Awesome Writer's Group Today!

 If you're a writer, you need a writer's group. Check around in your area and find out where they are. Try them on for size and see what fits you. 

I've done a lot of groups. Some awesome, some not so much. Give them a chance and see what fits. 

In the beginning, I wasn't much of a sharer with my writing. It was just for fun, and I viewed it as personal. As my confidence grew, I evolved into different types of groups. 

Critique group: In most critique groups, you share your work and other writers give their opinions and suggestions. Every group I've been in it was an option if you wanted to read or not. Some groups didn't let new people say anything for the first group which I though was weird. Hey, it's their group. Let it be. 

One critique group I was in, the woman wrote about a man whose truck broke down on a deserted road, and he said the word, "fuck." Two of the men in the group went on for twenty minutes putting down her word. I thought that was wrong, but since it was my first time, I kept my mouth shut. Dialog tells us a lot about the character. Some people use that word. To question if a character will curse in the first chapter? Didn't his use of the word tell us something about him? 

Other writing groups are just writing exercise groups. Where they give you a prompt and you just write. Sometimes it's world-building, journaling, or even passing on the story. (One person writes for 5 mins, passing the sheet, next person does 5 mins, and so on.) Some really creative stuff comes from that exercise. 

Whatever writing group you find, go check it out. Find one that fits. They are your people. 

 Writing groups can be inspiring. 

2 Things Writers Need

New writers need two things; drive and patience.

Drive

Drive because writing a novel is a long haul. You don't just pour it all down on paper and ship it off your desk. A good writer knows that there is a lot more to writing a book than that first draft.

• Getting it written in the first step. Don't stop, get it all down from beginning to end. 
• Next comes the rewrite. Going over it page by page to check for plot gaps, grammar, typos, and general mistakes. Hey, if you killed a character in chapter 5 you better not resurrect him in chapter 8. People will notice, you'll be called out on it, and your reader will probably not read your next book or recommend you to friends. 
• After your rewrite put that book on the shelf for a few weeks to clear your head. Come back and read through again. Make any edits you need to and be honest with yourself. 
• Then go find someone to read it that will give you an honest opinion. I tell my beta readers to "rip it apart." 
• Take their comments with a grain of salt. Consider them all carefully and either edit again or move on. Just put your ego in the back seat for this part. It can be painful. 

Patience

Patience comes in about the time you will have to spend on getting your novel polished. Skipping steps will impact the quality of the finished product. Take your time to get it right.

• Writing a book isn't a sprint, it's more like a marathon. Take it slow and pace yourself. 
• Editing takes time. 
• Putting your book on  a shelf for a week or more can be a killer. You're going to want to go back and play with it so you just get that thing done. Don't do that. Let the story leave your head a bit so you can actually read the thing without thinking about what you know is there. 
• Beta readers? I've had quick ones and I've had those that take weeks. Be patient, don't harass them. They have lives and families and probably work so your book might have to be fit in between all that other stuff. While you're waiting, start you next book. Don't waste time obsessing on your beta.  
• Remember to breathe. 

Know your book will get there and when you're finally finished with it you've done your due diligence to make it your best. Your reader will thank you for it.

Happy Writing!