Retreats and Mentoring in Writing Part 10 of 15
To all those who are new, welcome, Our guest blogger yesterday really set the bar high for me. Check out the on going contest, there is still time to put in your views!
I have touched upon this person many times in my blog, her name is Rachel and she is my editor. She also works for outright communications. For that I’m thankful. She is a constant source of inspiration that never seems to get bored, or anxious (or whatever) of little old me coming to her with, well, dare I say it? poor work. She never once has said, you are a bad writer. Never once. What she has said though is, your potential is there, you’re not showing it.
She can tell me where the good things are in my work and where the bad things are. She is very good at what she does, and she also allows me the time to make it better. On my own. I admit at first she was more like a writing buddy, encouraging and helpful. Providing insights and more encouragement. But then….
She became a mentor, when she began to often ways to better my writing, but not showing me how. She would rewrite some passages to show me how to make it sound better and give more impact, but she always said that it was my book. Not hers, and I needed to make things happen.
Thank goodness for that otherwise I’d never be the writer I am today. She is committed to making this book better than I’d originally thought it could be. I also realize I did the work to make it better.
Of course there are challenges in writing. Hundreds of small things that you need to do to make this piece of work better. But Rachel has certainly helped me. She also helped me make this blog 100% better. Oh, and thanks to Tanya who is working hard to make this blog backgrounds look awesome.
My question for you today is: Who would you say your mentor is? Is there something special about them that makes them this way?
4 Comments
Rebecca
The comments work once again, thanks to the many emails.
PrettySiren
Rebecca,
That's awesome you have such a wonderful editor. It really makes me, as a writer, feel like there's hope in the editorial process: while it's challenging, it's also rewarding in the end.
My writing mentors are many. In your post, you said that Rachel would tell you that you had potential and challenge you to do the work. My mentor is anyone who's done that for me (and there have been many). Mainly because: yes, it is my book. Therefore, it's my responsibility to make it the best I possibly can. Encouraging a writer to do their best work is the best thing a mentor can do — by whatever means they do it.
Joyfulsister
I love writing, creating poetry and journaling, For a long time I would not share my blog knowing I was not a seasoned writer, just someone who wrote from her heart, and prayed that those who would read it, would do so without focusing on my errors but focus on a heart that just wanted to upift, encourage, and share. I finally had the courage to open up my blog 2 years ago and have met some of the most awesome writers and women who have encouraged me to keep writing from my heart, and also be able to learn more about writing form women like yourself.
Aloha Lorie
AmberInGlass
Rebecca, that is really great that you have found such a strong mentor! I can't really say I have any one like that to call a mentor, but I feel like I have a very strong support group here in the online blogging community.