Writers Helping Writers by Jo Wanmer

Writers helping me.

‘Do you know how to write books?’ 

Mary Hawkins' gentle question slid through the phone. I’d never met her but she’d read my manuscript and been asked to mentor me. This manuscript was my first attempt at serious writing.

‘I guess not.' I replied. 'I just sat down and wrote.’ 

‘I thought so.’ Mary paused. ‘It shows. But this story needs to be told. It will need a lot of work to lift it to publishing standard. I’m willing to teach you if you are willing to put in the effort.’

Mary had many fiction books published in the Australian market. A few weeks later I met this delightful lady at a mentorship retreat. There were two other fiction writers sharing Mary as our mentor. Other groups worked in their genre with different mentors. We gathered together in a couple of units near Noosa for a week. Within an hour of arrival, we started work, fingers hovering over our laptops, minds keen. 

Mary’s printed copy of my book, which I’d posted to her, was covered with red pen. Under her instruction I deleted the first three chapters. My gut wrenched but she convinced me those pages were irrelevant to the main story. I complied. She taught me how to sharpen the first line and then adjust the first paragraph. Moving amongst the three of us, she read, critiqued, corrected and changed, always telling us to rewrite. I typed, deleted, adjusted and rewrote. And we laughed as she corrected and encouraged us. Fingers sore and brain spent, I completed the first page and fell into bed. Only 369 pages to go!

The week resembled a boot camp. We worked from morning to late evening. In meal breaks we built great relationships. Every moment we learned from each other. When we closed our computers to go home, I’d made new friends and I’d successfully polished seventy of those pages. 

‘What happens now?’ I asked.

‘I’ve taught you.’ Mary hugged me. ‘Now you edit the rest using the skills I’ve given you.’

Reviewing the mentorship on the drive home I was both grateful for Mary’s patience and teaching and overwhelmed by the task ahead of me.

Sixteen years have passed since that pivotal weekend. The book we slaved over, Though the Bud be Bruised, won a Caleb prize for best unpublished manuscript and was published in 2012. The skills I learned from Mary have become my automatic way of writing. Since then, I’ve learned more about making my words sing, through events, workshops and meetings, mostly under Omega Writers and other gatherings of Christian authors.

Writers helping Writers.

Paul exhorted us in Romans 10:24-25 TPT…

    Discover creative ways to encourage others and motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together… In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other forward…

The encouragement I receive from other Christian writers builds my determination to push onward, to fulfil the goals God has placed in my heart.

Helen Hudson talking Holy Spirit and art. Check out her Facebook page    

A couple of weeks ago our Omega Writers Sunshine Coast group held a writer’s retreat. The aim was to spend time together and learn from each other. We gathered at our leader’s beautiful home on Friday night, meet together all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Our shared meals were prepared by Sue and her amazing mother. We stayed close by, some of us sharing a cabin, and we revelled in fellowship. One of our members, Julie Modra, shared from her vast knowledge and taught us about writing structure. Printed sheets helped us apply her wisdom… wisdom she has learned from others. We practised hearing the Holy Spirit through a Zoom training session by Lynne Hudson using art! We prayed for each other and planned events.  What a rich weekend!

Our representation of Holy Spirit's nudges

I also belong to another smaller group led by Jeanette Grant-Thomson. Four of us meet once a month. We write in different genres for different reasons. Each month we email every group member two or three pages of our work. We critique each other’s writing and then gather to share. At the end, a ten-to-fifteen-minute writing exercise stretches us. We read our stories aloud and encourage each other. The relationships are sweet and our skills are growing under this discipline.

Any success I’ve enjoyed as an author is attributed to the Holy Spirit firstly and then fellowship and instruction from other writers. 

Sunshine Coast members at retreat

Writers Building Writer Community 

Omega has organised a writer’s conference in Adelaide in October. It’s a great place to learn and a good place to meet other writers, build relationships and invite others to connect with you. Large gatherings can be impersonal, but it’s the small groups and conversations where I’ve been impacted. 

When I was writing El Shaddai, I had stalled and closed the file. God and I had agreed to write a book where He was one of the characters. But I panicked when I realised I was writing His words. Feeling totally inadequate, I stopped. Months later, in a small prayer meeting at a conference, God whispered, ‘What’s wrong with the book I’m in?’ Challenged, I came home and wrote the story as quickly as I could, not allowing myself to second guess anything.  And God says some amazing things in that book… things I didn’t know until I typed the words.  

Our Sunshine Coast group grew organically. In a post on Omega Writers page on Facebook, Sue Taylor-Reeves asked for anyone interested in meeting together. A few of us started to connect and then gather. And it grew. Commitment to the group keeps it healthy.

Our groups book launch in March

Jesus taught about sowing and reaping. If you want support with your writing, start by finding someone you can help. Find a writing buddy. Share your work. Give constructive feedback and receive other’s suggestions with grace. Offer prayer and encouragement. 

Reach out to help others. Volunteer to be a beta reader. Write reviews. Help with someone else’s book launch. Be active on the Facebook pages, Christian Writers Downunder and Australasian Christian Writers. These groups connect us to writers across Austrlalia and New Zealand. 

Christian community is important for Christian authors. Even Jesus didn’t walk alone. Often he was surrounded by thousands, but he always withdrew with his twelve, or three. We know he needed their prayers. They accompanied him, served Him and learned from Him.

Likewise, in love we lift each other up and help carry each other’s burdens.

Closing brunch after a great weekend

How has the writing community helped you? How have you helped other authors?

Jo Wanmer is a story teller, that has had to learn how to write those stories into acceptable prose. She writes with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without His inspiration, there would be no books. Though the Bud be Bruised was published thirteen years ago. Late in 2024 El Shaddai was released and its prequel, El Roi, was released late last year. 

She lives, with her husband of nearly fifty-four years, just north of Brisbane. Family, God and writing are her three passions. Eleven great-grandchildren now fill their home with love and chaos.