So, I Joined a Local Writer's Group

[McKenna]

Because evidently coming here every day and feeling guilty for not writing wasn't incentive enough to get me off me arse and get something done.



What do you do outside of Lit to pursue your writing?


(Oh, yeah, there is the technical writing gig I do for a living, but that's not the same as writing fiction, sadly.)

 

[TxRad]

I joined the local writing group for a while where I live. Right off the bat it was obvious that I had nothing to share with these people since they met at the local church. Somehow my smut didn't seem like a good subject to bring up and a sample of my writing was out of the question.

The main thing I do outside Lit to help my writing is what I've always done. Observe people.

 

[impressive]

What do you do outside of Lit to pursue your writing?

Submit it to publishers.

 

[rgraham666]

I occasionally take a writing course.

Those are interesting. Without exception it's mostly women on average 25 to 30 years younger than me.

They never approve of what I write either.

 

[Vermilion]

I've just e-mailed a local writers' group... I don;t need the motivation, so much as I need the company of like-minded people - it's worth a shot, hey?

x
V

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I don't. Even though I have started non-porn projects, I only get along with anyone here because we have all written smut

 

[neonlyte]

Because evidently coming here every day and feeling guilty for not writing wasn't incentive enough to get me off me arse and get something done.



What do you do outside of Lit to pursue your writing?


(Oh, yeah, there is the technical writing gig I do for a living, but that's not the same as writing fiction, sadly.)

That's great! Now you can feel guilty about not going to the writers group

I'm largely with Imp... figuratively speaking In fact, I'm just off to the mail box.

 

[Stella_Omega]

3113 and I and a few other people have talked about organising ourselves... No one seems to have the time to get it done, though. Maybe after the holiday season, she said wistfully...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

My experiences with writer's groups is they are formed by people with something to sell....like How to Write books or editing services or vanity printing. And if you have your own opinions about anything, you can hit the hiway. I'm assured this isnt how all of them are.

There's one here that sucks in high school age romance writers. The girls write the manuscript, pay to have it printed, and get interviewed in the paper as a child prodigy.

From my own history of writing I've had well-meaning, local talent guarantee me that I suck;a major New York publisher interested enough to have an editor swap correspondence with me for a while; and I get a few things published here and there.

I get my advice from the best published writers. The advice is usually hidden in their correspondence. Like, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, for example. She told Maxwell Perkins that she knows her research is done when the person she is studying starts to seem normal to her....and wild and crazy deeds start to make sense.

 

[oggbashan]

I joined a local day class for creative writing.

I enjoyed the interaction but some of the others were afraid of me because I had been published (boring technical non-fiction) and I had won a couple of prizes in local writing competitions.

I admitted that I wrote for Literotica. Some disapproved; some were curious.

The class gradually eroded away through the year until it became not viable. The following year we started from first principles again.

The experience helped me to write to deadlines each week but I gave more than I received. I didn't mind being used as a resource by the others but eventually I wasn't progressing in my own writing.

One of my fellow authors had an unfortunate experience on a parallel course in a neighbouring town. She had an extensive professional publication list and wrote newspaper columns on her area of expertise. She wanted to learn how to write fiction. The tutor felt threatened by her published works and constantly said "Do this - unless Miss X knows better..." She wanted to learn - the tutor made it impossible.

I don't belong to the local writing society. My impression is that they write bad poetry about their grandchildren or "the good old days" and can't understand my writing at all. I entered a couple of their competitions that were judged by professional authors. When I won a first place one year and a third the next the members of the writing society made it clear that they didn't know why. I was asked if I knew the judges. The local writing society do some useful work on encouraging schoolchildren to write fiction and poetry but they are I are not compatible.

Og

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

OG

I devoutly believe that publishers-editors-readers buy what they enjoy, and there is no real criteria for what is or isnt good writing.

Using Rawlings again, she said that readers and editors generally preferred what she believed was her inferior writing. Or the editors obsessed about offending intolerant mothers, insisting on sanitized dialog that no humans ever speak.

So I prefer to solicit the people who are most likely to want my wares.

 

[togitc]

At this point in time I would love to be in a writers group over the net or in the real world. The last group I was in was rather interesting with a lot of different genres. I doubt that I would be so lucky again but I need someone to brainstorm with.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

TOGITC

Maxwell Perkins was likely the only human, in the history of the world, who had the ability to edit and counsel writers, and make them feel really terrific about the experience.

 

[togitc]

TOGITC

Maxwell Perkins was likely the only human, in the history of the world, who had the ability to edit and counsel writers, and make them feel really terrific about the experience.

Goody for them. I prefer someone who can tell me what the holes and problems with my work than be nice. I hate it when someone tells me 'it's good'. Thank you, I know it is good, I've gone through three drafts to get it 'good' now I want to know how to make it better.

Rant over.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

TOGITC

Me, too. If I wanna be stroked I can let my momma read it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

At this point in time I would love to be in a writers group over the net or in the real world. The last group I was in was rather interesting with a lot of different genres. I doubt that I would be so lucky again but I need someone to brainstorm with.

What kinds of brainstorming do you need? I'm in the same position-- I know where my strengths are, and I REALLY know where my weaknesses are. At this point, I feel like I'm an absolute beginner all over again...

 

[togitc]

What kinds of brainstorming do you need? I'm in the same position-- I know where my strengths are, and I REALLY know where my weaknesses are. At this point, I feel like I'm an absolute beginner all over again...

I need to brainstorm ideas, characters, and plot.

Maybe I should be looking at the NaNo Boards for the area.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I need to brainstorm ideas, characters, and plot.

Maybe I should be looking at the NaNo Boards for the area.

Ditto here. Characters are easy-ish for me, but I hate working out the whole of the plot...

I have two Scifi ideas-- one young adult and one that might be a thriller, and one quasi-romance. Do any of those sound like anything you'd be amused by? The thriller could use corporate politics as a plot device, and the romance might be about a 1600's person dealing with modern life.

 

[McKenna]

I joined the local writing group for a while where I live. Right off the bat it was obvious that I had nothing to share with these people since they met at the local church. Somehow my smut didn't seem like a good subject to bring up and a sample of my writing was out of the question.

The main thing I do outside Lit to help my writing is what I've always done. Observe people.

Observation, definitely a key component of writing in my opinion. I think authors are, at times, students and/or masters of human nature. We ask the questions why, and explore their answers -be it smut, or more conventional fiction.

 

[McKenna]

I occasionally take a writing course.

Those are interesting. Without exception it's mostly women on average 25 to 30 years younger than me.

They never approve of what I write either.

I live in an ultra-conservative city; I've found, however, that I tend to migrate towards the more liberal, artsy folks. I'm hoping this group is, but if it's not, I know where the door is.

 

[McKenna]

I've just e-mailed a local writers' group... I don;t need the motivation, so much as I need the company of like-minded people - it's worth a shot, hey?

x
V

Definitely. And sometimes writing in a different genre or in a different way can generate ideas and enthusiasm for the writing you DO enjoy doing. At least, that's what I'm hoping!

I'm convince that half the battle of writing for a living is actually DOING it; if a writer's group can help me be more consistent in my output, then it's a success (IMO).

 

[McKenna]

That's great! Now you can feel guilty about not going to the writers group

Bite your tongue!

 

[McKenna]

3113 and I and a few other people have talked about organising ourselves... No one seems to have the time to get it done, though. Maybe after the holiday season, she said wistfully...

I hope so for you, too.

 

[McKenna]

I joined a local day class for creative writing.

I enjoyed the interaction but some of the others were afraid of me because I had been published (boring technical non-fiction) and I had won a couple of prizes in local writing competitions.

I admitted that I wrote for Literotica. Some disapproved; some were curious.

The class gradually eroded away through the year until it became not viable. The following year we started from first principles again.

The experience helped me to write to deadlines each week but I gave more than I received. I didn't mind being used as a resource by the others but eventually I wasn't progressing in my own writing.

One of my fellow authors had an unfortunate experience on a parallel course in a neighbouring town. She had an extensive professional publication list and wrote newspaper columns on her area of expertise. She wanted to learn how to write fiction. The tutor felt threatened by her published works and constantly said "Do this - unless Miss X knows better..." She wanted to learn - the tutor made it impossible.

I don't belong to the local writing society. My impression is that they write bad poetry about their grandchildren or "the good old days" and can't understand my writing at all. I entered a couple of their competitions that were judged by professional authors. When I won a first place one year and a third the next the members of the writing society made it clear that they didn't know why. I was asked if I knew the judges. The local writing society do some useful work on encouraging schoolchildren to write fiction and poetry but they are I are not compatible.

Og

I've waded through my share of half-assed attempts at writing, and even more serious attempts. My professors believed firmly in peer reviews to provide feedback. It's hard to take an 18 year-old seriously as they write about their "adulthood".

Maybe that's the snob in me. *shrug*

On the flip side, I'm sure my tastes are a tad more wild than the average granny. That said, if I always wrote what pleased me, or what I was good at, I'd never feel challenged. It's when I feel challenged that I feel I grow as a writer, and that can only be a good thing, right?

 

[McKenna]

So I prefer to solicit the people who are most likely to want my wares.

Hey, we (technical writers) do this too! It's called "writing to your audience".