by jmdougherty » Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:08 am
In the city I live (population almost a million), there is a writers group that averages about 30 to 50 in attendance each week. I attended regularly for three or four months. I stopped going. Here's why:
1. Not a friendly group. People were there to read their work and critique others' work. That's it. After three months, nobody knew my name, nobody ever said "hi" or "see you next week." And I read my manuscripts almost EVERY week so I wasn't hiding in the shadows. I think it's important to create a sense of community in a writer's group. It should be a place that people feel welcome and safe, a place that people want to come back to.
2. The group moderators seemed upity. Okay, now maybe that's just me projecting falsehoods on them, but the board always seemed to act like they were above everyone else, and knew fiction better than everyone else. Their comments and regulations were suggested in a manner which suggested that you were an inferior, if not stupid, writer. The leaders of the groups should be on your level. You're all there to help each other, not to create a hierarchy of writing prowess.
3. Too big. With 50 people you got to hear a chapter or a short story from about 10 people a week. You might hear chapter two of someone's book a few weeks later but by then you've all but forgotten what chapter one was about. And, as some of you mentioned in previous posts, it creates a genre problem. I write sci-fi and many (most) people in attendance had no idea how to take it seriously. If a group exceeds 15 people (IMO), you should split the group into genre specific groups.
---Personally the groups I have enjoyed the most in previous years, are the ones that have about 6 to 8 people, and can meet at someone's house. You feel welcome, people know you and respect you. They are there because they want to help and not because they want to flaunt their "amazing" writing.
All that said, I am interested in what some of you mentioned about online writers groups. Can someone suggest a place to form/find writers groups online? Thanks.
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