Two years ago, Gerald Kozak responded to an announcement in the Valley News about a writers’ group that was forming in White River Junction. Kozak recalls about 18 writers showed up at the first meeting, although attendance later dwindled to “a motley group of seven.” The group now meets at the Kilton Library in West Lebanon every other Saturday morning. New members are welcome, and no writing credentials are needed.
Kozak, a Lebanon resident and retired clinical laboratory technologist whose articles, short stories and poetry have appeared in magazines and journals, has self-published three novels: The Teaching of Don Vaughan: A Yankee’s Way of Knowledge (written under the pen name of Adam Mister), The Protisint’s Dilemma and Lady Small Sam. In an email Q&A, Kozak discussed how the Upper Valley Writers support one another’s creative efforts. The exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
What are your writing habits like?
As a retired widower, I’m a slave to no schedule. I write when my muse nudges me, which is usually every day.
Are you currently working on a project?
I’m working on my fourth novel. It’s too early to tell what it’s about, because my characters have yet to tell me. For a change of pace, I paint with acrylics.
Who are your members and what kind of writing do they do?
The group includes a school psychologist, a medical transcriptionist, a school librarian with an MFA in writing, a published novelist and political activist, a homemaker, a recent college graduate and me. One member writes nostalgic stories about a Vermont family. Another is working on an historical novel set on Cape Cod in the 1700s. A third is starting a novel, a fourth writes poetry, a fifth and sixth write short stories, and I write fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
What takes place at a typical meeting?
A week prior to a meeting, members who wish to do so submit their writing by email. At the meeting, the submissions are discussed and critiqued, and suggestions for improvement are offered. Rarely is there unanimity of opinion, but the crosstalk and rebuttals are friendly and congenial, even though one member (the one with the MFA) says, “Any writer who can survive us can survive anything.”
Do you have any rules or guidelines about sharing advice?
Some members get quite detailed, others do not. When I read a submission, I read it for enjoyment and don’t look for anything to critique, favorable or unfavorable. Rather, I make a notation only when and if an addressable rears its head. An addressable is anything that interrupts my reading, however briefly. A missing comma that causes ambiguity is an addressable. A missing comma that doesn’t cause ambiguity is not an addressable. I don’t look for rules in fiction, because what works, works. Other members have their own unique ways of reading and commenting on submissions. We have no rules on the matter.
When’s your next meeting?
It’s on Saturday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kilton Library. Those wishing to attend should contact me at grk@mykozak.net.