Writing from the Place: TEN REASONS TO HAVE A WRITING GROUP

Writing can be a lonely thing to do, and all you guys out there who go at it alone, I hope you're finding some ways to connect like Skype or texting or tweeting every ten seconds or something.

Okay, so maybe the tweeting thing isn't going to advance your writing career along, but here's an idea of something that is.

A WRITING GROUP

For clarification, this is not a critique group. This is a group of people who get together to write. They all put words on paper at the same time.

Maybe you think you don't have time for this. Maybe you think you don't mind being alone. Well, we here at THE PLACE (being K. A. Holt, Jessica Lee Anderson , E. Kristin Anderson, Madeline Smoot, Mari Mancusi, and sometimes member Jenny Ziegler) offer up reasons why you, too, should be part of a writing group.

We give you...

TEN REASONS TO HAVE A WRITING GROUP:

1) It maintains social skills after long periods of writing in isolation.


2) It's inspiring when you can watch your writer friends make themselves chuckle as they write.
Or maybe they're chucking because they're sneaking zombie stickers up onto the walls. Either way, it's entertaining.



3) Trying to keep up with everyone will increase the amount (and hopefully quality) of what you write.
This is still theoretical. We're not sure there is a valid way to prove this hypothesis.


4) Your group will always have good suggestions for books to read.
Plus, you can trash discuss books you've read without ever having to put it in writing.


5) Someone will usually let you borrow $6 for an egg sandwich.


6) When you get a crappy rejection you can tell your group and they'll totally make you feel better.


7) You can look up and say "if you stabbed a guy repeatedly with a pen knife would he totally bleed out or could he survive?" and you will get advice instead of dirty looks and suspicions of being a serial killer.


8) While taking breaks, you can make TOP TEN lists.


9) You get to have a place called THE PLACE.
At said PLACE, you can order things like Beer Tea and meet people like the drunk night nurses and Sleeping Guy. You get to even see TROLLS from time to time.


10) Isolation sucks.
It's a proven form of torture. Why would you do that to yourself? Torture your characters, not yourself.