by Jennifer J. Stewart
Last time I served as the Library’s Writer in Residence it was May, 2020, and if you don’t remember what was going on then, you must be too young. The COVID-19 pandemic raged. I joked that I hadn’t known being the Writer in Residence would mean working from my own residence. I met with aspiring writers via Zoom, and also presented via Zoom. Everyone—the librarians in charge, the aspiring writers, and me—made it work, but I’m not going to kid you; it wasn’t easy. In many ways, we made it up as we went along. Manuscripts would land in my email inbox ahead of virtual appointments and I read them cold. I made comments and sent them back. I liked telling people that if my comments resonated, and they wanted to rewrite, to send the revised manuscript back to me, and I’d let them know if it had improved. Spoiler alert: those who took me up on my offer always improved. I know I worked more than the hours required of me, but hey, in May 2020, many of us had extra time on our hands. I know I did.
This year, when the Pima County Public Library again selected me to be the Writer in Residence, I was thrilled—no more Zoom! I would have the proper Writer in Residence experience, and work out of my beloved Kirk-Bear Canyon Library. Study Room B became my home away from home, where I played with words. In three months, I drafted a new novel (co-written with a friend), created two new workshops, updated another, and gave three presentations.
As for meeting one-on-one with writers, what a different yet also similar experience this time around. Thank you, writers, for trusting me with your words, your ideas that could turn into chapbooks, novels, memoirs, and short stories (do it!), and for letting me brainstorm with you. You are all so talented. Someday I’ll show up at a book signing and remind you that I knew you when. That’s a promise.
I hope you’ll make a promise to yourself to prioritize your writing by finding both the time and headspace to make it happen. Schedule your writing sessions. It’s not enough to be talented and inspired; you have to be able to persevere and to learn how to revise and revise again. Reading the kinds of books you want to write is also important. Each book adds to your storehouse of knowledge and your mind absorbs the rhythm and musicality of the authors’ words like a sponge. Why did the author construct the sentence that way instead of this way? How would you write it differently? Did you anticipate that plot twist? Often, reverse engineering books you admire helps your own writing.
Every book starts with an idea, then words banged out on a keyboard or scribbled down on paper to be deciphered (hopefully), and typed up later. The writer persevered, finished the first draft, set it aside, and sometime later, began to revise. Trust in the writing process and in the journey. Maybe don’t be in such a hurry to publish. Give yourself the grace and the time you need to make your manuscript the best it can be.
If you don’t already know it, librarians are the best kind of people. Thank you to all the librarians who helped me during the writing residency: Matthew and Beth downtown, then Betsy, especially Deborah, and all the other Kirk-Bear Canyon Library staff. You made me feel so very welcome.
