Where are all the writers hiding?
February 3, 2013 11:23 PM Subscribe
The writing workshop I attend might end up dissipating soon. How can I find a replacement group?
I attend a workshop group that meets every three to four weeks. Typically the focus is on short story fiction but sometimes novellas and short-shorts are considered, or novel fragments on rare occasion. Unfortunately, it looks like the group might be breaking up. I'm pretty bummed, as this is my primary mode of interfacing with other writers and I get a lot of value out of it.
So I'd like to find and/or build a replacement group. I can imagine how such a group would work, and I even have some improvements I'd like to make. To make this happen, I'd be okay with taking on some of the managerial work – making the schedule, coordinating mailing lists, keeping the group discussion on topic – but I don't know where to find the people! Where are all the writers hiding? Are there events I should be attending where i might meet some candidates for workshop partners?
My main constraints on workshop partners are the level of time investment (i.e., making sure people are going to actually show up reliably every meeting) and the skill level or seriousness (i.e., spending the time to write a complete draft, writing often enough to have something new to show every n weeks).
For what it's worth, I live in Chicago.
I attend a workshop group that meets every three to four weeks. Typically the focus is on short story fiction but sometimes novellas and short-shorts are considered, or novel fragments on rare occasion. Unfortunately, it looks like the group might be breaking up. I'm pretty bummed, as this is my primary mode of interfacing with other writers and I get a lot of value out of it.
So I'd like to find and/or build a replacement group. I can imagine how such a group would work, and I even have some improvements I'd like to make. To make this happen, I'd be okay with taking on some of the managerial work – making the schedule, coordinating mailing lists, keeping the group discussion on topic – but I don't know where to find the people! Where are all the writers hiding? Are there events I should be attending where i might meet some candidates for workshop partners?
My main constraints on workshop partners are the level of time investment (i.e., making sure people are going to actually show up reliably every meeting) and the skill level or seriousness (i.e., spending the time to write a complete draft, writing often enough to have something new to show every n weeks).
For what it's worth, I live in Chicago.
Response by poster: Meetup.com has unfortunately started charging to organize a group. I could try to join an existing group, but I assume I'd have to pay dues. I'd rather keep this a labor of love. Meetup is still an option, but it's sort of my last resort.
posted by deathpanels at 6:38 AM on February 4, 2013
posted by deathpanels at 6:38 AM on February 4, 2013
Best answer: I found my current writing group by looking up all the writing-related organizations around my town and going to their social events/meet-and-greets, etc. After a while, I started running into some of the same people at these events, became Facebook friends, and several of us joined together in a writing group. It's great.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:26 PM on February 4, 2013
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:26 PM on February 4, 2013
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posted by sammyo at 5:37 AM on February 4, 2013