How to Start a Writer's Group (Read and Critique)

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By Elexia Patterson
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Writers make good friends.

Want to receive feedback for your writing before you try to publish? Start a writer's group! A read and critique group is a great way to build a community of writers and get feedback from your peers. This article will tell you how to start a writer's group.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Writers
Manuscript copies
A meeting place
Pens, paper, etc.
Coffee

Step 1

You need writers.

The first step is recruitment. Start with people you know. If you are a writer you probably have friends who are writers. In my experience, the ideal number for membership is 5-7 people. More than this and your writing is not reviewed often enough and groups with fewer than 5 often have problems with attendance. If your friends aren't interested, make new friends! Post a sign at your local coffee shop, college, or bookstore. Or try the Community section of Craigslist (www.craigslist.org).
Step 2

A cafe or restaurant can make a great meeting place!

Next, plan when, where, and how often your group will meet. Once a week is ideal if you are serious about regular feedback. Once every two weeks or even once a month can work too. It just depends on the group. Decide how many stories you will critique in one meeting. In my experience, I have found that one or two stories per meeting works best.
Step 3

Establish rules such as page number limits, genre, whether or not "obscenity" is premitted, etc.
Step 4

Now, assign rotation order or review schedule. Pass the schedule around to all members so everyone knows when they must submit their writing. It works best if all members have read the manuscript before the meeting and come prepared for discussion. I've found that having the writer submit his or her work via email one week before critique works best. Or the writer can pass out hardcopy manuscripts at the meeting prior to his or her review.
Step 5

Finally, meet and critique! Also see my article on How to Conduct a Writer's Group Meeting.