Writers should band together with others who are in the same field. Some internet sites offer an opportunity for writers to correspond and bounce their ideas off one another. The best tool for the writer is to get into a writers group. If there is not a group near you, be pro-active and start one. Where do you begin?
Writers are everywhere. The grocery store manager might be a person who likes to write, but does not because he has no encouragement from others. There are "secret" writers everywhere - people who want to write and just do not know how to begin. A writing group benefits those people and many others. Some seniors want to write their family history, but do not know where to begin. The answer to all of these situations is a group of people who are geared to the writing field.
The first step is to get contact with people who would like to network in a writers group. Where do you find them? A simple ad in the personal column works well. Writers Group forming. Please contact (name and phone number or email address.)
Also, leave a note on the bulletin board at the public library. Readers are most likely secret writers, also. Same message as the paper can be used. College students might be interested, so leave a note on the bulletin board at a college/high school.
Senior citizen centers are other places that you might find interested people.
After you accumulate names and phone numbers of prospective members, find a place to meet. Public libraries or community centers are great places to meet. This central location works better at first than a private residence. Some senior centers allow meetings there.
At the first meeting, determine a time/place that is convenient to the members. It might be a Saturday or an evening, or even a day time. Determine how often you want to meet, and advise the membership. There should be an organizer, not a president. This person would be responsible to see that the room is available and members are advised of the schedule. This can be shared by each member of the group.
What should be done at meetings? The idea of this writers group is to network with members. A piece of the writer's work might be brought and read to the group. The group can critique the work and offer suggestions.
When a member of the group sells something, the whole group rejoices, so constructive criticism is essential for the group to succeed.
Current contests, marketing strategies, and general marketing of material could be discussed and shared with the group. Members could research different outlets for their work and share them with the writers group.
Some groups volunteer to judge contests for other organizations. These entries provide fodder for the group to improve their individual writing skills.
The group could have a guest speaker, someone from the local paper, magazine, or another writer's group.
As the group grows, there might be a need to sub-divide in order to take advantage of fairness to all members. If that happens, the groups can network together maybe once a month or bi-monthly to share ideas.
Writing is a continual learning process. No writer knows everything about the craft. We learn from each other. Reading is a great way to learn. My writing group went so far as to scan best sellers for inspiring lines that would help in the descriptive process in their own works.
