This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

In a Craft With No Master, Local Writers Fuel Each Other's Inspiration

The Whitefish Bay Library hosts a monthly writers group where members offer support and critique of each other's creative work.

Creative writing is one of those endeavors our internal resistance loves to quash. Non-fiction writing is met with equal resistance, but with non-fiction, you at least have the facts to rely on to get you moving in the right direction. With creative work you provide your own fuel.

Corinne Riley works the circulation desk at the Whitefish Bay Library and heads a workshop consisting of writers from the area. They’ve been meeting for two hours a month and will do so until April 18. After that date some of the group may get together on their own from time to time.”

“We collectively look at where a writer can improve,” Riley said. “When some writers are closer to the publishing stage we may spend some more time working with that piece."

Find out what's happening in Whitefish Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The idea for the Whitefish Bay workshop was brought up by a library employee a couple of years ago, and today Riley runs the workshops. She said other libraries also host writer's workshops.

Riley has a background in creative writing and worked as an editorial assistant for the American Society of Agronomists. Not typically an area you’d think a creative person would earn their keep, but it kept her in the writing game.

Find out what's happening in Whitefish Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Eventually, she found herself drawn to an environment filled with a broader literary appeal.

“I always seemed to come back to the library,” Riley said. 

There are 10 active members of the group, and more people are encouraged to register. Riley said new members are always welcome to drop in, but they couldn’t cover any of the work of the brand new member. If someone wants to join they can stop by the library and sign up.

One member of the groups is a professor who writes historical articles.

“They’re usually about famous women,” Riley said. “Most of what she writes is non-fiction.”

A perk of being part of the group is observing as another writer improves.

“It’s nice to see when a writer is coming along,” Riley said. “There have been a few people who will reach a point where they really blossom. They take ideas the group has offered and run with them. It’s a great feeling when you see a writer grow before your eyes.”

According to Riley, the group takes construction and feedback very well. 

“It’s all civil. I don’t think anyone hasn't come back because of criticism,” she said. “It’s the criticism, if done properly, which helps the writer find their real abilities.”

She said working with this group has really sold her on the importance of sharing your work with others. “You just have to expand, expand, expand on your work. If there is one thing for me to impart, it’s that people just don’t write enough.”

The workshop covers fiction, poetry and short stories, but any type of writing will be considered by the group. Riley said she does’t put her personal work on the table.

“It’s for the members, it’s not about me,” she said.

Riley said it can be a challenge  to cover everybody’s work in one meeting.

“My goal has always been to offer support first before going into a critical mode," she said. "We do try to get to everybody, as they’ve worked so hard.”

Constructive criticism, balanced with positive encouragement, can be a good motivational tool for writers with limited writing time.

“I don’t know where some find the time with jobs, families and kids, but they do," she said. "I’m amazed they have that kind of responsiblity and still come in with 10 new pages.

“We have one person in the group who just flabbergasts me,” Riley said. “His ideas are certainly nothing like I’d come up with. Sometimes he’s out there but when he’s ‘good’, he’s very good. He does interesting things with imagery.

“We do this thing I like to call speed dating writing. We’ll pair somebody up with another writer for 20 minutes and then they move on to the next. Work with each other’s writing.”

Riley said, in her experience, people want to write now more than ever.

“For one thing it’s easier to get published, at least on the web," she said. "Most of the group isn’t writing to get famous or for the money, though. They’re writing because they have to. It comes from a need inside.”

Despite the death of many print outlets, the closing of bookstores and newspapers going by the wayside, Riley said she believes people are reading more.

“There are so many blogs and social networks," she said. "They may not be reading the classics, but at least they’re still reading. It’s an exciting time.”

Writing is never easy, and Riley said any member of the group should be commended for facing the firing line during each meeting.

“We all have different struggles with our internal growth," she said. "If you’re not into writing for yourself, it’s not worth it. Go to the mines and strap on your boots.”

The group's next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. April 20. For more information, visit the library's website.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Whitefish Bay