Writing Groups

WritingGroup1I’m a firm believer in the power of writing groups. Perhaps I indirectly learned their power from my participation in Toastmasters, Int’l many years ago. Toastmasters is based on the concept that peers can use basic training materials to mentor each other as they develop their ability to communicate in groups. In retrospect I realize I received a heap of benefits from my Toastmasters experience:

A continuing audience. My fellow club members listened to me time after time, which enabled them to track my progress in a meaningful way and provide helpful feedback.

Action deadlines. Speakers must perform, and need audiences. Writers can write in solitude, but the commitment to share with a  group is powerfully motivating.

Structure. In the beginning, the Toastmasters manuals provided guidance through initial steps of learning to organize and deliver short speeches. Writing groups that begin with classes also offer this advantage. Over time I moved beyond the manuals, but still benefited from the structure of a group that regularly held well-planned and organized meetings.

New friends. This proved to be a fringe benefit I had not expected. Members of Toastmasters clubs tend to become well-acquainted and close friendships often develop. The same is true, perhaps even more so, in writing groups especially life writing groups.

Group effort. Learning to communicate in groups is not something you can do alone. It takes a group. Toastmasters fills that need.

Not all writing groups are equally successful. I’ve belonged to a few that fizzled. One was a general writing group that met at a Barnes & Noble store many years ago. The group had no formal leader and completely dissolved when a scary person began attending. Another was begun by a person with personality quirks that send new members fleeing. A third was formed by several mature women who saw writing as a career enhancement tool. All became too busy to continue.

The groups that have been the  most rewarding and helpful have been life writing groups. All the ones I’m currently involved with spun off from classes I began teaching with the specific intention of keeping myself writing. Members of these groups have grown to feel like family. Each of these groups provides the same benefits as a Toastmasters club: a group of people who regularly read each other’s work, provide feedback and monitor progress, deadlines for writing, a certain amount of structure (especially in the preliminary classes), group effort and new friends.

I especially stress that last factor. There is something about sharing stories from our lives that opens hearts and bonds people. There’s another advantage to hearing other people’s stories: new story ideas flow thick and heavy, nurturing creativity and expanding the reach of personal memory.

As members move on to other areas, new groups are beginning to form. To encourage the development of more groups all over the country and the world, I’m planning to showcase a few groups I know of. If you belong to a group and would like to have it featured, please send me an e-mail.  If you’d like to start a group, stay tuned. Guidelines for starting and maintaining a thriving group will be forthcoming.

Write now: write an essay about your experience with writing groups or other support groups. If you belong to a group, write about the people in it and your experiences. How do you feel about the group? What would you change? How has it helped you? If you don’t belong to a group and would like to, make plans to find one or start one.

Photo credit: James Mitchell

9 comments :

Sara Tucker said...

Sharon, you mention that you are currently involved with several life-writing groups that started out as classes of yours. Does that mean that you continue to lead these groups? Or does somebody else take on the leadership role after the class formally ends?

Sharon Lippincott said...

Great question Sarah. I never agree to be part of a post-class group as the "official leader." That would make it a class. I participate in the writing like others do, and they must agree to meet if I can't be there, which is often the case -- I travel a lot. I generally wait until others have offered feedback before I add a few final thoughts. I benefit as much as the others from the observations about structure and what's left out. Sometimes typos, etc.

Linda said...

Sharon, I long to find a quality writers group. I attended an excellent group in Spokane, WA, but now we live in MO. I have not been able to find a group in my area, but I'm still looking.

Thank you for your blogs and your inspiration.

Linda

Sharon Lippincott said...

Linda
I hope you are able to either find one or start one. Your experience with the one in Spokane should be helpful in starting a new one. It's easy to start a group for and with new writers, but perhaps more challenging to convene a group of serious, experienced writers ... Best wishes on this challenge

kathleen pooler said...

HI Sharon,
Great post. I agree-involvement in a writing group is essential to keep momentum and perspective. Linda Joy's memoir workshops by phone really help me stay focused and disciplined and great relationships are developed in sharing our stories. But I do yearn for a face-to-face group.A few lone writers from my area have started meeting regularly but we do not have a structure. Once in a while our leader gives us a writing prompt or we read something we've written to the group. Most of the time we end up talking about computer-related issues or social media as our leader is a computer whiz and I'm a Boomer struggling to catch up! But I would love to hear some ideas on getting an effective group going.Thanks for listening.

Sara Tucker said...

Any group needs an effective leader or it will drift or fall apart. I'm curious: How do people feel about groups that hire a leader—a person with leadership skills and writing experience who functions not so much as an instructor but as a facilitator/host, somebody to keep the groups focused and inspired. Is that a service worth paying for?

Sharon Lippincott said...

Kathleen and Sarah,

I'm going to give some deep thought to these worthy questions. Right now I'm spending time with family, so won't have the opportunity to concentrate for a bit, but will address these concerns soon, in collaboration with some other writing group veterans. Perhaps other readers will have some thoughts.

Keep the questions coming!

Sharon Lippincott said...

Years later as I reread Sarah's question I suddenly recall that a friend once paid money to belong to a writing group led by a published author. At some point, said friend realized that although the leader did give valuable advice about writing, the person was emotionally abusive and overall, the workshops were damaging my friend's mental health.

That's not to say such groups are bad. It's just a warning to stay alert to undercurrents in groups and leadership.

Lindy B said...

I facilitate a Life Writing Group, under the banner of U3A Gympie in SE Queensland, Australia. This group has come about after I had tutored a Memoir Writing Class for a couple of years. Tutors in U3A do not need formal qualifications, just a body of knowledge or experience they are willing to share with others in the community at a minimal cost. And I must say it’s not so much about teaching, more about sharing and learning from each other. It came to a point where I felt I had come to the end of what I could present to a class, but everyone wanted to continue.
Thus I formed the Life Writing Group and we have continued to meet each week for several years now. We have all grown and improved our writing skills, and have become a lovely friendship group in the process. I continue to lead the group, which really just means running each meeting, ensuring everyone is heard and that the critiquing is always helpful and positive.
Life Writing is not as restrictive as memoir, and suits the diverse writing aims and desires of the members.
We have some members making great strides in the aim for publication. Projects vary, with one member taking factual family history and turning it into a wonderful tale, staying true to the facts, but fleshing out the characters from her imagination. It is so rewarding to see the story come to life in this way.
The discipline of meeting weekly has kept us on track and writing. The discussions following a reading always inspire further writing.
In Term 3 beginning soon, I propose to devise some short writing challenges, prompts etc to start each meeting. Just a bit of fun that may help some who need to develop that habit of writing, even when not inspired. Just write.
I’m hoping to publish an anthology this year, from works produced by members of the Group.
Enjoying reading your Blog posts, thanks Sharon.