To Join or Not to Join, That is the Question

In the past I belonged to a local writers' group for a number of years. At first it was fun getting together with other people who had characters in their head who spoke to them and kept them awake at night. The group was supportive and helpful to anyone from the newest of beginning writers to the two authors who had hit the best seller list.

And then it wasn't. Some of the authors who ran the group moved on to other things/groups and new people took over the group. The new people in charge made changes that left new writers feeling not quite so welcome. Cliques formed as people began to want changes that not everyone agreed with. Soon the group imploded due to infighting regarding how the group should be run, who would be "allowed" to be a member or continue to be one, if being published should be a requirement and so on.

Since that time I've stayed away from any local writing groups. I do belong to Romance Writers of America. This is nonprofit organization that works to advance the professional and business interests of career focused romance writers. They do a great deal of advocacy and work hard to increase the public's awareness of the romance genre. Here's a link to their website if you want to check them out. www.rwa.org

In March I was invited to join a small group of writers who meet once a month. They don't discuss the business of writing, how to get published, or anything else. Each month, a writing prompt is emailed out and you write 2 to 4 pages or so based on the writing prompt and bring it with you to the meeting. Each person reads their work aloud. There's no critiquing per se. People just say if they liked it and why. After everyone reads their pages, the meeting wraps up and we leave. I've only gone to the March meeting. (I had a previous engagement the same day as the meeting in April.) I'm looking forward to the meeting this month. I like meeting with other writers and seeing how everyone comes up with such completely different pieces based on the same writing prompt.

I guess I'll see how things go before I decide to formally join or not. I definitely don't miss the drama the first group seemed to thrive on.