I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I have a couple of questions about writer's groups. Hopefully some of you have some good answers for me.
I've been in two writer's groups in the past. The first fell apart due to outside circumstances. It wasn't working quite so well anyway. It was a mixed group--all genres and I discovered that those people who don't write science fiction and fantasy really don't seem to get it. Anyway, the second group was a fantasy group, but it was dominated by one very prolific writer. He wrote tons! Talked up a storm too. He always domineered the group. Lots of crits on everyone else's writing, but we never "understood" his.
My questions are:
1. How do you avoid having one person dominate the group? How do you make sure everyone gets a chance to be read and hear feedback?
2. What is an appropriate page limit for each meeting? He used to give us hundreds of pages and expect detailed notes on all of it. (Which he then ignored anyway.)
3. How do you form a writer's group? I know I work better in one, but how do I form one?
Any help would be appreciated. I've tried the online writer's groups, but I'm really not that adept at keeping up on the boards. I've heard they're wonderful for some people, but I prefer the face to face meetings. Thanks in advance.
Ryvah
I've been in two writer's groups in the past. The first fell apart due to outside circumstances. It wasn't working quite so well anyway. It was a mixed group--all genres and I discovered that those people who don't write science fiction and fantasy really don't seem to get it. Anyway, the second group was a fantasy group, but it was dominated by one very prolific writer. He wrote tons! Talked up a storm too. He always domineered the group. Lots of crits on everyone else's writing, but we never "understood" his.
My questions are:
1. How do you avoid having one person dominate the group? How do you make sure everyone gets a chance to be read and hear feedback?
2. What is an appropriate page limit for each meeting? He used to give us hundreds of pages and expect detailed notes on all of it. (Which he then ignored anyway.)
3. How do you form a writer's group? I know I work better in one, but how do I form one?
Any help would be appreciated. I've tried the online writer's groups, but I'm really not that adept at keeping up on the boards. I've heard they're wonderful for some people, but I prefer the face to face meetings. Thanks in advance.
Ryvah
