walter1The worst thing about writing groups is their tendency to become “reading groups.”  It starts with someone saying, “Here’s a piece I wrote in college,”  or “One I dusted off so I’d have something to read.” 

“NO!”  I’ve been shouting at our group of  ten or a dozen writers who show up.  “Read the things you want critiqued.  They’re being criticized so you can submit.  And you submit for fame, money or simple self-validation.  But no desk-drawer crap!”

 The best thing to come out of these groups is solid commentary, insights into what you’ve just read, and “gotchas” for those damn typos that creep in.  (The aural experience may also lead a writer to clasp fist to forehead and realize the words are hollow exercises in periphrastic verbosity.)  Educationally, the group can provide information on multiple submissions, markets, querying, confusion over editorial style and on and on.

Suggestions:

  • First,  the value can be ramped up if members will share copies of their writing.  (Copies can be printed cheaply in draft quality mode.) 
  • Second, someone needs to lead the group to keep order.  (The group I began facilitating was floundering and leaderless.) 
  • Third, set the ground rules: No one delivers a recitation about what they’re going to read in a few minutes, the critiques must be constructive, and the reader should keep quiet until the comments are all in. 
  • Fourth, “someone” should recap in an e-mail who read what, encourage members, mention successful sales or book signings, provide links to sites like Wordtrip and Duotrope, and maintaintain an all-members mailing list.  
  • Fifth, send out the occasional news release that your group will be meeting at the library or local bookstore—and invite all interested writers.

 Those are just my opinions, but early on, our members–some 27 in all–asked to begin meeting twice a month.  So, how are you guys doing with your writing groups?  Are they useful?  Any tips to add?

 

Walter Giersbach’s fiction has appeared Bewildering Stories, Big Pulp, Every Day Fiction, Everyday Weirdness, Lunch Hour Stories, Mouth Full of Bullets, Mystery Authors, OG Short Fiction, Northwoods Journal, Paradigm Journal, Short Fiction World, Southern Fried Weirdness, The Short Humour Site and Written Word.  Two volumes of short stories, Cruising the Green of Second Avenue, have been published by Wild Child (www.wildchildpublishing.com).  He also served for three decades as director of communications for Fortune 500 companies.