Writers groups?

[Christa M. Miller]

Are you in one?

If so, how did it get its start? When did you join? How many did you go through to land in the one that works for you?

If not, why not? Do you wish you were? Do you have any readers at all?

[Christa M. Miller]

I am not in a writers group. Sometimes I wish I were. I know people I can count on to give me great feedback, but they're as busy as I am so they often end up reading just a short story or something. I've had a few readers for my novel but only a couple who could give me the heavy-duty feedback I needed.

I would love to start or join a writers' group, but I'm at a disadvantage because...

- Most of the ones I've ever seen meet at 7pm (doesn't matter which day). That's the start of bedtime at our house, of which I am a critical part.
- I live in the sticks. Small population, so I can't hop groups if I don't find one that works. And I'd have to travel if I were.
- Sheer lack of time to read others and make intelligent suggestions. I love critiquing, but I'm not even doing it professionally right now.

That's just my answer. Who else is or is not, and how did that come to pass?

[Joyce Tremel]

I belong to one here in Pittsburgh. There are 7 of us right now, and we all write mysteries/suspense/thrillers. The group has been in existence for many years. I've lost track of how long I've belonged--maybe 4 years? You have to be invited to join and the other members must agree. We can keep the quality and the size manageable that way. We follow strict guidelines as far as critiqueing goes. No trashing anything--just good honest feedback.

It's an awesome group of people and one by one we are all becoming published, so we must be doing something right!

[Jordan Dane]

I've tried starting them and merely joining them. I've had the face to face ones and the online ones, but the group thing has never worked for me.

Invariably, there are members who either don't write as often or those that write too much or those who only want to line edit and wordsmith and not offer anything else. But I have found that through my trial and error to find a group, I DID find individuals I liked working with. One of my favorites is NOT an author, but someone I met years ago when I was researching a location. A very astute reader. So I prefer to work one-on-one with writers I like working with--ie I like reading their work, hearing their comments, and we have similar work ethic, etc.

And I also noticed that once I got pubbed, my needs changed. I prefer big picture comments on plot and char motivation and not the line edits so much. Plus, I prefer to get the whole book written, then invite someone to read, rather than ask for comments chap by chap. But I do the group thing when it comes to promotion for example--because spreading the workload there makes sense.

Now that I'm writing full time though, I would like to find that face to face person that is in a similar situation with a flexible schedule to meet once a week--mainly for the social interaction and to talk about writing, period. And it would be nice to have someone go with me when I get a wild hair to research the crazy stuff I do.

[Joyce Tremel]

Jordan, I'm also at the point where I like to get the whole book written. I'm not published yet, but to me, it would hold me back to submit a couple of chapters at a time. I'd feel compelled to fix them before I was ready. I haven't submitted anything to the group for a long time, but I still enjoy helping the others. It's fun to watch them grow as writers.

[Jordan Dane]

I find that I sometimes need to retrace my steps to a chapter to add threads of evidence or character motivation--at times, going back to the first chapter. So rather than confuse my readers/critiquers, I now prefer to finish the whole thing. I often miss the ongoing feedback, but it allows me to focus on the writing and muddle through it. If I have trouble on a plot point, it's tough to catch someone up on the story, but I like to puzzle out my own problems anyway. I have to be pretty desperate to regurgitate my whole book to work out a tangle. Been there, done that. But my poor husband usually gets me through it.

[Joyce Tremel]

Are you sure you're not my clone?

[Dennis Leppanen]

Hi Jordan,

I agree, I have tried writing groups, and---let's face it---it's a me, me situation, in most cases. I really get upset when someone correct my intentionally mis-spelled dialogue. Tells me that they don't get it.

If you can find a writer or two that you click with, both receiving & offering fine-tuned critique based mostly on plot or characterization, then I'm all for it. Unfortunately, I haven't found that person/persons yet.

Besides, I'm a Taurus, and reluctant to change or alter my thinking...

[Stephen Blackmoore]

It's not easy.

I've been through a few, actually. I've been fortunate enough to meet some people who not only give excellent feedback but are excellent writers, as well. I've met some of them through blogging, actually. Others I met through writing classes at UCLA. More still through writer's conference.

I'm lucky that I'm in Los Angeles. Bet you never thought you'd hear lucky and Los Angeles put together. There are a lot of writers here. And no, they're not all doing screenplays. ;-)

If you're looking into being a part of a group there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. What are you looking for? Face to face feedback? Does your writing get energized when you're around other writers? Is online critiquing okay or not what you're looking for?

How much time do you want to commit to it? Once a week? Once a month?

What sorts of writers are you looking to hook up with? Do you think genre specific will be more helpful or do you want different perspectives? You're going to get different points of view from people who write different things.

What do you expect to gain from the group? What do you expect to contribute to the group?

What makes a good critique for you?

Once you've got that figure out, then there's the hard part of finding the people, schedulign the time and so on.

It can be very hit or miss. Finding them through a writing class can be tough, especially since you've already been writing a long time. A lot of classes can be the blind leading the blind and you may find yourself teaching others how to write rather than getting what you need out of it.

Most of all, I think a good group needs to be made up of people who take it seriously and are open to not just giving feedback, but taking it as well.

[terry bowman]

I've been a writers group about five years now. It started out with just a buddy and I and we gradually built up to eight or so friends and acquaintances. I'm currently looking for forming a new group. I have a friend down in Florida who has a group similar to Joyce's, but they are six, all in different genres. I like the idea of that. I've pieced together three, so we'll see what happens.

question- what works best, weekly or monthly? My current group is weekly, but that seems too much. I think monthly would also work better in Christa's case.

[Joyce Tremel]

We meet monthly, and sometimes skip a month during the summer. We have a now-annual summer picnic (including our families) at my house that is strictly social. And since we have to eat anyway, we always plan a meal before the meeting, either at a restaurant or at one of our houses.

[terry bowman]

The coolest part about our group is that my writing partner, Mike, owns a little cafe/bookstore/bar called Kafe Kerouac. Mike was interviewed in the NY Times 2 weeks ago for the 50th anniversary of On The Road. Pretty writerly eh?

[Joyce Tremel]

That is very cool! Our group often meets at Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont (Pittsburgh). It's a nice little independent store.