Choosing the “Write” Group

Last week I talked about the importance of having a writing group to turn to when you’re creating your masterpieces. They are an invaluable tool to help you hone your skills and to become more comfortable with receiving feedback- both positive and negative. This week I give you tips for not only choosing the right group for your needs, but also pointers on how to keep on topic and maintain the group’s focus…which is to make all of you better writers!

Tips for picking your group

Ask people who read… a lot. This may seem silly. Obviously, you’d think that most writers read. However, you’d be surprised. I hesitated over making this point ‘Ask people who you think are smart’ but eventually decided against it. Why? Because you can be incredibly smart, but not be able to critique writing. To know writing you have to read.

Ask people whose writing you admire, but no one too far from you in his/her career. Remember, this is about community. I wouldn’t want to be in a writing group with Arundhati Roy, a writer who I admire greatly, because I’d spend all my time swooning over her new pieces. You need to be a critical judge, yet a supportive cheerleader, for your group members, and no one should be the group’s superstar. Being in similar places in your careers is important for that balance.

Ask people who have a completely different voice than you. A good writing group isn’t a bunch of ‘yes men’ it’s a collection of colleagues. Personally, I’m interested in variety and how my pieces read to people who see the world differently than me. Inviting writers with different voices means you get to watch the inner workings of someone else’s creative process. Why not check out a range of different writers? You never know what could spark a good idea. Plus, it makes for a more interesting evening. I’d get really unmotivated to go if I know I’m going to spend 2 hours looking at the same thing.

Ask at least one person who is a grammarian. Will it be annoying? Yes, sometimes. Is it important? You decide. If you’re group is doing serious getting-this-ready-for-submission-to-an-agent critiquing I would. I wouldn’t want this person to give me inline edits on every little thing but general advice on tense consistency and the like can be very helpful (especially if it’s affecting your meaning or mood coming across).

Ask people who you want to spend time with, but not all your best friends. Unless, your best friend list consists of the last ten Man Booker Prize winners. The purpose of the group is for practice, support, and critique; if you want a motivated and sustaining group it can’t just be “talk time”.  That said, sometimes there are really great writers who’s personalities clash. In essence you need people who you enjoy but who can get down to work.

Tips for behaving yourselves

Try to stay on task. I know you’ll probably become friends with your writing group and that’s great. But, try to separate work from play and when it’s writing group time get down to brass tacks. This will keep the more serious writers interested and participating. Of the writers I know, the biggest complaint that lead to burn out was “We talked about the writing for 5 minutes then started discussing everyone’s love lives.” Quality writers look at a writing group as a tool to their craft; and to keep their quality critique in the room the group has got to provide that productive forum. Isn’t that what you’re all there for!

Meet in person, at least at first. Some people are really good about virtual meetings, I’m not.  I really need the physical interaction of meeting face-to-face. It keeps me accountable to show up and bring something to share. It also helps to get over watching people read your writing in front of you. You’ll get more confident, and in turn be more motivated to produce better work.  Plus, as mentioned above, it helps you be a kind critic. If you’re good with not meeting in person (or can’t) … at least Skype!

Be careful of the exploding group. Okay, I know you’re excited. So, you want to ask everyone you know to join your group. That’s cool… but keep in mind there is a point where your writing group will get out of control. Everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to crowds. My advice is: Keep your group to about eight – ten members, knowing that at least a couple will not be at every meeting.  You want to be a nice size to take up the back end of a local coffee shop not renting out a lecture hall. As with everything, the size of your group is all about balance: not to big so people can hide out unnoticed (not to mention be un-schedulable), not to small that things can get myopic and personal (in a bad way).

Be consistent. Meet at the same time every month and let people’s schedules dictate who shows up or not. Don’t try and schedule with EVERYONE all the time. You’ll never meet. Second and Fourth Thursdays. First and Third Tuesdays. Second Sundays. Do whatever works, but stick with it. It will welcome more dropping in and out and it means no one has to take on the huge responsibility of scheduling the group all the time.

I hope this gets you started. My writing group has been one of the joys of my career, and my secret weapon for polishing my work and inspiring new ideas. Now, all you need is to be your best peer critic, and get to typing!

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