ADD: The Real Horror

The weekly critique group I attend is probably what helps my writing most. Each of us brings copies of a section of our work we’d like feedback on, and reads it aloud while the other members mark their copies with questions, concerns, corrections, and positive remarks.

Not only do we keep each other motivated and accountable to keep up with our writing, we encourage each other and keep each other excited about the whole process.

We’ve got a good chemistry going right now because we each have different strengths. I’m working on a horror/thriller novel (Shocking, I know.) about an epidemic that hits a small, isolated town. My dad is currently working on a chapter of a textbook, but he also has a high action novel in the works. Caroline’s work leans more toward the literary and is a character-driven piece about the culture shock and interpersonal conflict a couple experiences when they move from California to rural Washington. Annette Drake is working on a young adult novel that is very touching but still humorous (She also has a great blog about becoming a full time author right here on WordPress. You should check her out!). Our last member, who shall remain nameless at her request, is working on an intercultural romance, and this is a romance I really want to read! That is an accomplishment.

Last night was supposed to be our first meeting this month. I was psyched. I had all my pages proofread and my copies printed for the other members. I was planning to get there a little bit early and make sure we had a good table. Instead, my phone died, my dad didn’t have anyone’s number but mine, and half of us ended up at one location and half of us were at another.

I may have had several messages, when I finally got my phone charged, from other members telling me that the location my dad and I were not at was the one where we were meeting this week. One of those messages may have been from Monday.

In my defense, that message didn’t show up in my voicemail until last night. Yes, I did check. The Deer Park area is the Bermuda Triangle of cell phone reception and things like that occasionally happen, which is why I usually give at least one other member a call the day of our meetings to make sure I haven’t missed anything. This week I got caught up in my writing and forgot. Go figure.

I guess the silver lining is that my dad caught a pretty glaring mistake in my scene when we were sitting around in the wrong part of Spokane waiting for everyone else to show up.

My apologies to everyone who showed up where and when they were supposed to. To quote the song SAIL by awolnation, blame it on my ADD, baby. Next time I’ll be early. Promise.

Stay tuned for: Vampires: The Good, The Bad, & The Sparkly