Hi, am about to start a writers group in my home town. Any suggestions on guidelines for the group? Want to ensure it is fair, fun and everyone gets something out of it. Are any of you members of actual group and what works best?
Hi, am about to start a writers group in my home town. Any suggestions on guidelines for the group? Want to ensure it is fair, fun and everyone gets something out of it. Are any of you members of actual group and what works best?
Hi Rosie,
Here is how we went about forming our group.- WordWrights
1. Set out the aims of your group and make sure everyone knows them and adheres to them
2 Limit the membership to a manageable number.
Subscriptions. It suited us to have a sub for each meeting attended and an annual sub.
These stand at £2/meeting £10/annum.
3. Reserve voting rights for fully paid up members.
4. State the number of members to your Committee and special posts. How many times Com. meetings should be held.
5. When should the AGM be called and requirements for an EAGM.
6. Let each member contribute to all activities ie assignments to be set, criticism of work produced, publication of anthologies etc.
7. At least once a year make yourselves known to the community eg by writing in a local
journal, putting on a reading or supper with entertainment.
8. Inviting speakers when you are able to afford one.
I hope this will help, and the best of British luck!
rosa.
Thinking about Katie Gerrard's comment, lots of people are fitting their writing around full-time work and family commitments. Even if it's only once a month, if you're asking them to eat into their writing time by coming along to the group you don't want them walking away with the feeling they'd have been better off beavering away alone at the kitchen table as usual. Don't be afraid to curtail chatting and stop the one or two dominant voices taking over, and try and make sure everyone who wants to read gets a chance.
I've been part of an online group for a while, and trust is a key issue. I don't mean 'is someone going to nick my idea', but it can take a little while to get used to other people and their writing style or forthright criticism so it might not be appropriate to have everyone criticising each other's work straight away (try looking at a published story first). Feedback is most valuable when you know people will tell you the truth, not just search for a positive thing to say.
I hope your group goes well.
Hey, personally I would advise you to keep the set up simple. Once your group gets to know each other you will work out the particulars between you.
Send out your work before the meeting, so everyone has a chance to read and construct critique. When you meet you have a group chat, then spend equal time discussing each work. Perhaps close each meeting with an issue or idea or question to debate over, taking turns to instigate.
Have fun :)