Everybody Needs a Mentor

/ Tracy Abell

          

I’m back home after my fourth meeting
with my mentor, Claudia Mills.
And I just want to say,
if you ever have the opportunity to participate
in a SCBWI-sponsored mentor program,
do it!

Claudia isn’t just an ace at pacing and tension,
unafraid to tell me when I’ve struck the wrong note,
but also a mentor who is generous with her praise.

I practically float home after sessions with her.
She not only makes me feel good about what I’ve accomplished
but also fills me with a steely determination to meet her expections.
I never, ever want her to regret the compliments she’s given me and my writing.

And because so much of this journey is spent alone, in my head,
I’m going to be bold and link to Claudia’s blog post from today
in which she said insanely nice things about my writing.

You know, for those days when I’m feeling delusional.

Check out your local SCBWI chapter to see if you have a mentor program.
If not, maybe you can get one started.

Because every writer needs a Claudia in her corner.
                 

18 thoughts on “Everybody Needs a Mentor”

    • It’s a wee bit hyperbolic, I think, but is just what I needed to keep me going. As long as she doesn’t hesitate to set me straight on stuff, I’ll take the praise. And your encouragement, too, Jeannine. Thank you so much.

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  3. Wonderful comments and I’m sure they are well deserved. I was lucky enough to have a mentor a few years ago, and perhaps its time to hunt for another one.

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    • Yes! Hunt for another mentor. It feels so good having someone in my corner to help steer me and my story, and also there to wave the pom poms.

      I hope you find another mentor very soon.

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    • Claudia is very enthusiastic. 🙂 But as I commented above, as long as she never hesitates to let me know when I’ve gone astray, I welcome her praise.

      Thanks so much for sharing in this with me, Melodye, and being in my corner, too.

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    • She sings it from the rooftops, doesn’t she? I’ve gotten over blushing about stuff she says because she’s just so very excited and enthusiastic. She’s good for my writer’s soul (praise-wise and critique-wise). I feel very fortunate.

      CLOSE TO HOME is a middle-grade story about a girl who’s forced to adjust when her mother spontaneously offers to house a homeless family.

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