The Freelance Writer's Friend: Writing Groups

Many writers starting out in their careers do not always begin with a firm understanding of the importance of a writer's group and how it can push their careers towards success. Good writing always comes from deep from the gut, the emotions, and the mind. It is difficult to even think of sharing your writing and interacting early on for fear of criticism, receiving negative feedback from older more seasoned writers leading to other early perceptions of fear and doubt, which can stagnant a determined writer and perhaps even his or her career.

However, this does not necessarily have to be. In fact, a writer's life does not have to be isolated and lonely. Words do not have to be solemnly left on paper. In fact, a successful writer's group can be a wonderful resource providing you with information on agents, publishing, odd and ends of questions, marketing, writing styles, tips for improvement on voice and other elements of writing style.

The first step towards finding a writer's group is to narrow down the kind of group and whether you connect best with an online and offline groups. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to both, the most marked being that there is a certain element of anonymity with online groups. With face-to-face interaction, the body language and other features of interaction come into play which may be hard to adjust to in the beginning especially if you are used to online groups. So decide which type of writing group first speaks to you.

There are many online and offline writers' group and you can even begin your own. For example, the yahoo group NFwritersfor Kids is one of the most resourceful non-fiction writing groups for writing non-fiction for children. Many are published writers, often too willing to share their secrets and ideas for publishing and marketing. If you simply go online and do a search, you'll be amazed at how many you'll find. Read the threads, feel and hear the voices. Is it a group that will give you the information you are looking for or do you need more help with style and paragraph cohesion? Do you need to bounce off ideas? There are chances you might find your niche on craigslist as well.

One door may lead to another door and you never know what links to other writing opportunities you may find.

Always listen to your intuition. It's scary sharing your work with a bunch of strangers but you don't need to share right away. In the beginning, you'll be doing a lot of observing or 'lurking,' which is fine in the beginning. You'll eventually need to find your way and share. If the atmosphere is supportive and pleasant enough, other writers will be encouraging all along the way.

Five basic starting out questions:

1. Do I feel comfortable sharing my work in this group?

2. What kinds of resources does this writing group offer?

3. What do I want out from this writing group?

4. What is expected of me as a participant in the writing group?

5. How often are the meetings? Are there any fees?

A writing group can (and should be) a freelance writer's best friend. The steady contacts you'll make might turn into dependable friends and lasting friendships. The syaing 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' is relevant to finding writing groups especially if you are looking to become an active participant. Continue onward with your search. Like all groups, a writing group is really what you make out of it.