WOTA...Just What the Doctor Ordered

A few years back, a parent of a student suggested I might enjoy attending a WOTA meeting - a group of area folks with an interest in writing.  Writers On The Avenue meets in Muscatine a couple of times a month; they have a website; and they are a group that offers a variety of events for writers.  FINALLY, I was able to attend a meeting last night.  It just seemed like other monthly meetings always had some type of conflict, usually I was officiating or umpiring somewhere.

With the awkwardness of kid making his way to a new school, I sheepishly found my way to Room 17 via some help by the gentleman at the help desk of the Musser Library.  It made perfect sense that he would half to walk me to the basement of the building past stacks of books to get me to Room 17, and there I saw two men and two women casually talking.  My latest email informed me that a business meeting took place at 5:30 p.m., but then the meeting of the group that welcomed visitors then started at 6:00 p.m.

While I read from my book outside the room, I quickly determined that there wasn't much "business" being discussed, so I gently knocked on the door and asked if visitors were now welcome.  The four welcomed me and suggested I could join them, and pretty soon three other men entered the group.

There were some informational items and introductions, and then everyone shared (everyone except me) something that they had recently written.  I later found out that a group of words was generated at each meeting, and those words were then the launching point for a piece of writing to craft and share at the next meeting.

The experience was awesome.  In my teaching now, I pretty much have to battle students to write, and because my focus is on the SAT, creative writing is pretty much non-existent in my coursework.  But here at my fingertips were adults that were not only passionate about writing but also demonstrating a love for words and the power words could offer.

I'm not sure if I will ever go back, but only because I don't know the next time my schedule will allow me to return.  I did, though, get a chance to experience WRITERS, and my heart and soul bounced a little when I left having been around folks that had courage to submit their efforts to others and had a desire to share and appreciate other works. 

My mind took me forward to the possibility of exploring my own writing interests after I retire or perhaps looking into an opportunity to teach in college as an adjunct instructor.  The evening, in the short time of a little over an hour, was inspirational...just the treatment for this old teacher growing sometimes weary of the daily battle in NE10.