Writers Group Reboot

After a rocky patch last week, my writers group met over margaritas and Mexican food, sans writing. We had one of these powwows at the start of the year, too—I think it’s healthy to recognize when the operation is stagnating and make a plan to reinvigorate the enterprise. Ultimately, we decided to take a break—a [...]

Making a Commitment

“I heard your writers group is awesome!” a friend exclaimed at dinner one night last week.
“We are!” I can’t help but gush about us. As I’ve written about before, we’ve been together for more than a year and a half—longer than any other group I’ve worked with. We’re talented and eclectic—on any given night, we [...]

On Writers Groups: Part III—Rules

Just after the New Year, my writers group gathered at a German tavern in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake to touch base over ale and wieners dunked in steins of pea soup. At that point, we had been working together for a year, but I think we all felt we were in danger [...]

On Writers Groups: Part II—Types

The past couple of weeks have been productive ones in my writers groups. Last week, in what I call my writing group, I generated a few pages of new material on a new short-story concept that’s been percolating. And this week, in what I distinguish as my writers group, I got helpful feedback and encouragement [...]

On Writers Groups: Part I—The Benefits

Yesterday Mots Justes confessed that blog-writing has taken a backseat to other projects as of late. All of my writing has. That I’m writing at all owes everything to my writers groups. (Yes, groups—I’m currently in two.)
If you’re not in a writers group, join or start one now. Even if your writing hasn’t been suffering [...]