Mentor Matter

Mentor Matter

Like most writers, there have been so many people who have been instrumental in my development and intention to becoming a writer. During my time at Spalding’s MFA program, I was blessed with having great faculty mentors who helped to encourage my work and develop my writing skills. All of the folks I worked with while trudging through my MFA were amazing, and words really don’t do them justice.

In addition to the great leaders at Spalding, I’ve been able to count on a number of excellent friends and fellow writers who helped light a fire under my butt and keep it there.

The most widely accepted definition of a mentor is an experienced and trusted adviser.

One person who has been absolutely key in my writing career has been E-Federal, my sister. In her soul, she is a writer. A natural born editor, the kind of person who can hear or read something and know just how it needs to be tweaked to make it perfect.

In my early days, I’d dash off a poem and then show it to her, eager for her approval and comments. Thinking back know, I realize how kind and patient she was with my beginning works, poetry that rambled on and on for stanzas until I’d made my point, short stories and fragments of novels that probably had no business getting outside of my head and onto the page.

I distinctly remember sitting in her apartment years ago when she lived in Philly, reading aloud poetry that I was so certain was absolutely the best. (Talk about naivete, heh?) Efed listened to a piece that I was particularly proud of, squished her face into a smile and then grabbed a red pen. As any good editor does, she helped me distill my kernel of an ideal into something digestible, something that could be read, consumed, understood.

Ever since, I’ve relied on her when I’m thinking something is working, or something isn’t, to give me a clear and honest opinion. And if you know Efed, you know she’ll always speak her mind. Over the years, she’s become my sounding board and my beta reader. When I’m extra fired up about an idea, I’ll give her an abridged version of it, and she never passes judgement, never tells me that it’s ridiculous or too much to take on. Rather, she always says she’s looking forward to reading my draft. Thing is, I know she means it.

So who are your writing mentors? Who has been a key player in developing your skills, confidence, or other writerly traits? Join the conversation here, over on Facebook, or on Twitter.