The importance of a good Writing Group

I’ve returned to my favourite Writing Group.

I was away for a year for personal reasons but in the meantime, joined another who met fortnightly on Saturdays. There were some really great writers there, but we only had five minutes to read and five minutes for feedback.

But I continued until the organiser said something to me at our end of year drinks. She had been wondering what advantage I was getting from the group. This stayed with me, and when I attended the book launch of one of the members, two others were surprised I was already traditionally published. Like most in that group, they weren’t.

Shortly after, I left that group.

I initially went in search of a writing group because I was keen to improve my skills. I joined one which met monthly, but that was more of a catch up with the actual writing feedback done outside of our sessions. Then I joined a queer focussed one, but we didn’t achieve much due to varied attendance.

When the chance came to rejoin my favourite group, I didn’t hesitate.

There are four of us who meet weekly for three hours. We all have time to read a scene and get feedback. I workshopped a novel with this team in the past, and now I’m presenting a project I began five years ago.

Fellow writers pick up on things you miss.

I read a scene last week where a character named Ken visits Xander at home for dinner.

My fellow scribes were curious why Ken and Xander go out to pat the dog in the yard, leaving Xander’s boyfriend inside to cook. There was no motivational reason for the characters to go outside as they weren’t about to have a private conversation. In story terms, patting a dog isn’t a reason.

I explained that in previous drafts, Xander lived in an apartment while the house and dog belonged to a character named Lane. As the manuscript developed over time, Lane appeared much later in the book. Just before I completed the most recent draft, I remembered the dog switched owners, so I had to write the canine into more scenes.

I also realised that although Ken is Xander’s guest, he never offers Ken a drink. In my post-mortem rewrite, Ken is offered a drink and the conversation outside contains private elements.

My three fellow group members are wonderful.

One has been working on a whimsical novel for so long, I fear he’s overthinking it rewrite after rewrite. Another is typing the initial draft of her first book. The other is creating a thriller. Mine is a nostalgic tale of gay life back in the nineties.

An author needs other writers. It’s a way for networking opportunities to be shared, books to be recommended, and ideas to be workshopped.

Without these connections, your writing journey is limited.