bedroom or anywhere else that provides the peace we need to think and create. To avoid distractions we separate ourselves from others so we can focus on the task at hand. For me this is very necessary. I simply cannot focus on a story when the kids are screaming and climbing on me. We may set goals for how many words, or pages, or chapters we will write in a day or a week or a month. We may outline on a calendar how long it takes to finish our first draft and we measure our productivity by how well we stick to our schedule. This is good. It breaks a large daunting task into easily chewed bite sized pieces. But what happens when we find we're not sticking to our own schedule? Do we slap ourselves on the wrist, "bad writer", and resolve to do better tomorrow, only to see another day slip away with low productivity?

While solitude may be necessary to attain proper focus in our creativity, it may also hinder us because we are accountable only to ourselves. What would happen to our writing production if we allow ourselves to be accountable to someone else? Let me suggest a couple of ways we might allow others to help hold us accountable for our productivity.

1- Share your goals with others. I have often heard it said that if a goal is not written down it is merely a hope or a dream. Hopes and dreams are good, but may not motivate to action the same way a goal can. Writing a goal down makes it real. I also think that sharing the goal with others makes it real. Share your goals with someone you respect. Not only will they help to keep you accountable, they will also be able to celebrate in your successes.

2- Join a critique group. If you are in a critique group, the assumption is that you will have something to be critiqued. Right? Do you want to commit your time and energy to attending a group physically or online and commit to critique everyone elses work while never submitting any of your own? Naturally you will want to get as much use out of the group by offering your writing for critique on a regular basis. This will keep you writing.

3- Join other groups that track production. I am thinking particularly of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Each year as November rolls around, internet groups pop up that writers can join to track their progress during the month. While committing to write 50,000 words in a month may not be your speed, the concept is excellent. Make a commitment and allow your group to track your progress towards meeting your goal. FYI-You don't have to wait for November to do this. Find another group or create your own.

4- Track your own progress on your blog or website. With a bar graph widget you can show the world your goal for how many words you expect your mansucript to be. Color it in at every 5000 words. It can show you the percentage of goal accomplished and will also show others how you are progressing and keep them excited about your work in progress. Do you want everyone else to know you've been stuck at 20% of your goal for the past month? Probably not.

When we know other people are watching, our efforts and production will increase just like in the Hawthorne experiments. Accountability increases productivity. It works in the business world, it works in the church and it can also work in our writing. Conduct your own experiment and see if it works.

How do you hold yourself accountable to your writing goals?

Online Critique Groups

by Rachael Renee Anderson

Probably the brightest thing I did this year was become involved in a critique group. Even though I live in Utah, where there are many other LDS writers, I wanted an online group for its flexibility. Turns out that online groups can be just as effective, if not more so, than meeting once a week with a regular group.

Over time, our group has adapted, tried new things, and now we have a model that works great for us:

1) We've decided to keep our group at 6 members or less. Any more, and it's too big.
2) We utilize each other for help with: plot outlines, writer's block (if we come to a standstill and need a push), and final review. Or any other questions/concerns we need help with.
3) When we've written and revised our ms, we give it to various friends or family (alpha readers) to look over, mainly for plot holes, incongruities, etc. One group member wrote a middle-grade fantasy and had several jr. high school students (his target audience) look it over for him. Then after we receive alpha comments back, we revise yet again before turning it over to our group, which operates as follows:

• We ask one member (whoever is available at the time) to begin reading it. Once they have 4-5 chapters done, they upload it to our group message board before continuing on. This gives the author the chance to revise the chapters before another member of our group looks it over. It's sort of a review, revise, review, revise process. That way, each version gets better and better, resulting in a ms that's ready to be submitted.
  
• We've decided that 2-3 thorough critiques are the perfect number to request from each other. Editing a full ms takes a lot of time, and with 6 members in our group, it gives us the chance to say "can't do it" if we are particularly busy or don't have the time. In other words, we don't need to critique every ms in our group.

Note: Look for members who are willing to participate as much or little as you--people who will be fair and not take advantage of the group. A group can't be effective if everyone doesn't pull their own weight. For example, if we want 3 people to look over our finished ms and we plan to submit two books in a year, we know we should critique 6 other manuscripts throughout the year to keep things equal. It's sort of an honor system.

Another note: As you critique, be sure to be completely honest. Most authors can handle criticism, and it won't do any good if you can't be honest (sometimes brutally so) with the manuscripts you read. But be sure to point out the good also. (This is a biggie!) It's easier to only write comments about the problems you encounter, but there's definitely something to the saying, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." After all, the main purpose of a critique group should be to lift, inspire, motivate, and make each other a better writer. That can't happen in a negative setting.

If anyone else participates in a critique group, I'm sure we'd all love to hear some of the things you've learned as well. What works/didn't work for you?