When I Was 17, It Was A Very Good Year

If you’re old enough, you may remember the Frank Sinatra song, It Was A Very Good Year. I only know it because my dad was a huge Sinatra fan. He used to play his music in the car on 8-track all the time. I remember this was one of the few crooner songs I didn’t mind him playing. The melancholy melody moved me.

Side note: I’m a rocker, so my dad and I clashed when it came to music.

I mention this line of the song, because I’ve been thinking about what it was like to be a teenager. Do you remember? Were you insecure or secure? Were you a rebel? How did you feel inside? Were you confident or unsure? Scared or brave? Naïve or street smart? Happy or lonely?

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Want to start a Writer’s Group?

Four and a half years ago, I set out to start a writer’s critique group with some people I met at a community writing class. It fizzled out within three months. Directly after it went awry, I got an email from the teacher of that class informing me of a critique group starting up at the local Barnes & Noble.

I’ve been part of that writer’s critique group for four years now. It’s been one of the biggest blessings in my life. At the same time, it’s difficult to keep a writer’s group strong and steady.

Being part of a writer’s group has its good & bad points.