Writing Groups

[sherrydramsey]

My regional writer's organization recently asked the membership about writing groups--our experiences, advice, do's and dont's, etc.  Thought I'd share my reply to them here.

Our writing group (The Story Forge) has been running continuously for (and I can’t believe I’m about to type this) twelve years.  It began after I, my sister, and a writing friend took a creative writing course together at the local community college, and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to keep that writerly cameraderie and inspiration going in some form or another.  We talked to a local library branch about holding meetings in their program room, put the word out by way of flyers at libraries and grocery store bulletin boards, and we were off.

 

We didn’t make a whole lot of decisions or lay a lot of ground rules to start, which was a bit of an oversight.  We knew that we did not want to pressure members to produce new work for every meeting, as several of us had young kids and writing time was at a premium.  We did want to support and encourage each other, share our accumulated writing knowledge, and foster some creativity.  This took the form of freewriting exercises we’d do during the meetings, sharing the results when we were through.  We also have always been ready to critique each others’ work, and we keep a “committment sheet” where members make note of what they’d like to accomplish by the next meeting.  Sometimes we just spend an entire meeting talking about nothing but writing.  Sometimes we spend the entire time talking about everything else *but* writing.  :)  We have a very diverse group of writers in terms of age, writing interests, and writing goals, and while that may not work for all groups, we’ve always enjoyed the various perspectives that diversity brought to the group.

 

Our membership has ranged from a high of twenty+ to a low of about six regular members, but we usually hover somewhere in the middle of those extremes.  Although many faces have come and gone over the twelve years, much of our core group has remained and grown.  The group has hosted readings at the library, organized weekend retreats, and gone on “field trips” to book launches and other literary events.  We’ve advised each other on submissions, commiserated on rejections, and rejoiced over acceptances.  I think it’s safe to say the group is an important part of our writing lives.

 

As for advice to those forming a new group, I’d say:

>  Decide what kind of group you want to have.  Is it primarily for critiques?  To encourage members to produce new work?  To jump-start creativity?  To share knowledge and experience? Different people have different expectations of a writing group, and it’s best to know what yours will have to offer when someone asks.

>  If your group is going to have a very specific focus (like romance writing, speculative fiction, non-fiction) make sure that’s clear to anyone who expresses an interest in joining.

>  Decide whether your group will be focused on writers aiming for publication, or will be open to writers with other personal or self-publishing goals. 

>  If you are going to do critiques, have a set format.  That way members will know what’s expected of them, and what they can expect in return.  Also make sure that everyone receives some instruction in the fine art of critiquing.

>  Realize that someone has to “be in charge”, even if that responsibility is a rotating one.  Groups without leadership can be hijacked by a newcomer with a strong personality.  Also, if there are members who don’t see eye-to-eye, it’s a good idea to have a “referee” ready to step in and change the subject when necessary.

>  Think at least a little bit about how you will deal with the situation if a troublesome member has to be asked to leave the group.  It’s not fun to contemplate, but it happens, and it’s better to be prepared.

>  Make sure that you have contact information from members and a way to get in touch in case a meeting has to be changed or cancelled.  Make sure someone is in charge of getting the word out in case of schedule changes.

>  If your group of writers has diverse writing interests, try to make sure that everyone is included and made to feel welcome and valued.