Writer's Groups

(Note:  The comment feature has been fixed.)

I am feeling quite discouraged in my search for a writer's group.  There is one meeting this morning about an hour away from me, but I can't go because of work.  There is another one meeting tonight a little closer (but not much), but I can't go because attendence is limited and there are no more spaces.  As well, it's farther than I want to drive on a cold, dark, icy Thursday night.  Another one I attended last month wasn't what I was looking for.  Another one meets at one of the campuses where I work, but conflicts with my teaching schedule.  I also suspect that the students involved aren't as far along in the writing process, and it wouldn't help me much in my quest for publication.

I am almost at the point of starting my own.  But I have enough on my plate already.  I promised myself I would not start a writing group, no matter how desperate I become, because the responsibility for running it would quickly overcome the benefits.  Unless it is clear that we are only sharing work, not trying to come up with speakers and such.


P.S. I did end up going to the meeting tonight and it was awesome!  What a great bunch of people.  The only thing is that I'm afraid that (as usual) I talked too much.  Many writers tend to be introverted, and my extrovert personality tends to take over when I'm excited about something.  I hope they didn't mind.  I just wish that they met on a different monthly date, since I normally have another meeting to attend on the third Thursday.  But, it really was a great meeting.

Writer's Groups

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try to find a local writer's group to attend.  Having never been to one before, I want to ask my readers:

Do you belong to a local writer's group?
How much of a time commitment is it?
How has it been helpful?
How has it not been helpful?
Any advice or suggestions for me?

What about online groups?

A New Place to Hide Out

Dear Readers,

Welcome to "The Writer's Hole." Like that little hole you want to crawl into when you're feeling discouraged and hate the manuscript you were in raptures over just last week.

This new blog is not mine, but OURS. Anyone who wants to post something can do so. Just email it to me and I'll put it up. But I don't have time to add photos or edit the text, so just be sure it's edited beforehand, and appropriate. No profanity (you can use @#$#@! if you want), nothing offensive. And focused on writing fiction.

I also welcome short passages for which you want feedback. I'll post some of mine, too.  But it may take me a little while to put things up depending on how busy I am.  I want this to be a way we can encourage each other, but I also want to be a good steward of my time.

Please post comments with ideas/questions! I look forward to hearing from you.  I'll also try to import some of the better articles from the old site.

Christine

P.S.  I removed the "Hobbit" template because I found out that the artwork was used without permission.