Over the past years I’ve been part of three writing groups.
All had their merits, but the one I’ve rejoined this year is the best for several reasons. First off, it’s small. There are only four of us so every week, we each have time to present a scene and get feedback.
I’ve realised how important this is because I was part of one last year with so many members, we only had several minutes to read aloud and to listen to critique. We were often still presenting when the timer buzzed, so those sharing their thoughts could only critique from the portion they heard.
Another writing group changed from meeting weekly to only meeting monthly, as not all members were committed.
So, here’s what I’ve learnt from my favourite writing group.
Keep it small, and make sure everyone has a work in progress. Each week, each member prints off copies of the scene they will read aloud so all can read along, marking notes in red along the way.
Write down all your feedback.
Sometimes someone’s critique doesn’t make sense at the time, but later when you review, it does. One fellow scribe thought a paragraph of mine was too clunky and at the time I didn’t agree (but I kept that to myself). I realised he was right once I revisited the scene later that week.
Of course sometimes you won’t agree with what someone says about your work, and that’s fine. Still be open to critique. Don’t be the author who argues the point with your fellow writer. Although often, someone else will disagree on your behalf and healthy debates follow.
Offer creative ideas to add to someone’s scene.
I’ll give some examples here. There’s a prim and proper character in a work one of my fellow scribes is presenting and another group member suggested what their wardrobe might look like. This followed suggestions from all of us including how their look may change as they learn to relax later in the novel.
In a scene I presented, a character remembers an occasion he was nearly beaten up on a dark street. Someone suggested their recollection of this event should be fragmented, as some of it would have been suppressed.
There was a wedding scene in someone’s reading and I mentioned that there was not much said about the priest. No matter what church service it is, everyone has an opinion about the minister and as this book was written in first person, it made sense to weave that in. The writer agreed.
Inspire your fellow writers. You don’t know it all.
One group I was in had a member who was a dick. He could be really supportive, and he was great at crossing out lines from your manuscript which were unnecessary. But he’d put down a person’s writing when they were out of the room, or be difficult to their face. Sometimes his critique had no basis.
And he always fought back when you critiqued him. He thought he knew it all.
Everyone forgets the smaller plot points.
There’s a big difference when someone reads many chapters in an afternoon compared to only hearing one chapter a week. Those smaller plot points get lost.
For example, I read a chapter where a character mentions how bad the rehearsals were going for a cabaret he was appearing in. A fellow writer believed this was the first time this cabaret was mentioned. I reminded him the character said he was cast in this show a while back, but as that scene was presented several months prior, it was easy to forget.
In my current work in progress, an invitation to an art exhibition is first mentioned in a scene where it is stuck on a fridge. It is integral to the plot. When it came up again in a later scene, I asked my fellow scribes if they remember it from the earlier scene. No one did.
Your fellow writers will be way too curious.
They’ll want to know more about your story when you begin reading your opening scenes. It’s natural. When you sit down with a book, things are revealed when they need to be. It builds intrigue. But your fellow scribes will ask questions about things you don’t want them to know yet — they’d be spoilers if given away too early. Expect this. It happens.
I really encourage writing groups.
I was able to fast track the development of one of my manuscripts because of face to face feedback, and the friendly discussions which followed. The work became a deeper exploration of character with fewer drafts.
And as we often write solo, having a regular get together is a welcome change.
kevin klehr 