Writing can be solitary, so get involved with other writers

Beth Mim is the author of Wrapped in Grace. A lifetime educator, Beth considers her faith to be her anchor and her family to be her crowning achievement. She writes and speaks of the grace of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Writer Beth Mims

When she isn’t traveling or fishing with her husband of forty plus years, you can find her puttering around her flowers and sweet talking the hummingbirds in her yard.

Beth is Mom to two beautiful daughters and Nana to five adorable grandchildren. Beth is a member of Word Weavers, International and has previously published in “A Time of Singing Poetry Journal” and “Cantos, A Literary and Arts Journal”.  Beth was born and raised in the panhandle of Florida where the Gulf Coast meets the clay hills of Georgia. Beth's advice to new writers: Writing can be solitary, so get involved with other writers.

Finding a writing voice

OCW: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?

BM: I believe that everything in a writer’s life influences their writing style, and that is certainly true in my story. I grew up in a rural area where we spent time outdoors, and our pastimes were fishing and gardening. We did everything as a family. The stories you see in my writing reflect those experiences. As I grew and became a teacher, I spent my days with young children and later training educators. Those times are etched in my soul, and they, too, come out in the stories I tell and the yarns I spin. I’m fond of telling my family that they are fodder for my writing, but that is true of each happening of my life. Faith in God is my foundation, so it permeates everything that I do including my writing.

OCW: Has your writing evolved over the years? If so, how has this happened? Through writing experience? By reading a lot? From writing courses, writing communities, or something else?

BM: I have been writing since I was a child. I still have copies of stories and poems that I wrote in elementary school. I couldn’t figure out why my friends didn’t want to write stories.

I remember giving a college professor a handwritten collection of my poems. She went through them and returned them marked up in red with little that could be called positive feedback. It is a wonder I did not throw in the pen then. I persevered, not because I thought I was a great writer, but simply because I couldn’t stop myself from writing.

I wrote for my classroom children, who thought I was wonderful. Such is the gift of children. I wrote for church, but I didn’t claim ownership. I wrote in journals for myself, because as E. M. Forster said “writing clarifies thinking”. Later, I took courses to help students write better, and I learned as they learned. As my students wrote, I wrote. I read, and I noticed what great authors did, always amazed at how they used words. I read my Bible, and I wrote responses to the Psalms. What great poetry.

I would love to go back to that professor now to tell her thank you for not accepting drivel but instead pushing me toward better.

Writing can be solitary, so get involved with other writers

Wrapped in Grace by Beth Mims

OCW: If you’ve been published, how did you find your first publisher?

BM: I just published my first book, Wrapped in Grace, and Dressed in Love Press is the publisher. I’m not sure if I found them or if they found me. I always say, “It was a God thing.” It came about, though, because I am a member of Word Weavers, International and, therefore, a member of a writing critique group that meets monthly. My publisher is a member of the same group and became acquainted with my writing through that group. Things progressed from there and led to publication.

OCW: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

BM: Part of the answer to this question piggy backs off the previous question. Get involved with other writers. Network. Opportunities present themselves through other people, so it is important to connect with other people. Writers, me included, tend to isolate, but connection is critical. I have had to learn to put myself out there, to make myself vulnerable. This isn’t always easy, but if writing is meant to be read, one must get it in front of people.

OCW: Do you edit as you write, or write and edit later?

BM: I do most of my revising and editing as I am writing. That is why I love word processing. I can go back and forth with ease, and I am constantly doing so, changing words, rewriting sentences, and rewording portions, while I am still creating. But then, I let the writing sit for a while and go back and fine tune it, because there is always more to be done. Sometimes it depends on how much time I have. If I am working on a blog post, it may only get the editing that I give it while I am writing with a quick once over before I post.