"Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards." - Robert A. Heinlein

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Wanted: Writer Seeks SWF (Some Writing Folks)

It is with some sadness that I announce that as of early September, it appears that the writer's group I belong to - North County Writers of Speculative Fiction - comes to an end. It has existed two years, much longer than the six or so months I've hung around with them. But Our Lovely Hostess and Her Mighty Husband are relocating across the country, and it appears that that will be that. (I'd say more, but I'm loathe to do so without an overt "okay" from them.)

We've got two more meetings until then, and everyone is going out on friendly terms. But it's ending, and I feel more than a bit of pain. As the one who travels the furthest, I'll probably not work with these folks again. In fact, I travel more than 50 miles one-way to participate - which I'm happy to do. But with the demise of the group, most of them are considering looking farther north from Vista/San Marcos - as far as Orange County. This is too far for me to go.

So it's with no lack of shamelessness that I post this: anyone in the South Bay or nearby East County area have an open writer's group? Anyone want to start one? I don't mind traveling (duh), but I'd prefer to stick a little closer to home. If anyone in the whole Chula Vista - National City - La Mesa - El Cajon* area has, or knows of a group, let me know. If you're in the area, or nearby and want to start one, let me know.

Thank you!

*Yep, that's me tagging this post for search engines. See those labels down below? That's me doing it there, too.

7 comments:

  1. I've never had the experience of a writing group. Honestly unsure if I'm of a mind for one- but alas, either way- I'm much too far for you. online I could do, but definitely not an in person one.

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  2. I would recommend a writer's group for just about anyone who wanted to write. But it's DEFINITELY a matter of choice.

    In my case, it's similar to having folks on the blog that give me feedback (which is great!), but it's face-to-face, in person, and it gives me a chance to offer criticism and feedback in return.

    It should be pointed out that, in most groups, criticism can be both constructive and harsh.

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  3. I used to belong to a writer's group. We started out discussing writing and then it just turned into a social hour.

    I usually correspond with members of Absolute Write in order to get feedback on my stories.

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  4. Awww, bummer about your group :( I haven't yet participated in one. I wouldn't mind finding one around here, though, sounds interesting! You know if I was close by, I'd definitely be down for it ;)

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  5. Steph, if you were close by, we'd already have a group going, shyeah.

    Kathy, thanks for your comment! I have a history of Absolute Write already. I have been a member three times. Once I joined, but had little to offer - so it offered me little in return. I changed names a few months later and became a serious critiquer. After posting a few hundred critiques, I was caught up in some political crap and thrown off the board (wrongly, I might add). However, since then, I have changed my geographic location, IP address, laptop, and even my style. Now I was seeking feedback. I didn't get a lot of that from AW.

    AW is notorious for a few things. One is that people expect "newbies" to do tons of critiques before getting some of their own. I did many, got almost none. And the ones I DID critique NEVER returned the favor. The ones who DID critique me did so out of the 'goodness of their heart.' That's expected. But I really also got tired of the same "let me give you noobs some advice" advice I got from a lot of those twerps. Furthermore, about 90% of the feedback one gets is stuff they give EVERYONE - or stuff they see others get.

    Sure, it's great for some people, but since I was involved some time back, when there was some REALLY good work being done and critiqued there, it does little for me.

    Don't get me wrong. I keep links here for AW, because I think it's a really good site for a lot of writers. But it doesn't quite fit my needs, as I know it doesn't quite fit many others'.

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  6. Have you thought about a virtual writer's group? I mean, there are some pretty talented writers around here (BRYAN MARSHALL, LISTEN UP!) that could benefit from such an environment. I don't want you to think you'd be having to babysit us - yes, I said "us" - or anything, but it would perhaps give the courage/bootay kicking that some need to get started.

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  7. Fossie,

    It's not a bad idea, but it would need some tweaking. One of the best parts of having a real-life group is the opportunity to READ it out loud for the others, so everyone gets to hear what it sounds like, as well as what it reads like. It makes quite a difference. I think most writers worth their salt read their own stuff out loud - it helps to find ugly sentences, repeated words, and (in my case - thank YOU, Talia) frequent sentences that begin with "he."

    Not saying it can't be done, but it might be tricky. We'll have to mull it over.

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