Starting a Writing Group

[ralip]

Is anyone interested in starting up a Writing Group?
I fully support what Steven said on the subject...but where do we go from here?
I've never belonged to any groups because for me the most critical issue is to find a group of people I'm comfortable with.
The unifying factor on this forum is Steven's philosophy on life and his approach to writing.
This resonates with me so I would be comfortable belonging to a writing group of like minded writers.
Any takers?

[paul wolfe]

Hi

I would be interested in joining/starting a writing group along the lines that Steve suggested in one of his recent emails.

I will keep checking back to the forum so see how many people are interested and we can go from there!


Regards




Paul

[ralip]

I'm interested...in fact I posted something about this yesterday...

[paul wolfe]

Let's start one then!

Here is what Steve wrote about writing groups...seems as good a blueprint as any for the writing group to adhere to. Hopefully a few more people will sign up!!!

Let's talk about some ground rules for what I would call the
"Lifewriting" approach to creating a writing group.
1) All members must be aligned in purpose. In other words,
you don't want bad vibes in the room, negative energy,
people who are there to tear others down.
2) The purpose must be a continual deepening of process
and understanding, as well as publishing success.
3) Emphasis should be on the relationship of character to
structure, rather than merely the "quality" of the work.
"Stars" will inevitably arise in any writing circle, but instead
of just saying "I liked X or Y in your story" the questions
should deal with the way that the structure of the work
revealed the inner world of the characters, and the way
that the themes of the work reflected the real concerns
of the writer.

There's more, of course, and I may go into that. One
very powerful thing you should do is identify terrific
books and courses on writing (like the LIFEWRITING
YEAR LONG, http://www.lifewrite.com) and have everyone in
the group either purchase their own copies (great idea!)
or pool money to get one copy to share. Sigh. This
relates to rule #1--alignment in purpose. Your attention
should be OFF each other and ON the work itself, your
commitment to producing the finest work you are capable
of creating. Anything less than that is a waste of
your time!



Regards




Paul

[Steven Barnes]

Guys--start with each other. Share your hopes and dreams and needs, and see if you can agree to support each other. Make a contract: to do this for X weeks or months, or Y number of stories or pages. Then do it. See how it feels, if it supports your mutual dreams. You can post comments here if you wish--share as much of your process as you feel comfortable doing. Look into the structure of the work, and your ideas about characterization--I'll chime in from time to time , and othrs probably will too!

[ralip]

I'm ready....
Still don't know what to do.
Do we meet periodically? If so when? Do we just email each other or is there a chat place we go to? What is the protocol for discussion of posted work?
I've visited some of the groups already out there and, to my huge dissappointment, it's a love -fest. They post some passage or chapter from the novel they're currently working on and everyone responds about how great it is even if it's terrible. Not interested.
I know there are also excellent writing groups but I haven't found them.
I agree with Steven that we need to have a contract that spells out the purpose, time-frame and ground rules for the members of the group. This way we all start on the same page with mutual goals.
Again, how do we go about accomplishing this?

[paul wolfe]

Hi Ralip

Why dont we try and come up with a consensus by email on what to do based on some of the stuff Steve said in his post. My email is [e-mail], so please feel free to drop me a line and we will work something out. Dont think it will be possible to physically meet up - I live in London!

Regards



Paul

[Steven Barnes]

While I can't read all of your work, I'll be happy to referee the groups themselves. I STRONGLY suggest that you start with the Hero's Journey and the Chakras. Just look at each other's work to see how well you can identify the steps of the journey, or the levels of human personality stressed or explored in the work. Develop a framework within which to view the story, like a doctor's "fast check" of a newborn's fingers and toes. Once you start understanding how these two aspects interrelate, you will find it easy to dig deeper into the process.

So...yes, exchange e-mails. Send stories back and forth. Invite others to join you in the process. Eventually, we may figure out a way to set up a chat site where more useful work can be done. Don't be brutal, and don't be merciful or cloying. Just speak primarily of structure...then, secondarily or whether it's "good" or not. Structure will take you there, friends. Study it until it becomes instinctive.