The American Writing Group

Writer Abroad joined a new writing group. It’s a very organized, well-run group that includes writers of all ages and levels—and the best part is that Writer Abroad doesn't have to organize it. Unlike the Zurich Writers Workshop, which she co-founded since there was no other organization for English-language writers in Zurich, this group has already been in existence for many years. It meets every other week at the local library where writers of all ages read and critique each other’s work. Like all things American that she’s joined lately, Writer Abroad is the newbie.

As more of an outsider than most, one thing has struck Writer Abroad about the critiques in her new group: They are really, really nice.

“I loved this piece.” That’s how most people start and end their critiques.

So these writers either love everything they read.

Or they are lying.

Or better yet, they are American.

According to an article on businessinsider.com, Americans give the most exaggerated, explicit, and positive feedback of any country in the world. And after being abroad for so long and working with so many nationalities, Writer Abroad completely agrees with this statement.

In her time abroad working with mainly German and Swiss nationalities, she became, well, able to give and accept more direct negative feedback. This is not natural for an American, but it becomes that way once you’ve been in another culture for several years.

When it comes to her new American writing group, Writer Abroad doesn’t want to be the strange European-influenced critic. She remembers all to well her first days in Switzerland working with Swiss and Germans who had no shame in giving her direct negative feedback, which, at the time, felt like a slap in the face.

Luckily, critiquing like an American is one part of returning home that’s been pretty easy to acclimate to. So if you come by her new writing group sometime, you’ll probably see Writer Abroad wearing big white gym shoes and saying things like “I loved this piece” whether she loved it or not.

Can you blame her? At heart, she’s always been American.

Jealousy and Writing

By Diana Santelli

In life, we judge.

Consciously or unconsciously, we categorize people by the way they look or act or dress or speak. Or write.

Most often new writers are the guiltiest of this offence. We view everyone as a rival and decide our value as a writer based on whose works we’ve read recently or how many praises your work has received. After reading a new author, someone experiencing the Jealous-Writer Syndrome will often react in one of two ways. He will either:

A) Say “Wow, this is really good writing,” and then proceed to feel hopeless that he or she can one day too write at this level

Or B) Think, “Wow, I can write way better than that,” and allow themselves to experience a temporary ego boost.

If you too are guilty of ever harboring such thoughts—fret not. It’s ok. Sometimes jealousy happens, but from my own experience, it’s a whole lot healthier and a heck of a lot happier life when you’re not comparing yourself to everyone around you—and that includes your writing. Otherwise you’ll end up lonely and bi-polar.

Just don’t do it.

Because writing is such a hard business to break into, it is easy to see another writer’s win as your loss—but truth of the matter is, taste fluctuates. Many written works didn’t see the printer’s ink in their writer’s lifetime, but then lo and behold, many years later, are discovered to be rare and precious gems.

“Alright Diana, I see what you’re saying, but what if I don’t want to wait until I’m dead before someone will publish or read my work?”

That’s a fair question and to be honest, I’m not particularly fond of that idea either, but I will say, while there are few that make it to Elisabeth Gilbert or Dan Brown or Stephen King status, there are many, many more writers whose works gain fame or popularity on a smaller, localized scale.

There are so many outlets these days to “be a writer”. Either through entering competitions, or starting a blog, or writing for local or state anthologies or publications, or even joining a writers group (hint, hint). One has to start small. And not expect a big paycheck.

Instead, no matter how many stories you write or how many years you’ve officially dubbed yourself a “writer”, let yourself always be a beginner and allow yourself to learn from others. You’ll make more friends that way and you’ll give yourself more room to make mistakes and develop your art on your own terms.

Diana Santelli is a New Jersey expat living and working near Nürnberg, Germany. She has spent about three years abroad, working and living in places such as Slovenia, France, Switzerland, the UK, Belize and South Korea. She is co-founder of the Nuremberg Writers Group and recently won first place in her first short story competition for her story, Le Big Mac. She blogs about her American existence in Deutschland here at http://americanadeutsch.blogspot.com/.

Note: This piece originally appeared on the Nuremberg Writers Blog on 8.03.2010.