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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   1881 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 7, 2023

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tl;dr: How to find a writing group?

I've recently repicked up writing*. This time around I'm trying a more structured approach and doing more research on the art of writing. The one piece of advice that seems the most useful is about the utility of being part of a writing group. It seems to be an obviously useful strategy in terms of: feedback , idea brainstorming, motivation, & networking. I'm convinced I should join one, but where should I begin?

A local group would be nice to allow for face to face gatherings. Alternatively, maybe optimizing for genre over geography would be wise. But that's putting the cart before the horse - I have no idea on where to begin. I also wouldn't be opposed to starting my own group and putting in the effort there if I thought there was demand for it (here or elsewhere).

For those of you have joined a writing group (or deliberately chosen not to), how did you find your group? Was it the advertised panacea?

*Trying to thread the needle between progression and epic fantasy. I am willing to admit I enjoy the inherently pulpy progression fantasy, but just about every series is embarrassingly bad. And it really doesn't have to be. If there was ever a time to do it is now; I suspect there are only a few years left before the LLMs advance enough that they can write a high quality novel tailor made to every taste.

I have some experience with this. Writing groups can be very hit or miss. It's a lot like finding a good gaming group, but it's more personal because you're actually critiquing each other. In some ways, it's like dating. You will encounter a bunch of people who just don't work out for you before you finally find a group you vibe with.

I would personally recommend online groups focusing on your genre over a local group, unless you really find it valuable to have that face-to-face interaction. My experience is that aspiring romance writers aren't very helpful in critiquing aspiring SF authors, and vice versa.

You will find the quality of critiques you get is as wildly varying as the quality of the writers. You will encounter all the predictable archetypes: the snowflake who thinks you're being mean and bullying when you point out plot holes. The genius who's writing the next Great American Novel and if you don't appreciate it it's because you just don't get it. The hapless grandma who's very nice but can't write for shit. The person working out all their trauma and grinding political axes through their writing, etc.

And don't forget that being a good critique partner means that if you want quality feedback, you have to be willing to read their manuscripts and give quality feedback (even when they absolutely suck).

My best experience was joining a larger online group, paying attention to who was actually a decent writer and gave decent critiques, and then contacting them to form a small private group of our own.

First off, big thanks! Your advice is high-quality.

It's a lot like finding a good gaming group, but it's more personal because you're actually critiquing each other. In some ways, it's like dating.

Alas, my gaming groups have always been IRL friends so I've never had that experience. The dating analogy is a fun one. If there was a Hinge for writing groups I'd be all about it. Set some filters, screen out matches with some bants, and meet up - sounds like the dream.

I would personally recommend online groups focusing on your genre over a local group, unless you really find it valuable to have that face-to-face interaction.

I definitely agree that at least general genre matching seems like a must, but do you think it would be worth the effort to try local? I live in a major US city so, at least in theory, it should be possible to have both. I imagine that having face to face interactions could reduce a lot of the issues around dedication. Sanderson advocated pretty heavily for in person > online and while he's not my favorite author, the man gets shit done. As someone who has no experience with either medium (outside of a classroom setting) I don't have an informed preference.

My best experience was joining a larger online group, paying attention to who was actually a decent writer and gave decent critiques, and then contacting them to form a small private group of our own.

This seems like a winning move. Almost the only move upon reflection. I'd imagine the typical gatekeeping dynamic is in play: any group that is open to outsiders is likely going to suffer the weaknesses of that openness. I imagine that joining a group with the intent to defect is probably a point in favor of online groups? Would be much trickier and ruder to splinter an in person group without hard feelings.

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