Local Writers' Groups Questions

[ldumont999]

Do any of you attend a local writers' group? If so, is your group a Christian writers' group or secular one? What sort of things do you find most helpful and what would you change about the group if you could? I would also find it interesting to know how often you meet and how far you travel to attend.

I am the facilitator of the North Jersey Christian Writers' Group (NJCWG) and I'm always looking for suggestions to make our group better. I consider myself a Christian who writes more than, a "Christian Writer." By this I mean that my faith permeates everything I write - whether that is for a secular audience or a Christian congregation. The NJCWG has Christian members and secular members who are willing to abide by our guidelines. We meet twice a month and some of our members travel from out of state to attend meetings when they can.

I appreciate your input.:Coffee:

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Author & Speaker
www.louisedumont.com (http://www.louisedumont.com)
www.njcwg.blogspot.com (http://www.njcwg.blogspot.com)

[Pat~]

Hi Louise,

I attend a local Christian writers group. We meet the first Monday of each month from 7-9ish PM. We start with announcements, and sharing of any news (acceptances, new books out, etc.) and then break up into 2 groups, non-fiction and fiction. We sit in a circle, and take turns reading outloud any works-in-progress brought for critiquing. (Anyone who wants to be critiqued must bring in 10 copies of no more than 5 double-spaced pages.) Rules: you can't read your own work (someone else reading your punctuation can be revealing); try to say something good first before something critical; the author should not try to argue or defend against the suggestions made; stick to the time limit (about 7 min./person). Every once in awhile we'll have a special speaker come in and forego the critiquing. (This month we had a fiction author speak.)

It's been very beneficial to me to attend; I live about 20 min. away, and am fairly regular in attending.

Hope this helps!

[ldumont999]

Thanks for the feedback. I like the idea of breaking into fiction and nonfiction groups. I may try that.

Your input is much appreciated.

Louise Bergmann DuMont:Coffee:
www.njcwg.blogspot.com
www.cafemochalight.blogspot.com
www.louisedumont.com