Commited to writing by Neva J. Hodges

I didn’t realize how strong my commitment to critique group was until this past January. I had minor surgery on a Wednesday and figured I’d be at the meeting the next day. My doctor called me Thursday morning and asked me how I felt. I described the pain I had during the night but said I felt better. She said, “The lab work showed a fat cell on a polyp we removed. Something’s wrong. It might be good to go to ER. I told her I thought I was fine but if I felt worse, I’d go. She said, “I want you to go to ER now and tell them I want you to have a scan.”

My husband and I arrived at ER by noon and I told them what was required by my doctor. Then we sat down to wait. I looked at my watch and told my husband I hoped they’d hurry because I wanted to go to critique group. I didn’t think anything was wrong and didn’t understand the fuss. By one o’clock I still hadn’t had the scan so I called a critique group member, explained the situation, and said “I might be late.” By six o’clock I was prepped for emergency surgery and scared. I was bleeding internally. The second surgery was a success and I went home the next day, disappointed I missed the critique session.

I don’t know if I’d have revised my novel if it weren’t for the truthful edits by the group – and the encouragement to continue to write. Outsiders might think we whip these books and short stories out like a machine. Those of us who write know how hard we work to get one paragraph correct. I’m convinced we need each other in this wonderful craft called writing.