How to start a writing group

Marjorie Turner Hollman helps authors self-publish their books. She is also a disability advocate, sharing information about Easy Walks (not too many roots or rocks, relatively level with firm footing, and something of interest along the way) in open space. Link to all Marjorie’s books.

LISTEN:

You’ve thought of joining a writing group. Maybe someone has told you to join a writing group. Perhaps you have heard about how cut throat writing groups (sometimes called critique groups), can be. You have avoided going to a writing group.

But… that book you read where the author talks about how helpful the members of her writing group have been. Those writing conferences that people rave about (and pay good money to attend.)

How do you tell what group might be a good fit for you? Or … you tried being part of a group and discovered that the members had high expectations, and made what felt like overwhelming demands of their members. Or the group met for a while but the energy dissipated and slowly attendance dwindled and finally no one but you showed up.

Most of these scenarios were me. Except I short circuited most of them by not even trying. Deciding I was unwilling to take the risk of being shot down, being told I was less than. Imposter syndrome has a standing reservation at my house.

And then I read a post by Susanna Sturgis,  describing her writing group on Martha’s Vineyard. That’s pretty far for me to travel. But their group’s format intrigued me.

I reached out to Susanna. Asked for more details of their organization. Gained enough of an idea of what they did that I could imagine putting together a group using their model as a starting point.

But I didn’t want the full responsibility of having to show up every meeting. Life happens. To all of us. My neighbor Amy and I took a walk along our lake.

Amy’s an amazing writer. She writes books quite different from my own. She spends her writing life in the fictional world. My strength is in non-fiction.

I broached the subject of starting a writing group. Would she be willing to partner with me to organize it?

Lucky for me (and many other local and not so local writers) she said Yes! We approached our local library to ask for space to host the group. I kept Susanna up to date on our progress. She ended up writing another blog post about how our group was born.That was seven plus years ago.

Amy and I still run the group. We have not missed a month this past seven years. Sometimes both of us attend, and on rare occasions neither of us can be there, but the group members step up and carry on without us. (Membership is granted after attending one of our meetings. That’s our only requirement.)

What’s the secret? That’s hard for me to pin down. Is it the structure? The winsomeness of the organizers? The amazingly talented writers who live in our neighborhood? Perhaps none of the above.

What we do each month is invite the community to join us and bring something they are working on. We read a portion of our work aloud to the rest of group. Depending upon how many people bring something to read, we allot 5-8 minutes—a taste, but not the entire piece.

Some of our members have published their writing. Others may have plans to publish or have no intention of doing so. Their goals have no relation to how we value their work. You might be interested in some of our members’ published writing.

Amy is my neighbor—here’s a link to one of her books—she has lots more.

Jamie writes about vampires. A nice one, along with others that are not so nice. Here are some of his books.

Christine writes memoir. Here’s an article she had published

Bill writes historical fiction with a touch of horror (I can listen to these—they are not too scary).

Jeff is our most recent published author. He read to us month after month from his work in progress.

I am best known for my series of Easy Walks in Massachusetts trail guides and memoir.

People who want to share more are invited to post the whole piece on our secret Facebook page. It’s only open to people who have shown up in person at least once. Don’t bother looking for it.

Then we invite feedback. Encouraging feedback. Specific observations. Places we felt confused. Something that touched us deeply.

I wonder if the thing that keeps people coming back is the laughter. We laugh so hard, mostly at the joy of listening to a person read something they care about. There’s the joy of creation. The sharing of a funny story. Some of  us write with such droll humor that I (and many others) really cannot stop giggling.

During the pandemic, our group resorted to meeting by Zoom. Different set up for sure, but we still spent time together. Because of our isolation, Alida suggested we start a “group write” project. She kicked it off. One by one, others in the group took up where the previous writer had left off. Like other “round robin” stories, this one took some unexpected turns and developed a theme that tied the writing together. Well, sort of. The ridiculous became the insistent thread. Who knew that deli meats could offer such entertainment? Here’s the whole story, if you were interested.

The stories that people bring to our group are not always humorous. Some are heartbreaking. We don’t laugh at those. We thank the writer for trusting us to listen and for being willing to make themselves vulnerable. After a story of that tenor, the next person will read their own work. Invariably, there is laughter. And the person who shared so deeply from the heart joins in. Their pain, grief, or story of loss does not consume the group. We mourn with those who mourn. Then we rejoice (often with laughter) at the wonder of a new creation. We make room for all these sentiments, but none overshadows or prevents other feelings from being shared.

Life happens. The ebb and flow of “regulars” has been a consistent aspect of our group. Some have joined us for extended periods of time. For others, job commitments interfere. Family responsibilities take precedence. People move. After a move, some members have continued to drive, some quite a distance, to spend a precious hour and a half with us each month.

We do have some rules. Very few. When new folks join us, we try to remember to restate these “rules.” One—we insist on no proselytizing—religion, politics, bake sales. Two—we ask that erotica be kept home where it belongs. Three—we do not forbid horror, but I need a heads up so I can leave the room. For some of us, life has included enough horror for a lifetime. We really do not need to purposely seek it out.

Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. They’re all welcome. But you will get just a few minutes to read. It’s only fair. We have so many talented writers. Providing a platform to share our stories is a joy. But no one gets to hog the spotlight. Our designated timer (not me!) makes sure to keep us in line.

Will you find a group like ours? Probably not. Each of us is different. Same with writing groups. But if there is not a writing group that meets your needs, maybe you’ll decide to start your own. There are no guarantees. We had no idea when we started that our little gathering would still be going strong these seven years later.

We just started. And kept showing up. An announcement in the local paper and in the library newsletter is about all we do to advertise. It’s not a secret, and the people who need us seem to find our group.

I think that’s a strength of this gathering. It’s self-selected, for sure. It’s a very low commitment event. Show up, bring something you’d like to share, and read it. Or let another member read it for you. Or just listen. That’s it. And it’s enough. Probably the most fun I have in the entire month. What’s so fun about it? That’s hard to say. People just keep creating and sharing little pieces of themselves, expressed in writing.

It’s that simple, and that magical. Magic is not something you can conjure, even though magicians might lead you to believe it’s possible. What we have learned, however, is that “just showing up” can make a difference. But you may never know unless you try. Take that first step if you wish. It’s the best place to start.

Marjorie