Writing Workshop- Version 2.0

A year has passed since year one of Writing Workshop. A lot has changed since then. Our founding group of two grew to three and now involves a rotating cast of eight writers. Since there are more people, the session lasts longer with just enough time for everyone to read their piece out loud.

To keep organized, we now use Google documents with a number of tabs.

-Calendar

We meet twice a month, every two weeks. It’s tough settling on a day/time when everyone is available so we compromised and rotate between Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday/Friday. Our calendar tab keeps track of every Writing Workshop date throughout the year.

-Editors

Our sessions are not meant for critique anymore but rather to hear our own writer’s voice. If editing is requested, we have a number of writers in our circle who are available to help.

-Roster

This is the list of writers interested in our Writing Workshop. All contact information is kept here.

We also created a Google Reader feed that bundled all of our blogs. This keeps us up to date on what we have been writing and working on.

Special thanks to Restaurant Baby who has kept us organized, inspired, and on track by implementing all of these resources.

I was going through Twitter and came across an article about writing groups. The article went through a few important points about finding the right writing group.

Points to ponder:

-Does your writing group’s goals align with yours?

-Is it a supportive environment?

-Is the group’s size right for you?

My Writing Workshop has evolved and I love it just as much as I did day one. It’s low pressure, casual, and inspiring, encouraging, and productive all at once. Everyone is supportive of each other. This group grew through word of mouth. I trust that all of my friends will only bring good people to the table. It’s interesting to see how new members react to the format and experience. I have seen professional writers shy to read and then own the spotlight, I was amazed to see and hear a script brought to life through acting, and over and over again I am thrilled to learn that others find what I write interesting and are eager to read more of my work. Even though we have a larger group now, the number is just right. We are still at our local cafe and the outlets, chairs, and tables available have been enough to accommodate us. I’m curious and excited to see how year three Writing Workshop unfolds. Its so far, so good with a few more laptops, netbooks, and iPads to round out the bunch.

As Restaurant Baby likes to say, "Write On!"

Restaurant Baby, ActionJojo, Roxwriting
photo courtesy of ActionJojo

Photo Credits: ActionJojo, Roxwriting

Writing Workshop Version 1.0

Restaurant Baby

ActionJojo