O.C. Writers

By Andrea Lewis // 

When a group of writers put their minds and might into a project, it will come to life: The Lake Forest Writers’ Roundtable, which has been meeting only virtually since March 2020, brought to life a Zoom baby. The Truth That Can’t Be Told is a collection of short stories and poetry that all respond to one theme: a truth that cannot or should not be revealed for various reasons.

The title of the anthology, as well as every detail of it, is a result of online meetings and brainstorming.

An Idea Was Born

When I joined the meetings of The Lake Forest Writers’ Roundtable in the fall of 2020, on Zoom, we mostly shared our work looking for opinions and advice on various aspects of the writing craft. In one of the meetings, the idea of an anthology to include stories from all of us present was suggested. It immediately animated and engaged everyone in the group.

As an added challenge and knowing that we all wrote different genres and styles, we decided that the contributions should answer one theme, although each would be a stand-alone story. From the sixteen titles and themes that we brainstormed on October 20, we agreed that “The Truth That Can’t Be Told” would be the one. As our leader, Casey Dorman, put it in the Introduction to the book, “we all knew it was the right title—broad enough to encompass humor, romance, sci-fi, or mystery—allowing expression in narrative or poetic form.”

 The Process

Deadlines. We set deadlines and stuck with them.

• First-draft submission
• Critiquing and editing the first draft
• Second-draft submission
• Critiquing and editing the second draft
• Final version submission
• Proofreading
• Formatting and graphics
• Launching date

Initially, we thought we would include one piece from each writer. Soon, we realized that there was plenty of room for more, so we decided that each of us would have at least one more submission featured. Regardless of the additions, we made sure we stayed within deadlines.

Some of us wrote fresh material for the anthology, others refurbished older stories that either had not been published before or published a long time ago.

 In-house Talent

Critique. We relied on each other for critique and editing. We would email our work to all in the group, then each of us would provide an analysis to the author, with an accompanying note: “these are only suggestions, no obligation to adopt them.” Personally, I was happy to receive feedback, questions, and advice, for they only helped me see my story through different eyes that were not familiar with the background depicted.

Teamwork. Volunteer-based teams worked on different aspects of the book. Three of our writers offered to proofread the entire anthology. With every story, they would reach out to the author and clarify any questions. Another team reached out to other writer-friends for back-cover blurbs, while another team worked on formatting and graphic design. It helped enormously to have our in-house graphic designer, who produced most of our materials live, during our weekly meetings, sharing them directly over Zoom.

Since many of our writers have self-published extensively and are experienced with the procedure, we relied on their knowledge to publish the book on Amazon and make the self-established launching deadline.

Promotion. Our Thursday morning sessions became housekeeping discussions, focused on the release and promotion of our collection. Brainstorming led to the creation of our Facebook page and our own website, which also includes a blog section. Each discussion and idea fed the next one, and soon we found ourselves creating content for our social media channels.

The Team

I am amazed at how much knowledge, energy, and will to make things happen arises during our meetings. We push ourselves in the friendliest way. We help each other and feed each other’s imagination. We ask for opinions and trust the recommendations that we receive. We share any information that comes our way, and we think will benefit any or all of us. Above all, there is always plenty of humor!

Critiquing friends’ work. Critiquing isn’t easy for any of the parties involved–the author receiving critique or the person who writes it up. My greatest fear is hurting someone’s feelings by marking up things that I may not fully understand and may otherwise be fine. However, within this group I have also learned about editing (although I am still learning). I adopted and followed their model: “these are just suggestions.” I love receiving feedback, as it has always helped me improve my work. The more edits, the greater the guarantee that the person who has read my work paid full attention. If I can offer anything that helps others, that is a great honor to me.

This project has involved work, dedication, passion, creativity, and a lot of fun. We are looking forward to producing the next anthology!

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If you’d like to see more of The Truth That Can’t Be Told, you can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-That-Cant-Told-Roundtable-ebook/dp/B091579GS2.

 

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ANDREA LEWIS lives and writes in Huntington Beach. She was born in Romania and moved to the United States at the age of 34, after meeting and marrying her husband. She writes memoir and personal essays, with a recent attempt at freeform poetry. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times.