Writing Advice: Writing Groups
Before we start, a reminder! We’re running a Kickstarter to fund an audiobook of Dude, Where’s My Pack? featuring the same narrator who did Dude, Where’s My Fox?, the incomparable Zeke Tiger. We’re so close to reaching our goal, and then we can talk about some of the stretch goals we’re looking at… Please check it out if you haven’t already!
For this week, I thought I’d go back over one of the panels I did at AnthroCon. They were all fun, and thanks to everyone who attended! Your participation helped make them better. The one I’m specifically thinking of was about writing groups, and I think it’d be helpful to summarize a little of what we talked about, because I know this is a thing a lot of beginning writers are looking for and curious about.
By a writing group, I’m talking about something different than a collection of beta readers. A writing group includes beta reads and critiques, generally, but also conversations about where your careers are going, discussions of what everyone’s reading, and other common subjects writers are interested in. The value of having a permanent group for critiques and career talk is that these people know you; you trust them and they you, so you’re better able to give each other advice.
But you have to start somewhere. Writing groups are malleable: people drop out and add in, and on rare occasions you have to tell someone that they’re not right for the group. You might not start with the right combination, but over time you will find that the group will stabilize.
For me, the first time I found a writing group-like environment was when I took a writing workshop evening class at a local university. That was the first time I learned how to critique other people’s stories, and it was fantastically helpful in my development as a writer. The friend I took the class with and I formed our own writing group outside the class, one that persists to this day.
It helped that we were all at about the same stage of our careers. That’s not a requirement for a writing group, but it is helpful. Otherwise you risk an imbalance where a writer who’s further along in their career is giving more than they’re getting from the group. This isn’t always a problem, especially with people who’ve been friends for a while, but it can be.
You can also find potential writing group partners at libraries, in online critique circles, in writing communities (such as the Furry Writers Guild), and at conventions with some kind of writing track. Be clear about what your expectations are, because some people have different conceptions of what a writing group does. How regularly do you want to meet? Online or in person? How much contribution is required/encouraged, both in terms of submitting work and critiquing? Are any topics off-limits (politics, sex, etc.)? Is it genre-specific?
When you’ve found enough people to make up a writing group (I find for me that 4-8 people is a comfortable size with enough people to provide variety in critique; there are groups that are much larger and they work for their members but also require more rules), it’s time to organize the meetings! I find that the groups I’ve had that have survived have had at least one person with the energy and enthusiasm to schedule the meetings and remind everyone of them. Otherwise, after six months or a year, life catches up with people, you miss a meeting and then another, and before you know it the group isn’t meeting anymore. So if you’re not going to be this person, you need to identify who will be.
When your group meets, there are a few guidelines you need to agree on. The purpose of a writing group is to support each other as writers, so you have to settle on a method of critique that will work for everyone. Your writing group is no good if one or two people leave in tears every time their work is critiqued. You also should sit down and have everyone talk about their goals and what they hope to get out of the group, so you don’t find out six months down the road that one of your members wanted advice on something but was too shy to bring it up. And again, lay out the ground rules for everyone, so nobody’s caught by surprise at how much they’re expected to submit or critique or even attend meetings.
Hopefully everyone in a writing group understands that they’re there to support each other, and you can all help each other grow and evolve. The more you work together, the more you’ll grow to trust each other, and the better your writing group will be.