Start a writers’ group

Original members, left to right: Jon Hove, Erica Hanson, and Raina Clark. Photo by Deb Anderson, Dunn County News

One of the best ways to kick start your writing project—whether it is a specific book or you are changing direction from one form of writing to another—is to join a writers’ group. And if there isn’t one in your area, or it doesn’t fit your needs, then start one.

Several years ago, one of my friends asked me to start a writers’ group to help her get going on the cookbook she wanted to create. I was stalled on my novel, so it sounded like a good idea to me. I talked to the local bookstore owner and a few other book-lovers and writers, we decided on a day of the week (Tuesday), a time (6 p.m.), a place (a café), and how often (once a month). I put up a few posters, sent a press release to the local newspaper, and on the second Tuesday of June showed up, looking “writerly,” at 6:00 at the coffeehouse.

It was easy for me to identify who was there for the writers’ group, and it was easy for them, apparently, too. We all looked experienced (read “over 30”), fairly academic, and were the only people with stapled sheets of paper clutched in our hands. By the following winter, we were officially sponsored by the public library and had our own page on its web site (http://www.menomonielibrary.org/ ). We developed guidelines and our mission, both of which are posted on the site.

Members bring copies of a 3 to 5 page selection, which he or she reads aloud. Each member comments on the piece. We are careful to start with positive feedback, and then offer concrete suggestions, such as, “I liked the way you provided vivid details of the first scene, and if you could add a similar level of detail to the final scene, it would help me visualize it better.”

Many of us are professional writers who are trying out a different type of writing. For example, I’m a technical writer venturing into novel writing, some are journalists working on fiction, one is a University public relations specialist working on her memoirs, a web designer is writing children’s books, and an engineering professor is working on his autobiography.

That first meeting has blossomed through the years into a solid group of close friends, my own completed novel, steady work on another member’s historic novel, progress for a number of people on their memoirs, a growing collection of children’s stories, and many other stories and poems. My friend’s cookbook? Well, so far she’s only been to one meeting, so I can’t include her in my list of successes.