Whether or not this outpouring of advice makes a difference depends on one thing: how fluid writers consider their drafts to be. When Anne Gere did research on writing groups, she found that one of the most important keys to their success is “textual indeterminacy,” that is, the writer’s ability to stay open to the possibility of substantial change. This helps explain the effectiveness of the Inklings. As they met and talked about their work, they viewed each manuscript as a work in progress.
