Joi Maria blogs at her web page The Joi Of Writing. Her home page is http://joimaria.typepad.com/. This blog appeared on her page yesterday and with her permission I am repeating the first half.
A Little Praise for Writing Groups
While some writers like critique groups, others dismiss them entirely, considering them to do more harm than good. Many in the second camp argue that writing groups, with all those varied opinions, foster a perpetual state of rewriting. Some writers internalize group criticism so much they begin to rewrite their work to satisfy the groupthink rather than themselves.
I understand that writers groups aren’t for everyone. Some people work better independently and are adept at critiquing their own writing. Others prefer to work in partnership with only one trusted fellow writer when it comes time for a second set of eyes to pass over their manuscripts. This was my preferred method of critique until five years ago, when my friend, Yvonne, and I started our own writing group.
Shortly before meeting Yvonne, I’d participated in a few local moderated critique groups. I’d been underwhelmed by those experiences, but still wanted to connect with other writers. I was looking for more than a critique group; I wanted to find a community. Since Yvonne was seeking the same thing, we joined research efforts. Not finding what we were looking for, we created our own solution and founded Write Inside the Loop.
Our mission was to create an intimate space for Houston-area fiction writers to share and receive feedback and constructive criticism, and we especially wanted to encourage each other to seek publication, be it through traditional means or self-publishing. We also wanted to foster a community where we could be serious about our writing and yet, not take ourselves too seriously. We work hard to make sure the presenting writers receive the best critiques to improve their craft, but we also play hard. We have the empty wine bottles to prove it.
On the occasion of our 5th Anniversary. Standing: yours truly. Clockwise from left: Jean Marcoux, Phyllis Ferguson, Eric Thuesen, Yvonne Aguirre, Russell Little, Jennifer Ettelson Besmehn, Sarah Smith, Bill Price.
Since our first member Phyllis joined in February 2011, we’ve grown to a core group of ten, all of whom bring something valuable to our version of the Algonquin Round Table. We’ve changed meeting locations quite a few times, but we’ve never changed our purpose: to provide a positive environment for writers to receive feedback and encouragement. It hasn’t always gone smoothly. We’ve had a few people join our group who turned out to be…let’s just say, not quite simpatico. Good thing we have no problem asking people not to return. We’ve also had writers join who were looking for confirmation of what they already believed to be true: that their writing was perfect as it was. After they received feedback to the contrary — and they always received feedback to the contrary — they withdrew from our group.
And then there was Russell Little.
The rest of Joi Maria’s blog is at her page: http://joimaria.typepad.com/joi_maria/2016/07/a-little-praise-for-writing-groups.html