Gather your allies

Not sure why I keep going with these overdramatic titles. I’m sure it says something about my emotional make up.
Or maybe it’s the topic for a future blog…?

Anyway, this time I thought I’d talk about writers groups and why I think if you are an aspiring writer, you should find yourself one and partake of its wisdom and camaraderie.
At its core, a writers group is just a bunch of struggling amateur writers gathered to share their work, get and give some constructive criticism and just hang out and chat with like-minded folks.
Back in the dark ages, I was young and finally deciding to make the jump and send my writing out into the world. Two rejections later, I was feeling fairly dejected and unsure what my next step would be. I stumbled upon some notices at a local bookshop, where a couple writers groups were looking for new members.
With a gentle, loving nudge from my wife, I gathered up my notebooks, joined a writer’s group and never looked back.
They have introduced me to the wonder of not overusing commas, gotten me better at balancing dialog and action and shown me that I’m not the only one that spends his life with stories constantly running through his head.
As my friend Lucie asked one time ‘what kind of voices do people who don’t write hear?”
The general set up of a writer’s group (and this is taken from my vast experience of the two I’ve been in) is about a half dozen of us gather, share our work, either reading it out loud or bringing copies for the others to read, and then go around the table beating the poor victim bloody until we’ve broken their spirit.
Just kidding. Even at its most brutal criticism, I think my group has only made no more then two people cry.
Relax, that was a joke too. There have been a few instances when new members wandered off after a couple critiques and/or anything less than glowing praise of their work. Mostly poets, but that’s a whole other blog post.
We go around the table, each person talking about what they liked in the writing, asking questions about it and pointing out where it had weak spots or the story could be told better.
In my writer’s group, the unwritten rule is if you say a story sucks, you better be able to articulate why it sucks and make some helpful suggestions on how it can not suck.
I’m sure members of my group could put that more diplomatically, but that’s the general idea, in my mind, of how a writer’s group should work.
We want to help and encourage other writers, but are doing them no good by codling or sparing feelings, but there is also no point in being mean about it.
We’re all in this together and who knows, someone we help may become the next J.K. Rowling and want to shower us with cash to say thanks.
The group format works well (again, this is not carved in stone, it, like everything in this blog, is my humble opinion), as different people will see different things in a story.
In my group, we all write and enjoy reading different genres, so each story gets a different perspective and things will be noticed that a regular fan of the genre might miss or not think about. Not being familiar with a genre, they would ask questions that would get you to think about your story. Having to explain things to an outsider or another writer gets you focused on the story and helps you see things you might have missed. Plus, some people are better at grammar and structure. The combination of different strengths is a big help.
I’m the first to admit, (and anyone from my writer’s group that reads this will no doubt back me up) I have a tendency to get so caught up in telling the story, that I can become a tiny bit blind to the mechanics of writing.
Along with all that practical help and support, there is also a social aspect to being part of a writers group. Let’s face it, writing can be a lonely calling, so having the shared experience and being able to talk about the idea part of writing with people who don’t give you a tolerant look and nod as they slowly back away is refreshing.
These are people who will understand you being upset over the death of somebody fictional, or your frustration over getting a story to work, or just to be happy with you when everything clicks and you are particularly proud of a bit of dialogue, scene or character. Having that support net to fall back on is a big help when you have been staring at a blank page for hours and have come to understand why so many famous writers were alcoholics and suicides.
Now, for my younger readers out there who are saying ‘what are these bookstores that you speak of?” finding a writer’s group is easier these days because there are many online writers groups/communities and it’s easier to track them down. They range from general gathering places for writers to groups the focus on specific genres. Plus, there are a huge amount of fanfiction sites, which also contain forums for reviews and writers’ discussions.
But, fanfiction is a whole other blog topic.
If you are an old fashioned guy, like myself, and not a huge fan of electronic interaction, you can seek out writers groups by checking out the public bulletin boards at local bookstores, coffee shops or the library.
Though, if you are an old fashioned kind of guy with a dislike of electronic interaction, how are you reading this?
Okay, after all that rambling, let me conclude by just say, I think getting hooked up with a writers group is a big help to anyone out there, toiling in obscurity and can offer a lot of help, both practical and social.
Course, anyone from my group that reads all this glowing praise will be insufferable smug at our next meeting.