Writing

Not that they can't. It just takes a lot of effort to find a good one (by that I mean one that works for you.)

I joined several before I found one that worked for me. Part of the problem is finding one where the readers are good at giving feedback either for your genre or no matter the genre.

The first one I joined was full of 70-somethings writing their memoirs, which was fine but did not work with my fiction writing. Their heads were in an entirely different place than I needed them to be. Which was fine for them, so I moved on.

The second was populated by people just poking around on the keyboard for fun. They weren't serious about writing. It was a hobby, not a job for them. That's okay, too. But that meant when it came time to share critiques, they just couldn't be bothered to put much effort into it, if they even found the time at all to read what you'd written.

And then there are the writing groups that have a bad personality mix or are dominated by the biggest personality in the room and everything that's said or done is only said or done through the eyes of that dominant person.

All of these disappointing writing group experiences are hard on beginning writers who are just looking for support and solid criticism which will help them become better writers.

I finally put together a great writers group just through local connections I already had. After my early experiences, I feel very lucky. They've been an immense help to me these last 7 years.

Not trying to rain on the writing group parade, just want to keep expectations real.