Keeping the Conversation Alive

When Penna offered to be my writing mentor, I was staggered by her generosity. It was the chance of a lifetime that I'd be a fool to pass up. But having a grasshopper clinging to your coattails can be seriously annoying. The constant scraping of wings. The pleas for help. The wails of anguish. Speaking as a grasshopper who has developed angsting into a new art form, my greatest fear was that I'd drive her away.

I was amused to read in her post about mentoring that she worried about me giving up since I felt the same way about her. She was prepared to sacrifice precious time that she could have spent on her own writing to help me out. How could I make the most of her offer and turn it into a rewarding experience for her as well?

We had a couple of factors going for us that made the process easier. Both of us were fascinated by the storytelling potential of the Caffrey Conversation AU. That allowed us to unwind from the nitty-gritty of editing by tossing story ideas back and forth. Another plus was that I was editing her wonderful stories. As I pored over them, I was gaining invaluable lessons for my own scribbles.

I didn't want Penna to feel she was wasting her efforts, so I was determined to commit the time to what I considered to be a grand experiment. To ease the burden on her, I tried to polish a chapter as much as possible before sending it on for review. When I wasn't writing, I was reading about writing. Penna helped by recommending other resources. The combination of the detailed notes she was providing and my outside reading gave me a big boost through the initial big hurdles.

One of the greatest challenges for me was to be considerate of her time. I was devoting every spare moment I had to writing, but I didn't want to burn her out, so I tried to solve issues myself and have options to propose before seeking advice.

Penna provided a great roadmap for me to follow by asking me questions about her chapters. Studying her questions demonstrated how I should evaluate my own work.

We made it a conversation. I asked about points I wasn't sure about, rather than sitting back and expecting her to guess. No matter how many questions I tossed her way, she was unfailingly supportive and good-natured in her responses.

Finally, we made it fun for each other. Penna is a genius at turning what could be a moment of anguish into something we could both laugh over. The Hugs for Writers Pinterest board developed from our mutual cheerleading.