Happy Monday, everyone!
Rarely do I trust myself to make Star Wars references properly. But I've been beating around the bush on this for a few weeks now, and I want to make the announcement official.
I am looking for a mentor.
In both my science life and my painting life, I've benefited dramatically when I happened on a mentor that perfectly suited me. In my current job, I'm also lucky to have a mentor that is making me a better technical writer.
The perfect mentors, for me, are able to hone in on issues I know I've been struggling with and clarify them for me. Often, with the best mentors, a single sentence or critique can save me months of struggle.
I feel like I'm nearing the completion of my WIP, Cyberlama. And, as I am, it's becoming clear to me that there are patterns of mediocrity in my writing that I had yet to be able to solve. I'm also fairly certain there are issues I don't even know I don't know, and learning those always makes me feel great.
So, I'm looking for a mentor. Or, to put it more generally, I'm looking to learn from writers who are better than me. If anyone has any suggestions on how I might find them, please let me know. AND, I'm also open to advice such as "You don't need a mentor, just spend more time writing."
On the rare occasions when I've
Is your last sentence a test? The person who is able to finish the sentence will have shown s/he can read your mind and help you move on in the direction you want?
ReplyDeleteDavin has complained in the past that he has trouble writing endings.
DeleteActually, that's suppose to be the title. I suck at titles.
DeleteHeh, since I consider you a much better writer than myself, I'll avoid offering to help :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it's a good thing to have a mentor to turn to no matter what you're doing. In my current job, I have hit a pinnacle where there aren't too many people I could consider a mentor (at least in my organization), so I often have to search for answers outside of the usual channels. It would be nice to have someone to turn to that's right nearby. Good luck in your search.
Thanks a lot, Eric! I think, ideally, the relationship between mentor and protege should evolve to a place where both are equal. You're probably in that state with your job.
DeleteI don't think it's a bad idea at all. I had several in college, and it was an incredible help. I think I have some friends right now who act as mentors, but it's not an official thing or anything. How do you go about finding a mentor?
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I was hoping you would be able to tell me that! :) Actually, tomorrow I'm meeting with someone who I know has raved about her mentor. I'll be seeing if she might possibly be willing to share.
DeletePromise not to be a smart aleck in this comment.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I told my husband the same thing, that I wanted someone who not only was more experienced than I, but also be able to point out areas that I was blind to. You see, I learned to teach in an old-fashioned mentor/apprentice relationship with two incredible teachers. When I was in my early twenties, they were in their 80s and 60s respectively. I look back and honestly cannot imagine anyone doing that for too many people at a time. It was exhausting for me, and I am sure for them as well. But it was also exhilarating. It had taken many years after I left them to work out all that I had absorbed and learned, to really figured out how everything fitted into my particular thinking and philosophy or teaching. Actually, in some sense, I am still comparing what I learn now to what I learned then.
Anyway, back to the conversation with my husband. He thought for a moment and said that at some point in our chosen profession, we have to give up that idea. At the time I didn't agree, but now I think I know what he was saying.
A mentor is not only someone further along on the same path, but also someone who cares enough to invest in our career/art. When you are already an accomplished writer (please don't be modest here) and you've a lot of experiences under your belt and you've thought deeply about all things writing, you don't really need a mentor. What I believe you need, is trusted peers who can take on the role of a temporary coach for a defined period of time/number of projects. And you will in turn, provide that role for this person at another time.
Yoda didn't have a mentor. He had trusted friends whose judgement he trusted. The other Jedi masters may respect Yoda, but I don't believe he acts as their mentors either.
I agree with Ms Chong! I think what Davin needs are peers from whom he can learn, not a mentor. I say that as someone who's never had a mentor, so cum grano salis.
DeleteYat-Yee, thank you for this. I thought maybe people would feel this way, and I don't necessarily disagree.
DeleteYat-Yee and Scott, I am on the hunt for these people! I think maybe something that may be happening among my peers is that people are reaching self-sufficiency while I am still not. I want to exchange ideas and be challenged, but the last time I thought I was doing this, I ended up coming off as aggressive and defensive.
I think maybe you're thinking too much in terms of writing being an expert system, with a discrete list of things to be learned and mastered, like a course or a degree program. Maybe you aren't, though.
DeleteThe thing is, I think, that after a certain amount of technique has been learned, the writer is off the path and on her own. Learning and growth becomes learning what you want to do with your writing and growing into the writer you are. One constant in all the things you've said about your own writing is that it's not like a lot of commercial writing you see; your characters don't obey the rules of dramatic arc. You mention this as a weakness in your writing and then, almost immediately, you go on to say that you're writing the sorts of characters that appeal to you. So the weakness is not in your writing, but in your perception of what your writing is intended to be. So you might look to that and answer that question before you decide you need to find someone to tell you how to fix your art. The dissatisfaction you have with your stories seems not to stem from the writing at all.
I do think you need to find peers, and you need to have discussions with them about what's being attempted and how those attempts are going. But I'm going to again suggest as gently as I can that what you might see as failings in your art might--in some cases--not have anything to do with technique and might have to do with some ideas you have about what your art is supposed to be like versus what sort of writing you naturally are drawn to. If that makes sense and isn't too obnoxious and pushy.
And then, you know, we all need to work more diligently and write as hard as we can. I'm going through a phase right now where I hate hate hate every word I write and so I keep writing writing writing because that's the only way to fix it.
Scott, thank you for this too. I will respond in a long while. I have to run to a seminar on intellectual property, which will not be as fun or as good for me as this discussion is.
DeleteOkay, I have some time now, even though you may be long gone and running. Most of the issues I'd like to improve on are things I don't talk about on the blog, mainly because I can never express myself well enough to describe them. With Cyberlama, for example, I have these vague ideas about how the emotions of the story will be stronger if I do something and how the characters will work better if I do something. I would like a mentor/peer to be able to throw these ideas around with, and it would require that I respect them and that they have read my book and are in the mood to talk about it for a long time until I feel secure. (Maybe this will require money?) I understand it's not a matter of mastering a particular skill set. But I think I'm looking for the back and forth extensive discussion of my work so that I can clarify ideas and get opinions. The other issues of readership and marketability--I'm at peace with that. I'm content with what I'm attempting to do, and I am looking for help to succeed in what I'm attempting to do.
DeleteThe successful mentoring relationships I've seen tend to grow organically, from personal and/or professional relationships between people of differing experience levels. So if you're interested in finding a writing mentor, I would suggest that you need to put yourself in a position to cultivate relationships with more experienced writers. Since writing isn't a field like most professional ones, where you can develop mentoring pretty easily simply by working with someone who is more experienced, you need to seek it out more directly.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I can think of to develop those kinds of relationships with people who would be willing to serve as a writing mentor would be trying to do things like writing classes or workshops, and then see if you "click" artistically and interpersonally with any of the teachers/leaders/sponsors. I've never taken any creative writing classes, but this would seem to be one of the prime values of an MFA program, in that you could develop those kind of relationships with writers who are farther along their path. But--and I wouldn't minimize this--at the same time you are seeking a mentor in those places, you can also be open to finding non-mentors to learn from: both peers and even those you could be mentor to. Teachers have often said they learn from the process of teaching. So maybe you could find what you are looking for in a combination of relationships with people across an experiential spectrum. Who knows?
But bottom like is: if you're looking to catch fish, go where they're biting. And if you're looking for a writing mentor, try to go where you can find people who (1) have a lot of writing experience and knowledge, and (2) have the time and inclination to share it with someone. The best place I can think of, at least for literary fiction, is in an educational setting. But maybe someone else has better ideas.
Mentor not, you need. Protege perhaps. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteBut but but you have always seemed to be my Yoda! How can you need one? I hope you find someone to fill whatever role you really need be it mentor, soundingboard, or just someone to tell you again to go with your heart.
ReplyDeletebru