LP wordsolutions

by Lois J. Peterson

Membership in one writing group does not mean a lifetime commitment.

Other sources

of information

& recommended reading

Books

Fiction Workshop Companion

by John Volkmer

Writing Groups: History, Theory, and Implications
by Anne Ruggles-Gere

Writing Alone, Writing Together

by Judy Reeves

Online

Fundamentals of Ficiton Part lll

by Marg Gilks

Are Critique Groups Rights for You?

by Su Wright

There are lots of opportunities to get your work critiqued through online groups, including:

Gridders

Scrawl

and others listed here at

Writing-World

Group Therapy

Finding, forming, joining and participating in writers’ groups

Many writers, once bitten by the bug, settle down into their self-imposed writing space and churn out the words they hear rattling around in their heads. They get them down on paper, love or hate them, rewrite them, refine them, send them out, or chuck them away and start all over.

I discovered years ago that I don’t have what it takes to do it alone. I’m too easily distracted, disheartened, discouraged, or bored. I’m too ready to believe that what I write is brilliant, boring, inspired, or pointless.

I joined my first writer’s group at the invitation of students in a class I was teaching. A couple of weeks later I met them at their usual corner table in the local restaurant, and I’ve been a regular participant ever since. Once a month we bring out our recent work, brag about our successes, and gripe when things aren’t going so well. We do a little reading, a lot of laughing, and always come away heartened and encouraged. We operate as a cheering section as much as a critique group.

Some of us circulate copies of the work under discussion, but most of us read aloud, and then sit back, waiting for a response. The stuff we brush off and show to our peers includes poetry, novel excerpts, poetry, and essays. This group has become one in which good friends share a common interest, and in the process buoy up each other’s efforts and spirits.

In another group, four of us get together once a month to share and discuss short fiction. We distribute work in advance through e-mail, and to each meeting bring critiques that are expressed using a format of marks and comments relating to the various craft elements. We debate differences in critiques, explore and analyze similar responses, make suggestions for changes, and recommend markets. Before we part, we determine what story we’ll each distribute before our next meeting, and set marketing goals for the coming month.

For a couple of years I worked with an online critique group which is was objective, focused and motivating as they come. Here we talked text, text, text, referring any comments and responses to posted work back to the piece of writing as a way of separating personal taste from objective craft criticism. Here, too, we kept track of submissions, hits and misses, and shared marketing and contest information.

For each writer there’s probably an ideal critique group somewhere, but it sometimes takes some detective work to track down the one that works for you.

Some groups limit membership to those working in a specific genre--which can be helpful in ensuring that all discussion relates to everyone’s endeavors--while others are open to all forms and genres of writing. Some aim for weekly meetings; others convene just once a month. On-line groups offer anonymity which can lead to greater objectivity if moderated by a skillful group leader, but they’re not necessarily for those who like to know what credentials a critquer brings to the task and who prefer to develop a personal relationship with them. All groups offer something important to their members, if and when the fit works, whether it’s specific critical feedback, or general support and encouragement. Or both.

If you’re not already a member of a group, before you form or join one you might want to consider the following questions:

Are you ready, willing and able to give and take detailed editorial feedback?
Would you prefer to join others simply for mutual support and encouragement, where the process is as important as the product?
Are you happy with verbal responses to work read aloud or distributed at the meeting, or would you prefer written input on previously distributed writing?
Do you have time, energy, and commitment for weekly meetings, or does your schedule only allow monthly or bi-monthly ones?
Are you comfortable meeting in someone’s home, or would you prefer to congregate in a public place (restaurant, library meeting room)?
Do you need an appointed leader at each meeting, or are you happy with a democratic system of sharing time in the limelight, with no rules to govern what goes on?
Would the flexibly of online critiquing work best for your schedule and working style?
Do you need to join a group, or would be happy with just one writing buddy with whom to share your work, your trials and your triumphs?

There are no ‘right’ answers. The kind of focus offered by one critique group might not be as useful to you as that offered by another. But if you can determine the level of critiquing, and the type of interaction that suit you and your working style, needs, and expectations, you’ll have a better chance of finding or forming a group that’s a good fit for everyone.

Jon Volkmer’s book, Fiction Workshop Companion, includes an especially useful chapter entitled ‘Creating An Effective Workshop’ which can help writing groups develop protocols for critiquing. Regardless of how you develop them, the entire group will benefit from discussing various processes for evaluating work, rather than simply critiquing work with no stated focus.

A good place to make contact with other writers is at writing classes, conferences, through local arts or writing publications, and by searching for them through a major search engine or through links from the larger writing sites. And don’t rule out word of mouth. It can often lead to one writing buddy who can lead you to others.

You don’t need to jump in with both feet. Set up a preliminary meeting to discuss what you need and have to offer, and to consider the practicalities of scheduling, critiquing process and protocols. Share information about the genres you prefer to write and read, and any subjects that you prefer to avoid (sexuality, violence, etc.).

If you’re invited to join an existing group, both sides need a period in which to determine how well the fit works. Listen carefully to get an idea of how participants give and take feedback. Decide if the forms and genres of writing under discussion will provide new insights into your own work. Determine if these are people you want to share your work and your time with. If you’re thinking of joining a on-line group, lurk for a while to get a sense of the tone and content of critiques before you commit your own work and opinions.

Membership in one writing group does not mean a lifetime commitment. You may well reach a point when you’ve learned all you can and have given as much as you have to share. You might now need to move on to find other ways to advance your skills.

While some writers do just fine tapping away at their computers for hours on end in creative exile, others need companionship and motivation to keep them going. These writers will probably find that their writing skills and their discipline improves with a little group therapy.

It surely can’t hurt!