Of cars and writing groups
Author: Hoger
No one is surprised that few short stories or novels will be ready to go right from first draft. One way writers can help improve their work is to put it in front of a writing group for feedback. As well as offering critiques, writing groups can help with networking, market tips and plain old-fashioned friendship.
Brisbane has the best open speculative fiction writing group in Australia. It’s called Vision and has helped nurture writers such as Trent Jamieson, Marianne de Pierres, Grace Dugan, Dirk Flinthart, Jason Nahrung, Cory Daniels and others.
I learnt a lot from Vision and wanted to share some of my thoughts about what makes a good writing group. First off, the car thing. Writing groups are like cars for a number of reasons:
- They’re very useful in modern publishing.
- They will help you get places faster
- You’ll pick up some friends along the way
- Just make sure you don’t choose a lemon
So, how do you choose a good writing group? Let’s be honest though – working out whether a writing group is the right one for you comes mostly down to gut. But here are three simple rules that may help you work things out faster.
Rule one: If others don’t take their writing seriously they probably won’t take your writing seriously either. The single best way to ascertain how serious others are about their writing is to ask a few simple questions:
- How many people have published something in the last six months?
- How many people have submitted something out in the last six weeks?
- How many people have started or finished something in the last six days?
- How many people have done any writing in the last six hours?
If the answer to all of those questions is ‘none’ you may want to reconsider participation in that group. Having people who don’t treat their writing as a ‘hobby that they’ll get around to some time’ is even more important than having people writing in the same genre as you.
Rule two: The only thing that sport and critique groups should have in common is that they should both be governed by a set of rules.
- Critiquing isn’t a performance sport and it’s not debating
- It shouldn’t be about stroking one person’s ego
- Should be a clear set of rules about the critiquing process
A writing group should operate in a civilized and consistent manner. It should give all members a good opportunity to participate and it should have checks and balances that stop one person dominating.
Rule three: When the critique group outgrows its usefulness to you, move on.
Humans are social creatures and belonging to a tribe is important. It’s even more vital for writers who spend much of their time tapping away in solitude. So, if the time comes that you’re not getting much from the core work of the group, maybe it’s time to move on. When it’s time to move on, move on. Just think about how you can pay it forward.
They are some of my quick thoughts. Anyone else have any suggestions or experiences – good or bad?
Tags: writing, writing groups
December 1st, 2008 at 8:24 am
Rule Four: Cake. There needs to be cake at writing group. Being told by 9 people that your beloved story sucks is a lot easier to handle accompanied by a mouthful of vanilla slice.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:30 am
I’ve been learning to appreciate rule 3. It can sound a bit negative (“you’re no use to me anymore”) but it can also be like staying in school too long when you should be graduating and going onto the next stage of life. That learning was important, and good, and there may be nothing whatsoever wrong with the school, but even if it’s a good school – especially if it’s a good school – it should be *aiming* to outlive its usefulness to you and kick you out into the world. I’m regularly encouraged by seeing the names of those who have graduated from Vision.
(Obviously there are other sorts of writing groups as well, and other reasons to leave, but I like this group and this reason :)
December 1st, 2008 at 11:18 am
yeah, moving on is difficult but important. But, as a complementary rule to this one, I’d add that while the group is relevant to you, you should makes an effort to GIVE as well as RECEIVE. I hear too many people say they don’t attend meetings because they’ve got nothing to get critiqued — here’s an idea, help someone else get their story critiqued! And if no one has a story, ask why? Can we help each other get something achieved that we really want to, or are we just a group of people chilling out? Whether it’s the former or the latter, recognise it, readjust if desired, and make it clear to newcomers what the purpose of the group is.
But the group chain breaks if either the GIVING or RECEIVING link is missing — and the group is only every individual’s actions together.
December 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
mmmm cake
December 1st, 2008 at 9:27 pm
So maybe rule three should be amended to something like – when you received all you can, spend some time giving something back but don’t be afraid to move on.