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Finding Your Writing Community by Katie Tynan

There is no way to get around the fact that writing is a solitary activity. It is just you and the blank screen, or possibly an empty piece of paper. But once you’ve gotten something written down, you have to decide what you are going to do with it. Are you off to a good start? Is it ready to share? Will anyone like it?

In these days of WordPress and Blogger, plenty of people are posting their compositions and opinions unabashedly online. Yet if you aren’t the intrepid blogging type but think you are ready for some feedback and support, or a little nudge to get you writing again, perhaps it’s time you look into becoming part of a writers’ group.

Not all that different from a book group, a writer’s group brings people together in pursuit of a common passion. Just as readers get together and talk about what they’ve read, writers get together and talk about what they’ve written.

Sometimes called a critique group or a “workshopping” group, a writers’ group can be as formal as people getting together at regularly scheduled meetings with a paid leader and set rules for participation or as simple as joining a friend once a week to offer feedback on each other’s work. Some groups bring works in progress to read and then critique; others e-mail work ahead of time so that the meeting can be completely devoted to giving feedback. Still others set aside time to write, read and critique during the two or three hours they meet.

Theo Pauline Nestor, author of How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed and an instructor in the University of Washington extension program, started a group with writers she met as a student in the Master of Fine Arts program at UW. They’ve been meeting once a week in a café to critique each other’s work for the past 10 years.

“We read one piece a week before the meeting and spent most of our time discussing that piece, rather than just socializing,” says Nestor. “Meeting in a neutral space (with good parking!) helped foster a democratic climate.”

Local author Jennie Shortridge (Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe and When She Flew) has been in a number of writers’ groups. “When I was writing my first novel, I started with a group in which we were all just starting out on first novels. We were able to go through the process together, which was really helpful, sharing chapter by chapter,” she says. “I’ve also had success in groups where everyone was at a different level and writing different things because there’s always something to learn from other kinds of writers as well.”

What to Expect

It can be hard to get enough distance from your writing to know if a reader will connect with what you’re trying to say. Midge Raymond, a Seattle writer whose first collection of short stories (Forgetting English) has just been published by Eastern Washington University Press, found that a writing group helped her overcome this. “It’s always so difficult to see one’s own work objectively. We were able to help each other with the things we couldn’t see for ourselves.”

It’s much easier to discuss what works and what doesn’t in someone else’s writing because you don’t have the same emotional attachment that you have to your own writing, and critiquing what someone else has written can strengthen your ability to edit your own work.

Getting feedback can not only help solve problems in your writing, it may also help you develop tougher skin. It’s been said that for a writer, being rejected is similar to a quarterback getting knocked down: There is one-hundred percent certainty that sooner or later it will happen. When it does, it doesn’t mean you should quit altogether. A critique group can encourage you to get back up when discouragement sets in, offering the support of a team, a coach and a cheerleading squad combined.

Paraphrasing Mary Pipher, best-selling author of Reviving Ophelia and Writing to Change the World, local writing instructor Vincent Kovar recently told a writing class at Richard Hugo House in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood that getting together with other writers “is like [having] a little bubble of support in an otherwise indifferent world.”

“Having a group reminds you that what you’re doing is worthwhile,” notes Raymond. “It’s important and wonderful to connect to other writers who appreciate the hard work, the process, the ups and downs of publication,” she says, stressing that it’s important “to be among people who understand what it means to write.”

Another benefit is accountability. According to Raymond, “One of the most helpful things about any writers’ group is that it forces you to show up with a scene, or a chapter or a story. A regular group gives you deadlines, which is important when you’re trying to fit writing into an otherwise busy life.”

As for me, I was in a writers’ group for many years that sprang from a class on personal essay writing. In addition to attending readings, we went to several out-of-town overnight conferences and workshops together. I’m not sure my writing improved, but it sure was a lot of fun, and it helped develop the kind of trust essential to putting words down on paper without the fear of getting it “wrong.”

What Makes a Group Successful?

“It’s best if writers in a group have the same goals and perhaps are working in the same genre,” says Raymond. “I was in one group in which we had such a mix of genres — memoir, novels, short fiction, genre fiction — it was difficult to switch gears.”

She goes on to point out that having different levels of commitment to writing can also present problems. “The members in this group also had very different goals — some were writing just for fun, others were aiming for publication — and because of this, the group became more social than ‘writerly’ and eventually disbanded.”

For Jennie Shortridge, a group is productive “when each member is able to view their own work and others’ work as pieces of writing that are not emotionally attached to the humans who produced them. The point is to share what works about the piece and what may be getting in the way of the reader’s experience.”

In Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher notes that her writing group was responsible for the success of her best seller Reviving Ophelia. She had planned to name it “The Social, Emotional, And Cognitive Issues of Early Adolescent Females,” but after howling with laughter, her group urged her to come up with a better title. She also writes about the members of the group helping each other grow: “We have corrected mistakes gently, and cheered each other on. We have soothed and joked with each other when we received rejections, and we have celebrated one another’s victories. In short, we have built our writing lives together.”

Having people to share your writing with can provide useful feedback, but Shortridge advises that it’s important to get the right kind of feedback and to know if you should take it. “Always, always, listen to your own gut. If advice resonates, take it. If it doesn’t, don’t. Be true to yourself and to your vision of your writing. Let others show you where you’re not quite getting your message through, but then you solve the problem,” she says.

Feedback and critique should always be kind. If you find yourself in a situation where the discussion becomes mean-spirited, walk out the door like you would on a bad date and start looking for another group.

Getting Started

Now that you know how a writers’ group might help you, how do you go about finding one? There are plenty of local groups meeting in borrowed library rooms, bookstores or coffee shops. Couth Buzzard Books (8310 Greenwood Avenue N in Seattle), for example, hosts Writing with Marilyn on Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m., and West Seattle Writers’ Group (www.westseattlewriters.blogspot.com), which meets the second Tuesday of the month at Ginomai (4401 42nd Ave SW), is actively seeking writers.

Perusing bulletin boards at local bookstores or coffee shops is one way to connect with open groups like these that welcome whoever shows up to participate, or private groups looking to recruit one or two new members.

You can also check online at Meetup.com, the popular website with the mission of helping people around the world “self-organize.” At www.writers.meetup.com/cities/us/wa/seattle/ you’ll find over a dozen groups, including the Seattle Women Writers Meetup Group which hosts workshops, guided exercises, social events and guest speakers. Amy Pierce, the group’s current organizer, values the group not just for the inspiration and support it gives to the writers who participate but for the lasting friendships she’s made through it.

“It can be hard for women to connect, but I’ve seen other members also develop strong friendships that extend beyond the group,” she says.

Shortridge suggests going to places where you can meet and hang out with other writers, like writers’ workshops and conferences, writing organizations or author readings at bookstores.

“Talk with other writers. If you feel compatible with a person and their writing ideas, talk about groups. Do they have one? Might you form one?”

You can also try creative writing classes in continuing education programs at local universities or community colleges. Nestor suggests trying Richard Hugo House.

“Look for a group where you feel at ease and accepted. Avoid groups that you’re going to have to be extra clever and hip to fit into,” she advises. “Consider starting your own group, which would allow you to invite in people you know you’d like to work with.”

For those who are struggling to fit writing into an already busy life, an online writing group might be a good option because it gives you the flexibility of not having a set schedule. Just as with an in-person group, there are many iterations: groups focusing on same genre or different genres, self-propelled groups versus ones facilitated by a leader, or those that meet once a week instead of once a month.

Your choice will also depend on what you want from your writing — are you embracing writing as a hobby or do you want to pursue it as a full-time career? And remember, as with a face-to-face group, it can take some time to find a good fit.

If an online group appeals to you, the magazine Writer’s Digest publishes an annual list of “101 Best Websites” which includes a category for best online writing communities (see sidebar).
Another way to find an online community is to look at the websites of authors you like, especially those who are just starting out in their publishing careers. They will often have links to sites they have found helpful in the development of their work.

Although Midge Raymond has never participated in a formal online group, her current writers’ group includes a member who travels a lot for work, so they bring him in via Skype. “We’ve tried meeting via conference call as well, but we found that face-to-face is so much better, even if it’s virtual.”

On the other hand, Shortridge notes: “When telling another human, face-to-face, that something isn’t working about the writing, we’re often compelled to soft-pedal it, to try to make it more palatable rather than just being direct. My rule of thumb when critiquing anyone’s work: Begin with all the things that are going well in the piece, that work great, that make you sigh or laugh or believe. Tell the rest in very concrete and non-emotional terms.”

Yet another route is hiring a writing coach. Theo Pauline Nestor, who also coaches writing, says a coach can work well for people with busy schedules who don’t feel they have the time to read other people’s writing and give feedback. A coach might also be a good idea if you are getting conflicting advice in a group or want more personalized attention.

“It could also be productive to work with a writing coach and participate in a writing group at the same time. The group provides some feedback, inspiration and accountability, but a coach can give more extensive feedback and help with the overall structure of the manuscript,” says Nestor.

Either way, you’ll very likely benefit from reaching out to get a little help in shaping your talent. You may need to muster some courage to take that first step toward forming or joining a writers’ group, but chances are you’ll be surprised by the generous spirit of encouragement and support you’ll find. Whatever your writing goals — personal, career, hobby, vocation, avocation — any writing life is well served by finding that community.

Katie Tynan is a frequent contributor to Seattle Woman.

RESOURCES

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Avenue, Seattle
206-322-7030
www.hugohouse.org
This center for the literary arts offers classes, workshops, readings and more.

826 Seattle
8414 Greenwood Avenue N, Seattle
206-725-2625
www.826seattle.org
In addition to great programs for kids, this nonprofit writing center offers occasional adult workshops.

Field’s End
Bainbridge Island
www.fieldsend.org or info@fieldsend.org
Affiliated with the Bainbridge Public Library, this writer’s community offers classes and events and a writers’ conference each spring.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference (Oct 1–3) In its 25th year, this is an especially good conference for both beginning and journeyman-level writers. Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, will be this year’s keynote speaker.
425-771-0228, www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/ArtsCommission

Emerald City Writers Conference (Oct 1–3) Put on by the Greater Seattle chapter of Romance Writers of America at Bellevue Hilton. The group also holds monthly meetings at Mercer Island Library. www.gsrwa.org

HELPFUL WEBSITES

www.shewrites.com Features a forum section where you can join informal chats or more formal feedback groups.

www.writers.com Hosts free unmoderated writers’ groups.

www.absolutewrite.com Offers a wide variety of helpful forums, particularly for those interested in genre writing.

www.writersdigest.com/101bestsites/ Includes a category of best online writing communities in its annual list.

www.writers.meetup.com/cities/us/wa/seattle Maintains profiles of dozens of local groups, some of which are open and others you can request to join.

Author websites can be a good source of encouragement and information. Check out the sites for the authors quoted in this story:

www.jennieshortridge.com
www.midgeraymond.com
www.theopaulinenestor.com

©Copyright 2010, Caliope Publishing Company