4th Street Writers

Today's Workshop

2008-02-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

The group read the first 26 pages of my novel today. It's hard to workshop a novel as opposed to a short story. A story is contained. It's all there in front of you. But a novel is just so huge. So much extends far beyond what you can see in the pages you hold at any one time. But workshopping it is still incredibly helpful. I get an idea of where there's energy in the story and where it is leaking out. I can see which characters are fleshed out and which ones still need work. I see where readers want the story to go compared with what I have in mind and I need to make sure they jibe. I left today energized and ready to tackle the next scene and that is what a good group does.

One other thing we did today was write our own jacket copy for our current project. I loved this. Writing it helped to define for me what I think the novel is about so far and who my target audience is. And it's a kind of positive affirmation thingie, acting as if it's already published- quite empowering in a way!

Why I'm a 4th Street Writer

2008-01-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow writers of the area:

I'm a current member of the 4th Street Writing Group. Our name is actually ironic as we don't meet on 4th Street now or ever. But we do meet. I've been a member for about 3 years, I think.

Let me tell you a little about why I like it, and why you might too. First, any group worth anything has to be made up of good people right? And not to sound like an egomaniac but we do have good people. These are the sorts of strangers that if you ran across them, they would most certainly open the door in front of you, and hold it open.

They are the type of women who are passionate about writing, about reading and the craft in general. But they also care about the individuals involved. We have grown and shrunk but have managed to stay in tact.

I'm sure we've all thought about leaving at some point. I know I have. Personal life issues crowding my writing dreams, making them seem trivial. But I have stayed and pressed on. My reasoning that, well, I'm not really writing much so I should quit just isn't sound.

If anything, I knew if I stayed in it, there would be a time when I'd remember what I love to do and while getting published is any writer's dream, that's not the reason I put hand to keyboard most days. Is it yours?

These writers are all great in their own way. Good enough to be published, so it pushes your own work and gives you the motivation to start again, even if you've struggled with the same paragraph for the last 3 days.

I joined 4th Street Writers to write stories, mostly so they'd stop crowding the inbox of my brain.

I hope you'll consider us and submit something. We'd love to see some new faces, read some new stories, and find inspiration in new people.

Come see what we're all about.

Looking for a Writing Group?

2008-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

The 4th Street Writers Workshop is currently accepting submissions for new members. If you are serious about writing (fiction or nonfiction) and would like to join a workshop run in the traditional manner, please send a brief writing biography and a minimum of six pages of prose to Kim Haas at kimhaasdesign(at)sbcglobal(dot)net. This workshop meets approximately every other Sunday at 11:30 a.m. alternating between Royal Oak and Novi. Occasionally, outside sources such as stories, essays and even novels may be discussed as a group in order to address specific writing concerns that develop.

Welcome

2007-06-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Our writing group has been meeting for over four years now, I think. I've been attending for the last two and half. We've had members leave to pursue MFA degrees, take out of state jobs and to just take time to consider their committment to this path of writing that really demands so much from us. If you are interested in joining us, please leave a message here. We ask that you submit at least 6 pages of your best writing and that you are able to commit to meeting approximately every other Sunday and are prepared to workshop peer stories and/or receve feedback on your own. We look forward to hearing from you.