The Positive Power of a Writing Group

Lately, writers in search of a writers’ group seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Maybe it’s the springtime passion following a dreary winter, a need to get out of our caves and reconnect with like beings. Maybe it’s the creative urge itself, coming to new life with daffodils and day lilies.

Regardless of the genesis, writers new and old resonate to the sound of one another’s voice reading the latest missive. We yearn for a safe place to try out our new work. We hunger for feedback that will help us hone our words to a keen edge. We need the company of like minds. Writers need other writers as much as we need readers.

If you’re on a quest for a writers’ group, whether joining one that is already up and going or beginning a new one, allow me to offer a bit of caution. Consider your goal. Are you looking for a critique group? Are you seeking camaraderie on the writing path? Are you desperate for someone to talk with who won’t tell you you’re crazy for spending your nights at the keyboard instead of sitting in front of the TV? Do you approach writing as a competitive sport? An outlet? A compulsion? A safe way to blow off steam? A holy mission?

There are no wrong answers here. Writing is all of those things, and a jillion other things to a jillion other writers. The point is, figure out what your writing is to you. Not to your mother or your spouse or the bozo in the next cubicle at work. What it means to you. Then you’ll have a good idea what to look for and/or what to build in your own writers’ group.

For example, the little group that keeps me going creatively is a support group. We’re quite upfront about that. Our purpose is not to compete with one another, not to show how much smarter we are than the writer next to us, not to tear down a piece of work. The group is comprised of three women and three men. Every one is a published writer. Among the six of us we probably amass ninety-seven tons of ego. Luckily, that is countered by ninety-nine tons of caring for each other.

Do we always agree? Of course not. Do we always agree about a piece of writing, or even a particular phrase in a piece of writing, or even about that one special word in a particular phrase in a piece of writing? Of course not.  But we’re mindful that different writing styles beget different phrases. We celebrate one another’s style even as our own style differs, because we realize how richly we are fed by our diversity.

What we are not, is a critique group. Right from the beginning, over a decade ago, we agreed that we get plenty of criticism from the world at large, thank you very much. What we need is acceptance as committed writers and honest appraisal of our work. What we need is a safe place where we can entrust exposure of our work, so we can make it better.

Obviously, this style of writers’ group doesn’t work for everyone. It might drive you crazy. Isn’t it nice to know that you have choices?

Writers' Groups are Life Blood for this writer

Writing is my vocation, avocation and passion. It makes me crazy and keeps me sane. Yes, all at the same time.

In the spring of 1980 I moved to Huntsville, Alabama, with the express goal of making a life, and a living, as a writer. Thirty-plus years later, I am still grateful every day for that move—physically and creatively.

For one thing, the lore about southern writers isn’t a myth. There really are more writers in the south. More attention is paid to the art of writing, and some status is carried within the title. Huntsville being Space City, USA, of course, we are awash in rocket scientists and positively inundated with engineers. Some of them are writers, too. At a recent conference I heard it said that Madison County, Alabama, has more writers, per capita, that any other county in the US. As the 2010 census is still being tallied, I can’t verify that statement. However, as a resident of Madison County I can vouch for the spirit of the pronouncement. 

For another thing, there are lots of writers around here who are strong supporters of other writers. Writers’ associations and support groups come in all sizes and genre. They are creative life blood for a struggling writer—which includes every one of us, doesn’t it?

Writers’ groups come in all shapes and sizes. The one that keeps me going, for instance, is very small. We meet weekly, in one another’s homes. My home is an old house with really little rooms. Hence, the small size of our group. Other groups meet at the public library, in church basements, at local colleges and universities, in the meeting rooms of banks and real estate offices. Life blood flows everywhere.

You don’t have to live in a county with a high density of writers to be part of a writers’ group. Look around. Check your local library for groups who meet there. Ask folks you meet in the daily busy-ness of life. My first writing group started with an introduction to another parent at my child’s school’s PTA meeting.

Life blood flows everywhere.