Once together, clearly defined operating guidelines and member expectations are essential to keeping your writing group running smoothly.
Together, your group should consider and agree upon:
- Attendance expectations (can members come and go as they wish? or is regular attendance preferred?)
- A clear process for recruiting, approving and welcoming new members (do you prefer a trial period? a personal recommendation from another member? asking a potential member to submit a writing sample?)
- A confidentiality agreement — what we share in our writing can be personal and sensitive; an agreement that any writing shared or discussed in the writing group stays in the writing group is essential to creating a safe space.
- A process for submitting work (what is the minimum/maximum number of pages a writer can submit? how far in advance should material be submitted? how should it be submitted — via email, in person at the previous meeting, or through a private online file sharing service like Google Docs or Yahoo Groups?)
- A process for reading work (do you expect extensive written comments on the submitted manuscripts, in addition to the group discussion? do you want readers to focus on larger, more structural issues, on language and grammar, or a mix of both?)
- A process for critiquing work — generally following the pattern of discussing “what works”, before moving on to “areas of improvement” (how many critiques do you have time to offer at each meeting? do you want to establish a minimum amount of time guaranteed to each critique? do you want submitters to read a page or small portion of their submission at the start of their critique? do you want reviewers to formally share their feedback, each taking their turn — or do you want more of a free-flowing conversation? do you want the submitter to participate, or would you rather they be a silent observer until the end, when they can ask questions?)
- Measures of accountability (how do you keep yourself and each other accountable to your shared guidelines? do you have a time-keeper ensuring critiques do not go over their allotted time? do you review your member expectations on a regular basis? do you have a mechanism for members to respectfully get discussion back on track when it has strayed from the objective?)
Other ideas to consider:
- To keep things feeling fresh, and to keep your writing muscles nimble: Offer a common writing exercise to do during or in-between group meetings. Allow members to share as desired; discuss what you enjoyed or were challenged by during the exercise.
- Honor the fact that members all lead full lives and (ideally) enjoy each other’s company: Have a brief social time before getting to work — but make sure to stick to a time limit, or else you risk losing focus on the reason you’re together!
- Feed your curiosity and your craft: Consider occasionally including readings, book chapters and articles about writing craft; share in advance of your meeting and lead a short discussion about the topics raised, before moving on to the critiques.
- Share resources: Hear about an interesting writing workshop? A journal looking for submissions? Share these tidbits with members of your group — and make sure at least one member records them for future reference.
- Stay connected: Consider an email listserv, a private Yahoo Group (or similar product), or even a website where members can share their work and stay connected in between group meetings.
- Celebrate success: Every writing-related accomplishment should be celebrated! Whether it’s landing a story or poem in a journal or an op-ed in the local paper, or winning a writing contest, successfully applying for a writing residency, getting an agent, or something as seemingly simple as meeting the month’s word count goal, our successes should be shared and celebrated!
Write Now Wisconsin 