Writing Groups

My writing group meets for breakfast at a local café that bills itself as a French bistro.

I usually have crepes, although I’ve been known to order the Belgian waffle with fruit and whipped cream. The coffee is excellent. I look forward to my luxury breakfast quite as much as I look forward to meeting with the group.

We schedule our meetings for a Saturday each month, trying to keep an eye on other events in town, like the bike week sponsored by the local Harley Davidson dealership and antiques street market days, when parking will be scarce and restaurant tables at a premium. Usually our occupying a big table in the back for several hours is not a problem, and of course we tip generously. We have also presented the owner with copies of our books.

Our group is small. While several people have come and gone over the last few years, we have a core group of four. We don’t advertise, but each of us has brought guests at one time or another.

We are kind in our criticisms, although we are very aware that the purpose of the group is not to hold a

mutual admiration session, but to give constructive criticism.Thus one will never hear, "That's a terrible story," but may hear, "That didn't work for me because..."

I think the blunt commentary on our work is one of the reasons we have had several potential members decide we are not the group for them.

Each of us brings a selection for the group to read, with a copy for each person. We aim at about 5 pages,

but are very flexible, especially if someone has an entire story or chapter completed and wants commentary on the entire thing. Occasionally someone will have had a busy month and doesn’t bring anything to present. Because the group is small, we can go into the selections in depth. Once in a while, we will exchange manuscripts by email prior to the meeting.

Especially helpful is the variety of backgrounds and interests we bring to the group. One member is a former newspaper editor. I think we all treasure her red pen, and hurry home to look at the items she has marked. I know I do. We don’t necessarily discuss every minor correction, but she picks up so many minor errors and awkward statements that our manuscripts come out much improved. She is our bestselling author, with a couple of science fiction books and one on Civil War ghosts.

One member is a church secretary with a macabre sense of humor and an excellent eye for both story line and presenting the unexpected. She specializes in short stories with wonderful character development and a growing sense of dread, which is always justified in the end.

Our lawyer member is working on a spy novel set in the 1970’s in China and the US. Since I write a crime series, I find it especially useful to have a lawyer who is willing to answer my legal questions.
I haven’t quite figured out if I have any special attributes to contribute to the group, but we all.

We have decided to write an anthology together, each contributing one story, and e-publish it. We have a cover, and are meeting on Saturday to finalize our edits and discuss any problems or changes that have arisen. It’s a Halloween anthology, and we are aiming at an early October release date. I’m anxious to see the almost-finished product. And have my wonderful crepes.

Are you a member of a writing group? Has it been helpful to you, and would you recommend it to others?