Some thoughts on my writer’s group

June 11, 2009 in resources, writer, writing tips
Tags: critique, feedback, group, organizing, writer

One member who joined the group not long ago admitted that the driving to my house for the meetings was a bit too much for her. This is perfectly understanding these days considering the gas prices. I wasn’t offended at all when she opted to start her own group. Unfortunately, it takes more than general interest to keep a group going.

She soon discovered only one or two people would show up, if any at all. Only a handful of people even signed up. I emailed her, assuring her that given time more writers would join. I encountered the very same thing with my group’s early beginnings.

I didn’t mind if people didn’t show being our meetups were at a book store. I’d content myself for an evening of reading and perusing books. As I began to take more interest in having a successful group, I took more action towards that goal.

This meant I personally welcomed each and every writer who joined the group. I posted messaged, regardless if anyone commented. I started having meetings with topics that a writer might find intriguing such as character development, writing exercises, and breaking through writer’s blocks. More people joined. More people attended.

Eventually the group expanded from two to three to as many as ten. This is about the size you’d want. Any more, and meetings tend to get noisy and complicated. You have to expect members to even start breaking into smaller groups.

Now we’re getting responses for sponsorship, published authors wanting to speak, and we even had a real movie producer speak to the members about submitting scripts. I think with persistence, luck, and most importantly, a wonderful group of fellow writers, I couldn’t have made it this far.

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