Once a week my writing buddies and I meet at a coffee shop and ignore each other, yet the time spent seated across the table from one another, separated by laptops and headphones, is quite productive. Today we varied the routine by engaging in conversation for an hour before sinking inside our private worlds. Laurie and I recently read an excerpt from Valerie’s Middle grade novel-in-progress and we both offered advice. Note: I am intentionally vague in describing Valerie’s pr