Since retiring in 2012 I have been involved in a bi-monthly writing group at The Next Door Cafe in Chicago. Every two weeks, eight of us critique one another’s writing. Peer review is a gift we give one another; but writing to publish is whole new world. Though an online course at The Write Practice called Write to Publish, I’m being guided to gradually move into a public arena through development of this website, polishing writing to publish on my site and maintaining a bi-monthly blog. It’s time to self-publish my stories on this site and get some of my writing out to new readers for public feedback.
I have an 80,000-word draft of my coming-of-age novel awaiting revisions before I begin looking for a publisher. That’s a huge job sitting on my desk weighing me down. In my class, I’m working on a short story that will be used as a teaser for my forthcoming book. It features my teenage protagonist at the moment he discovers his best friend from childhood has become his girlfriend. It’s not ready to publish yet, but I have a complete draft of it that is being circulated among my fellow students for peer review. Please join me on this journey and subscribe to my newsletter. You will be rewarded with a bonus short story.