Re: Writing Groups

I'm taking umbrage with accepted writer wisdom again. Consider yourselves warned.

All writers need support. It's a lonely occupation. We're prone to despair or insanity or excessive chocolate if we're left alone too long. And feedback is important. We can't catch every error on our own, especially not the big ones like flat characters, plot holes, and pacing. We're too close to our work to stand back far enough to see them, a lot of the time. Also, it's good to have our egos stroked once in a while. But:

Not all writers need a writing group.


There, I said it. Writing groups work for a lot of people and I can see the good in them—feedback, support, deadlines, improvement, different points of view, getting out of the house—but I don't think every writer is suited to the writing group format. Some of us get our support and feedback in other ways.

For instance: Twitter, Facebook, blogs, forums, and other kinds of social networking; friends and family who are willing to listen to rambles frequently and at length; and beta readers, who'll read the "finished" manuscript but won't necessarily (and probably shouldn't) see the rougher drafts. There may be more ways than that, but those are the ones I use personally.

Why would a writer choose alternatives to an actual, physical writing group? They might be shy and not cope very well with a room full of semi-strangers (or worse). They might be introverts and get exhausted by long discussions. They might not have access to enough local writers interested in a group. They might have had a bad experience with writing groups in the past. They might know that they're not tough enough yet for the kind of harsh criticism they might receive. They might start with the alternatives, find they like them, and question why they'd need a real-life group on top of that. They might not have time, or might have scheduling conflicts. They might not write short stories, which writing groups are generally best for.

As you might have guessed, I count myself in the category of People Who Don't Need Writing Groups, but I haven't tried them either. I'm an introvert who doesn't cope well with groups of strangers, especially when introductions are needed. I still cry over harsh criticism sometimes, and refuse to embarrass myself by doing so in the middle of a group of strangers. I have scheduling conflicts revolving around my dayjob, which I'm not going to change because money's surprisingly useful. I'm not an organizer, so I won't be creating a group on my own. And I've got people in real life and people on the internet who are willing to beta for me. These are also reasons why I don't want to do workshops or classes. My brain and my life just don't work that way. I work better alone, and I frequently work slowly.

I know what die-hard writing group advocates will probably say. "So what? Do it anyway. There must be a bit of time in your life. Grow a pair. You're a noob." And I say to them, "Stop trying to force everyone to fit one pattern. If lacking a writing group is a mistake, let us learn that ourselves or suffer the consequences."

What do you think about writing groups? On a scale of 1 (high) to 10 (low), how important are they do the development of a writer?