Evening with the Writers Group
I’ve just returned from the monthly writers group I attend. As always, I come away amazed and energized by the different genres and writing styles. Each member has their own critique style, too.
Our group is small, with a smaller core membership. I find I am more willing to risk sharing with a consistent group. Tonight I brought three scenes from roughly the middle of the novel I wrote in August. The last scene didn’t have the punch I thought it should have and I was hoping for some feedback.
I got it, along with some insight into what would give the scene more depth and richer detail. I came home with comments, observations, and most importantly, encouragement. I have solid information to use in revising the scenes, which makes me a happy writer indeed.
Not all of us bring work. I bring pieces maybe every 2-3 months because I’m writing longer things. This works for me because I can concentrate on the work of others without the distraction of having to give my piece up for comment. I have just as much fun helping others as I do getting good feedback.
The main reason I keep going, however, is to force myself to put words out there. It’s very different from beta readers over the internet or long distance. Immediate feedback, body language, noting where people smile or laugh, and being able to bring all the comments home at once sure doesn’t hurt. Face to face vulnerability is far different from the more anonymous internet interaction. I’m shy and sometimes insecure. I need to push myself to talk about my work face to face, to give it to others face to face. I might get better critiques from Cassie or Anthony and though both require trust, each develops a different kind of confidence.
Just some observations and thoughts. Anyone else attend writers groups? What has your experience been?
I haven’t had the benefit of a face to face group, barring one experience at a class workshop which was very good, so have had to rely on feedback at a distance. I definitely think it does require a little more guts to put yourself out there in person, hell I have a hard enough time sometimes just doing it online! (can you believe I feel nervous about posting just the blurb I wrote for my nano novel??), anyways, it’s great that you have access to both, maybe one day we’ll get a physical group up and running here!
Trying to find local writers is hard for me, so I just focus on my online friends.
With that said, I would be happy to look at anything you toss my way.