In the Company of Writers

Writers, both professional and aspiring, need and dread the same thing: an honest opinion. However, unbiased feedback can be intimidating and sometimes, expensive. 

“I saw a flyer from Northwestern; it cost you $150 to have your manuscript read,” said Tamara Tabel who has been involved with The Barrington Writers Workshop for 12 years and president for four.

Since the late seventies, the group meets weekly in order to encourage, offer constructive criticism, and inspire those working on everything from the Great American Novel to personal memoirs. 

“Basically, I would describe it as a critique group,” said Tabel, who has a degree in Journalism.

Everyone is welcome to the meetings with no level of expertise or experience required, only an interest in writing and a desire to improve.  The writers meet on Tuesday morning from 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Wednesday evening from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the . 

“We meet every week, year round, unless it’s haling or it’s a holiday,” she said.  “People bring in novel chapters of about 15 pages, poetry, non-fiction, memoirs, we’ve had some plays.”

“You bring in pieces of the work, they’re distributed and read aloud,” Tabel continued. “People make written comments and then those comments are discussed verbally.  Like with poetry, we’ll say: try leaving this out or extend the metaphor or end it differently.”

Readers are not at the mercy of vicious or hostile reviews, however.  There are guidelines for those offering critiques, according to Tabel. 

“Provide comments that are positive and then identify some areas (that need work).

“Maybe you could try this, or this aspect confused me,” Tabel gave as examples. “Or the dialogue sounded stilted here and you need to make it more colloquial.”

The unvarnished truth, no matter how gently offered, can be disconcerting however and some writers may find that this group is not a good fit.  “If a new writer comes in, we try not to scare them, but by the same token, it’s a serious group,” Tabel said.

Those that want only to be patted on the back and assured that their work is a masterpiece most likely should continue to search for a writer’s group. 

“We’re not going to say that,” Tabel said.  “What we’re going to say is if you truly want to publish this piece, we’re going to act like your free editors and we’re going to get it to the point where it’s as perfect as we’re going to get it so you can put it out there.”

Memoirs are another matter, however and the workshop members keep in mind that for many, these works are geared toward chronicling history and not for publication and are, therefore less strident with critiques.

Tabel’s introduction to the group was precipitated by the memoirs she produced after the death of her first child.

“I journaled that whole year and it really became a giant collection of poetry and I didn’t know what to do with it,” she recalled.  “I heard that there was a group where you get critiques on your pieces.  I really started to see, there’s a difference between just writing your feelings down and really creating a poem.”

The essence of creating compelling literature is a complicated and at times, ephemeral process as any writer can attest.  More than characters in action, or a simple telling of a tale, marketable work can be difficult to produce.

“Anybody can put together a paragraph,” Tabel said.  “If you’re trying to work on a piece that touches people, it really has to work on a number of different levels to flow.  If you have characters, they have to be believable.  If you have a plot line, it has to keep the interest.”

In addition to the company of writers, four times a year. The Barrington Writing Group welcomes speakers with experience as professional writer. 

“Speakers talk about very concrete things, like memoirs and fiction, how that works, how to create believable characters,” Tabel said.  

The group has concrete proof that the process can lead to the holy grail of writers: publication. 83-year-old veteran member and poet Gene Kimmet has been published 50 times, according to Tabel, and is the current Illinois featured author in the Willow Review, a non-profit periodical published by The College of Lake County. 

Also published is member, Jane Guill’s Nectar from a Stone, an historic novel set in medieval times, which is available at many online book stores.

There are annual dues of $55, which is a bargain, according to Tabel. 

“You get the two to four speakers a year, plus the weekly critiques.” 

In the long run, honest, informed suggestion, however nerve wracking, can only edify the writer with a true calling according to author, Sinclair Lewis who said, “It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write.” 

For more information about The Barrington Writers Workshop visit: www.Barrringtonwriters.org