It was the first meeting of the creative writing group since Ellie read her piece. That night was open to the public and only about the readings. Tonight, was the official group only and all about the critiques. She wished Gloria was going to be there with her, but she was training at her new job so would miss tonight’s session.
“Don’t worry about it. It was a brilliant piece. That one dude with the fedora will tell you something ridiculous like you didn’t describe the color of underwear they were wearing and that took him out of the story, but everyone else will have nothing but really helpful things to say. Trust me!” Gloria had told her as they parted ways earlier that afternoon.
She took a deep breath and walked into the room. Time to face the music.
“Hi! You made it. Well, of course you made it, you are the one who told me about the group, so of course you would be here. Anyway…I saved you a seat?”
“Jade, hi! Nice to see you again. I’m glad you’re here. Today’s meeting will be about the pieces you heard us read last week. It will really give you an idea if this is a helpful place for you.”
“Oh critiques. I hate critiques. There is always that one really unhelpful person who gives random advice.”
Ellie laughed, “That’s what my friend Gloria thinks.”
“Oh, should I pull over another chair?”
“No, she’s not coming tonight, had to work. I’m really glad you saved me a place to sit. It would have been weird to be pacing the back of the room while people told me what they hated about my piece.”
“Nobody is going to hate it. I mean, it was really good.”
Two hours later the group had gone over all three pieces read and given good feedback on all of them. Ellie had taken notes on areas she thought she could use to improve her piece and written down word for word the advice Jeremy of the fedora gave. He really felt like he would have been more into the piece if she had described the protagonist’s hair length in more detail. She hadn’t mentioned anyone’s physical characteristics at all. But sure, hair length.
When he had given his critiques to her and to the other two authors (I really think you should have talked about what food they ate when they went to lunch, like are they sandwich people or salad people? That level of detail is important in painting a picture. And I understand you were going for a metaphor, but I think it would have been better as a literal retelling of World War II) Jade had softly kicked her under the table and raised her eyebrows. She had smiled and shaken her head. Yes, there was always that one person.
“What did you think? You’ve been to a reading and now a critique session. We’re coming up to the end of the year so there won’t be much more going on, we’re wrapping up really, but we will pick back up in the Fall. We have guest speakers and sessions on the actual nitty gritty of writing. But mostly it’s just reading what we’ve done and getting feedback. Usually just small snippets, then once a quarter a bigger reading like you went to.”
“I think it sounds great. Everyone, or most everyone, seems really helpful and positive. It’s not too terribly scary. And if you are coming back?”
“I am.”
“Then I think it could be fun. And probably really helpful. I might actually get to the point where I let people see the things I’ve written.”
“If you want to. Gloria doesn’t ever share her writing. She says she writes just for herself.”
“Then why join a group like this?”
“That’s my point. This group isn’t just for people who want to publish. There are other people who just like to write as a creative outlet, but it’s personal. She reads a lot. More than anyone I know, including me, and I read all the time. But she reads constantly. And she feels like if she understands how to write, what it takes to write well, she can more appreciate reading.”
Jade pulled out her notebook. “I need to write that down and think about it later.”
Ellie smiled, “Okay, when you and Gloria meet, I would guess you’ll be writing down a lot of things to think about later.”
“Well, that sounds promising.”
“Sorry, she’s just my best friend and I think one of the smartest people I know, and I am gushing…”
Jade smiled, “Gush away. People don’t always have friends like that. I think it’s nice to hear.” She put her notebook back away, “Hey, you want to go grab a coffee?”
“How about ice cream instead? I feel like I need a treat after being chastised for not including hair length.”
Jade laughed, “Just as long as you describe the ice cream in great detail if you write about this later!”
Later that night when Ellie told Gloria all about the critiques including Jeremy’s observations, she didn’t mention Jade. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t. It was completely unlike her to consciously omit something like that, but something held her back from telling Gloria about her new friend. She lay awake for hours turning it over in her head but couldn’t come up with a good reason why she had kept her a secret. She decided to tell her about Jade in the morning. But when morning came Gloria was already up and out of the room before Ellie got going.
Later, she would for sure tell her later.
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