the necessity of a writing group

Happy new year!  I hope your 2013 is off to a fabulous start.  

If you're a writer, I hope you either have a writing group (the best), some form of peer editing (also helpful), or at least someone who will read your work and give you their honest opinion (the bare minimum).  A big part of having a writing community is that it encourages (forces) you to write because you have to meet at least some kind of deadline, and writing in a vacuum for no one but yourself is fine but like trees falling in a forest with no one listening.  Unless you see it as a form of journaling-- a form of mental exercise to keep you sane.  In which case, carry on.  As my old acting teacher used to say, what's good in art (crazy emotion) isn't good for life.  So, keep the sanity in real life, save the crazies for your art.

It took me years to find a writing group that wasn't self-indulgent (touchy-feely "everyone's a great writer") or simply not that good (for my particular taste), and now that I've finally found one, I can see what a huge difference it makes.  My group is tiny-- it's a librarian, an English professor, and me.  (I think they rather got the short end of the stick with a coffee shop owner being the third in their more literary group.)  But it's luxurious-- we meet for brunch and only talk about one person's work each time.  We all have different styles, different topics, and fortunately, I truly enjoy reading their work.  It's so nice to be able to have these conversations now that I'm out of school and don't get it otherwise.

We just started, so we are still polite as we get to know each other and each other's work-- but I'm looking forward to getting to know these two women both as people and as writers, hunkering down, tightening up our work, and really sharpening our craft together with no-holds-barred honesty.  Ideally, this will be a lifetime partnership where we encourage each other to be productive, help each other turn out insightful, entertaining and beautiful prose, and root for each other's success.

And did I mention it makes you write?  That may be the true greatest benefit.  Especially if you are a procrastinator looking for excuses not to write.  Heck, most of us are just so busy with life, we can't find time to write.  But if you are truly passionate about writing-- if you feel compelled to write as described in Letters to a Young Poet-- then finding a tribe to write with is inspiring, fun, and challenging in the best of ways.

So, if you were waiting for a sign to get fired up, this is it.  If you don't yet have a writing group, go start one!