Writing Groups
By
Being a writer can be a lonely business. You spend hours and hours in front of the computer, filling one page after another. Or you take an occasional break at your local library or bookstore, hunched over research documents, or editing printed pages in longhand.
And if you’re just starting out, or even if you’ve been writing for awhile, you’re never really sure if you’re on track or filling pages that will all have to be tossed eventually.
This is where a writing group can be helpful.
Quality feedback from writers you respect cannot only provide you with some fresh and unique perspectives on your work, but also with some much needed socialization. But you have to be careful. Every writing group has its own personalities and some groups are definitely better than others.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind before joining a group:
What Are You Looking For: Are you in search of social contact more than writing help? Or do you need some insights into your current project? Fresh eyes? Or maybe you need a good balance of each. Whatever it is that you want, you need to define it for yourself beforehand.
Does The Group Meet My Needs: Your next consideration before joining a writing group is easy and straightforward: does it address the area in which you write? For instance, if the group is a comedy screenwriting group and you like to write murder mystery novels, then you’re probably not going to find the help you need. Look for a group that has similar tastes and interests.
Can I Get Along With The Members: This is obviously going to take longer to determine. But here’s the bottom line: how well do all the personalities of the group mesh? It’s easy for strong personalities to take over a writing group. Are these people you can get along with? Are they work oriented or ego-driven? Do you enjoy and respect their company? Again, you’ll want to go back to that number one concern: what are you looking for? Are these the people that can deliver for you?
Constructive Criticism: Is the group supportive? Is the criticism balanced and honest, and most of all, helpful? Are you receiving advice and insights that you believe make your writing better? Or do you find the criticism to be picky, off your areas of concern, and more extraneous matters than the work? This is often difficult to determine, because we’re all sensitive to the work we produce. To make your writing group experience successful, you’ll have to be willing to accept criticism. You don’t want to take comments personally, and you don’t want to be hyper-sensitive. But you do want to be certain that comments are meant to be helpful and not hurtful.
How Does The Group Function: Is there a group moderator, someone to lead the meetings? How often will your work be up for critique, how often will you be doing a critique, and how is all this determined by the group? Are there guidelines for critiquing and an agenda for the meetings?
A writing group can be a great place to share new information and opportunities, and to make new friends with similar writing aspirations. If you can’t find one in your area, try searching the Internet. Better yet, try starting your own group!
Related posts:
