Give more attention to "What next?"

Each time I get ready to bring a piece to the group, I lean toward starting something new as opposed to fine tuning something I've already written. Strangely enough, this is something that bugs me in my classroom workshop. As a teacher, I want the kids to have "finished" some pieces, and experience that part of the process. Obviously, I'm not holding myself the same standard. Not all pieces are worth revisiting, but I wonder if I would take more satisfaction in finding something to develop and bring to some sort of closure, with the group's help along the way.

Another Thursday Night

Thursday was our ninth meeting. A few minutes ago, I went through my folder and organized everyone's pieces. That's a lot of writing we've done- kind of impressive when you look at it all together. There's a lot of variety as well, and pieces in different stages of the process. I'm happy to have a reason to write, a deadline to produce, and a place to share my writing. It's still a big deal for me, accompanied by adrenaline and nerves; I always leave our group wired.

I want to be honest here. I always leave our group a little disappointed, too. Every month I try to figure out what I want that I'm not getting, and there's no blame on anyone but me. I understand that figuring out what kind of feedback I want as a writer is part of the value of participating in such a group, especially since the teacher and the writer are bound in me.

I wonder what you guys think. I started this blog to give me and you, if you're interested, a place to reflect and continue our conversation about our writing pieces, but also about our group: what we do, what we want to try, what works, what doesn't.

What do you think?