A small group of us gather together each week on the second floor of The Book Loft, a charming independent book store on Centre Street in Fernandina Beach. We climb the old wooden stairs and gather in green plastic chairs around a round table amidst historical books and local artwork. The hustle and bustle of the active, full service book store below sometimes wafts up the stairs with laughter and conversation, but mostly this fades away as we talk and listen to one another.

Usually, we each bring something to read aloud. We provide copies for the others so that they can make notes as they read along with the author. We discuss each piece, sharing what we loved, what we think about the structure and grammar and content, always with the intention to improve all of our work. There is an intimacy and respect to this process that allows us to be honest without being hurtful, constructive and not proscriptive.

Many of us are working on some form of memoir, so as we read each week, we begin to know each other, not just as writers but as humans with complex backstories. But our focus is on the writing: honing our craft, constructing our stories, getting them ready to put out into the world.

We also catch up about where we are on our writing journeys: who is querying, who has a publishing contract, who is looking for an agent, who is anxiously awaiting a response, what class or conference did we recently attend and recommend? 

We share resources, affirm one another’s successes, witness each other’s trials and hold space for the muse to work her magic.

Under the umbrella of the Amelia Island Writers Group, our group is called WIP—“Works in Progress.” And as writers, human beings and storytellers, that is exactly what we are.