Literary Community: Who are my mentors?

[hrj]

This may be more random than usual -- I almost didn't get to blogging today at all. (I was good and spent the pre-work coffee actually working on the novel, and then my lunch hour was spent in the inspection "war room", which is not conducive to working on creative writing.)

Several times recently, when reading the author's notes in a book, or reading an author interview online, I've gotten a weird feeling when seeing long lists of people that the author considered their mentors for writing: the people who gave them wise advice, other more experienced writers who helped bounce their story ideas around, the editors whose feedback shaped their writing. When I try to think of who my mentors would be, I have a hard time thinking of any. And I'm not sure whether that's really because I have none or whether it's a blindness in myself that discounts other people's input. (The same blindness that tends to lead me into depression on occasion, when I forget the positive interactions that I really have had with other people.)

It isn't that I haven't interacted with other people in the context of my writing. The beta readers who give me detailed feedback are truly wonderful people. A couple of my skin-singer stories were brainstormed by talking them out with scotica. And having abd07 as my "alpha-reader", waiting on each chapter as the first draft is completed, is a strong motivation to keep on track with my writing schedule. But I wouldn't call any of those situations "mentoring" in the sense of having someone who is more experienced and more knowledgeable in the field offering me a hand up.

It's something of a circle (not necessarily vicious, but not entirely benign). I don't expect to get mentoring because I haven't received it in the past. (Sometime ply me with drinks and ask me about my dissertation.) And having learned so many things (and not just with regard to writing) from scratch on my own, I suspect I give off a vibe of not needing or wanting help. That same history--combined with a few non-standard learning styles--has tended to make me wary of teaching styles that assume there's one right way to learn.

So have I had attempted mentors whose assistance wasn't useful? Or who decided I was incapable of learning what they had to teach? Or who concluded I simply didn't need them? Or is this just one more of those experiences that other people have that--for some combination of reasons--never happened for me? Hard to say. I'm not even willing to swear that my memory isn't playing tricks on me. All I know is I read those passages in which other writers talk about their mentors and I wonder what that would feel like.

Comments

[kareina.livejournal.com]

I think I am more in your boat on this one, being largely self taught on things I do (and do well). I also can't really think of someone who has been a mentor in the sense that I think others mean with that term. In my case it also makes it hard to be a mentor for others, even though it expected that, as a Laurel I should take apprentices...

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

Or is this just one more of those experiences that other people have that--for some combination of reasons--never happened for me?

I would not be surprised if that were the case. (Or if it's a complicated answer that includes that.) There were plenty of authors I admired, and various peers I engaged with in writing groups, but I never had what I would call a mentor in the field until I went to Viable Paradise. And a week-long writing workshop on location is not something that's available to a lot of people; I was very lucky to be able to do it at the time. So I don't know how I would have acquired one, or if I would have acquired any such thing, if I hadn't happened to be able to do that kind of thing.

[katerit.livejournal.com]

I have a similar experience - I am not surprised that some of your circle of friends and acquaintances fall outside of certain social expectations/experiences. I have had peers with whom I have shared my writing. I have gotten good advice from them, but so much of what I do in a number of areas is self-taught. (Sword fighting was a little different, but aside from my first year I didn't have very consistent trainers. Sir Hilary was wonderful that first year.) I can be a mentor for others, what with being an educator and all, but I am not a deeply hands-on mentor. I want to encourage people to grow without being intrusive.

In the SCA that has been an issue since I don't need someone to mentor me in doing service and I can't think of someone I want in that position who is a bardic Laurel. I now have a Peer of my own and I think it will be a good relationship - but she won't be telling me what to do.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid I desperately wanted a mentor, like the children had in the books I read. Wart had Merlin, for example. So many kids had wise magicians there to help them and guide them to greatest. I desperately wanted one. I had a couple of knight-squire relationships in the SCA, but no arts mentoring of that sort. (Lots of great peer-to-peer mentoring, though.) Once I sold my first story I've received lots of good mentoring from a number of writers, oddly enough. And I've had great mentoring in aikido. (David's guidance and mentoring is the reason I got my nidan.) I suspect that at least in my case, mentoring is based on individuals (me being the key individual in this regard, and I've changed over time) and the area. Hmm.

[abd07.livejournal.com]

I have been very fortunate in mentoring in my academic career, and at least one of my mentors has become a real friend, but I was very lucky, and I think I'm in the minority. It may have helped that it has always been clear that I was not going to follow a standard academic career, which means that I would never be competition.