The Good and The Bad: Writing Groups
Are you a member of a writing group or organization?
Last week I blogged about the 25,000 member Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and about a regional meeting I attended. Certainly, the time and money to join an organization can be a major investment. There are good points and some not so good when you sign up.
The Options
There are many, many groups where all are welcome to specific genres only, online or in a town near you. Some organizations are new, and some have been around for decades. Membership fees range from affordable to hundreds of dollars. The meetings can give you a place where you might share your work with a living, breathing human in structured critique sessions, or maybe you’re learning story craft and networking every month.
Some groups utilize local talent, and this is good because you can rub elbows with the multi-published writers in your own area. Other groups have the budgets to host conferences featuring successful agents, editors and award winning authors as speakers. Find a roomie to split expense, and go. Learning about your craft is always good. I know several writers who find inspiration in online groups where members may live all over the world and will never meet face-to-face.
The Good
Networking and gaining knowledge in your chosen profession is nothing new in the corporate world. Writers however tend to disappear into the artistic expression of their fictional worlds and overlook that there’s a whole industry involved in the process. I’ll never forget the first writers’ conference I attended in Amarillo ten years ago. Overwhelming seems hardly the right word to sufficiently describe the range of emotions I experienced that weekend. I was blown away as I listened to a real, live New York City editor share insight on the industry. I realized she loved a good story as much as I did. Other speakers included a California agent, a major magazine editor, several publishers, an award winning poet, and a New York Times bestselling author–all in one weekend.
That conference changed my writing life. I discovered that crafting stories is big business and these people do not take their job lightly. This is serious work. The most significant thing I realized is that there are many opportunities for submissions, and I learned this from talking to other writers. I was amazed at the variety of venues in which people have their work published. There’s nothing more inspiring than someone telling you about how they worked hard to realize their dreams.
The Bad
Joining a group includes participating, and what I’ve found out by participating is that it can zap your creativity and time. I’ve served on boards, volunteered to chair committees, organized events, and judged writing contests. All of which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. And I’ve met some wonderful people who have since become dear friends. I also met my amazing critique partners, WordsmithSix, through our local writer’s organization.
Beware: the group you’ve spent the most time building can take an ugly turn. People are people. Personalities, varying leadership visions, conflict, and jealousies take their toll on the inner workings of successful organizations. It’s a horrible, festering disease that drives members apart and turns meetings into a stressful experience. It’s frustrating. At the point you feel that you’re being sucked into the drama, it might be time to break away.
If a similar experience has happened to you, the time may come to change directions, break ties, and find inspiration in another direction. It’s as simple as that. Do not waste creative energy worrying about people that drive you crazy, and I say this as a warning. Don’t give up on being a part of a writing organization either. There are many wonderful groups out there.
I don’t know about you, but I need people around me who energize me, inspire me to produce the best, and are genuine cheerleaders. I want to hang with writers who are obsessed with words and story as much as I am. I must have a network of professionals.
You can’t loose sight of the big picture, and you need positive friends who are also writers to remind you of that fact. The big picture is this: YOU have a novel to finish. YOU have sparks of stories in your head just waiting to be written. YOU will persevere.
Leave the drama behind. Polish, polish, polish—be brave—submit!
Happy writing!
Wordsmith Six 