A Step Beyond

Mentoring Clinic Review
by Pat Stockett Johnston

A couple of years ago my friend Julie said, "To write well enough to be published you need to attend a writer's conference." She handed me a brochure about a conference scheduled in April. "You should go."

During the two following years I attended that writers' conference plus several others. I benefited, not just from the honing of my writing skills, but from the opportunities to pitch my ideas for articles and books to publishers and editors. But I found the Writers Mentoring Clinic with Cecil (Cec) Murphey that I recently attended to be a step beyond the traditional writers' conference.

The Process

A month before the clinic date, Cec allowed the eight participants to e-mail him five double-spaced pages (fiction or nonfiction). He critiqued our submissions, (using the Word tracking option) up to three times before the start of the clinic. When Cec believed we'd mastered our first five pages, he told us to move on to the next five.

The Clinic

Each participant brought a laptop computer with a USB port and a flash drive to the clinic, which began on Wednesday evening and ended Saturday after lunch. When we arrived, Cec downloaded the latest edit of our pages. At the start of each day's session, Cec shared a list of common problems he'd come across while editing our material; afterward we serious writers got to work.

Cec spent the clinic days editing new submissions and meeting with us on an individual basis to discuss our manuscripts. At 4 p.m. we transferred our revisions via our flash drives to his laptop. He edited our new material before the next day's session so that we could begin each day with newly revised material. After the clinic Cec gave us two weeks to submit one last revision.

The New Insights

At the end of the clinic, the participants each listed tips from Cec that helped them improve their manuscripts. The new insights included:

For Nonfiction:

• Trust my writing and don't over-write.
   
• Review my writing and check for repeated phrases.
   
• Use contractions unless the manuscript is a formal or academic piece to avoid a stilted sound.
   
• The active voice is preferred; avoid passive voice verbs.
   
• Never use an exclamation mark if you can make the meaning clear without it.
   
• Every word must be needed; if it isn't needed, delete it.
   
• I learned to see specifically the words that detract from my message.

For Fiction:

• Make sure that one scene follows naturally from the previous scene, building on what's been established. Don't switch gears and drop what has already been set up for the reader to introduce a new subplot or character.
   
• Get more fully into the point-of-view character's mind, personality, and situation. Consider how he or she would think and react to what's happening rather than infusing my own natural thoughts or reactions into the scene.
   
• Identify strong words and end your sentences with them.
   
• Avoid filler words such as then, really, just, and very; they take up space but add no meaning.
   
• Insert narrative explanations without interrupting action.
   
• Pay more attention to word choice and tone.
   
• Avoid using names in a dialog.

For Both Fiction and Nonfiction:

• This and these refer to the present or something close by; that and those refer to the past or something that isn't actually present.
   
• Don't be afraid of the word said, because it is invisible. When you use other words, (replied, announced, answered, responded, etc.,) you call attention to how the speaker talked and not to what the speaker said.
   
• Afterward is American; afterwards is British.
   
• Don’t use clichés. Try to say it better using your own words.
   
• Check for rough transitions.
   
• Let my heart shine through. Don't place myself outside my writing.

Other comments included, "I don't just want to get my manuscript published; I want my writing to shine;" This valuable clinic has boosted my confidence in my own writing as well as my ability to help other authors improve their manuscripts;" "I'm a better writer than I give myself credit for." Cecil helped me to understand to write less difficult sentences and shorter paragraphs without dumbing down the information. Peter spoke for us all when he wrote, "Cec made a gargantuan difference in my writing. If the clinic had cost $2000, it would have been worth it to me."

Cec's statement helped us recognize our responsibility to help others just as we've been helped. We also agreed that writers who desire to significantly improve their writing—no matter what their level of talent or how much they've been published—would profit from participating in a mentoring clinic like this one.

For more information on his mentoring clinics, visit Cec's website at: themanbehindthewords.com/mentoringclinics.html