After the August Writer’s Group

“Even if you write one word, it’s still writing.”

The above quote is one of the things I will remember from last night’s Writer’s Group. We were having a discussion on what tips and tricks the attendees used to keep up their writing process. It was in response to a comment about writer’s block and how there is no such thing. After all, if you write a single word, you have written something.

The group that gathered at the Ames Progressive last night was a great one. Mostly made up of new members, we had a wide range of writing styles. We shared poetry, children’s writing, memoirs, and talked about a WWII novel that a member has written. Although we had such wide variety in writing, there was a common thread discovered when half of the attendees realized that they had either lived or had relatives living in Germany.

I came away with some great ideas, like the one above, to apply to my writing. The question of ‘good vs. bad’ writing came up as we discussed whether writing just to have written something is worth it if it is ‘bad’ writing. The general consensus among the group was that to just get it out there onto the paper was the best thing. Maybe the three paragraphs you wrote won’t be going into a story anytime soon, but there may be a few lines in there worth the effort. And then again, when you look back on those three paragraphs in a few days, they might be very good writing that you didn’t notice.

The feedback from our sharing period was great. When I wrote up my poems to share, I felt they were disjointed and needed a lot more work. But yet when I read them aloud, they felt a lot better. The ideas the group gave me will really make a difference in how I edit them. I’m very glad that some of our new members shared their own work and I can’t wait to read the final products.

We had a very talented group last night, and I hope to see them all again next month.

Tags: writer's group