All About Writing Groups (3): The Resource
“It’s up to you how far you go. If you don’t try you’ll never know!” - Merlin The Sword in the Stone (1963)
You have your group, you have a plan, and you’re ready for your first meeting. But now I’m here to give you a little extra help on the question of “What exactly were all those things you suggested we do?” Don’t worry! I’ve put together a small resource guide to get you started, so let’s start at the very top of the writers meeting plan I gave in the last article!
First, we talked last time about opening your meeting with a good game! Here I have a few to choose from, and of course feel free to make up your own or add a writing twist to a classic:
Mad Libs.
Get your writing side warmed up by taking turns putting in words and making up a fun story! You can find free printables online or you can buy a few books from places like Amazon and Target.
One sentence story.
Everyone takes turns passing around a notebook and writing down one sentence, then moving on to the next person until you have a page full of a brand new story! Consider setting a timer for this game since it can get a little long. ;)
Going into a book.
This game will help you get to know each other and your characters more! Everyone starts off by choosing one of their own characters to play as and a setting to visit. This setting can be a book, a place, or an event. Then you take turns with your group going around and saying what your character would bring to your chosen setting: ( ex. My name is George, I’m going to Italy, and I’m going to bring a sword.) The next player continues this by saying what the person before them was bringing then answering as their character. The play continues, each player saying what the players before them mentioned until someone forgets what was said, then that person is out. The game ends when only one player is left.
Now after the game it’s time to dive into the thick of your meeting: the lesson. We all are looking for ways to grow and learn more as writers, and learning together in group is one way to help keep you accountable! “But wait, I can’t come up with a lesson! I don’t even know what to talk about!” Don’t worry! There are already so many resources out there for you to draw from.
Consider looking up videos on certain writing problems, habits, and ideas. Ask your group what they would be interested in working on! Maybe you’ll be able to combine a few different ideas.
Here’s a list of some to help get you started!
Learning about story structure.
Learning about how to make strong main characters.
Learning how to fight writer's block.
Learning how to make time for writing.
Keeping interested in writing.
How to manage writing and other things.
You can find all types of information about these from places such as…
Youtube Videos:
One of my favorite writers on youtube is Abbie Emmons. You can find her videos that help explore complicated writing topics in easy ways! You can learn more about her resources here: https://www.youtube.com/abbieemmons
Podcasts:
The Green Writer hosted by S.D. Smith, author of The Green Ember, and Brett Harris, co-author of Do Hard Things, is a wonderful resource for learning more about writing and answering those hard questions that go along with an author's life! You can learn more about them here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5kaPdEZRaZ53lQadqKSOVY?si=kolOGuydQ5qyrj9Gt5cK0g
Along with The Kate and Abbie Show hosted by Abbie Emmons and her sister Kate Emmons, both amazing authors that dive into the world of writing and help beginners and veterans learn something new! Learn more about them here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/22dXp4IL4MYut743GQlCie?si=M93MYyKKQjG3-QXLaL4qlg
Author’s website and blog pages:
Many authors offer, like myself, free resources and mini lessons about all sorts of writing ideas!
Check out K.M. Weiland’s website and blog to learn more about story structure, scenes, character arcs, and so much more! Find her here:
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-outline-your-novel/
Find a lot of answers for all those writing questions you have from Jennifer A. Nielsen, author of The Ascendance Series and other amazing books. Jennifer A. Nielsen’s blog is full of all those tips and more! Check that out here:
https://jennielsen.com/for-writers
Other blogging authors such as Allie Lynn offer amazing resources to young writers! Such as editing tips, how to write sequels, and other amazing writer content! Find more about that here:
https://equineonthemind.com/category/authors-corner/writing-tips/
Feel free to research your favorite author’s website and see if they have any advice for young writers that you can learn from!
Books: by books I mean writing books!
Go to your local library and check out some writing books! Here are a few to investigate!
Writer to Writer by Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted.
Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine.
Save The Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.
Outlining Your Novel. By K.M. Weiland.
Writing Your Stories Theme. By K.M. Weiland
And these only scratch the surface of the amazing writing books out there!
All of these and many more are how you learn and can teach others in turn! So even if you’re just pulling up a short video, or reading a few paragraphs from a book, you’re still sharing something with other writers about how to grow. Take that topic you want to learn more about and go learn about it! Then bring it to your group and show them how to implement it.
Next, after your lesson, it’s time to apply what you learned! Figured out how to add more suspense in your story? Learned a great way to make your characters funny? Implement it! This is a time to open up your notebooks and computers and get to your story, or start a new one. Setting a timer for a certain amount of time, such as twenty minutes, and having everyone turn to their own writing is a great way to help everyone focus on applying what they just learned to their story! Learning how to write in a group is a valuable skill and when you become stuck being able to just look up and ask people a question is always helpful, just be sure you don’t get too distracted!
If you have new writers in the group who have never written anything before, or maybe some are looking to start fresh, consider giving them writing prompts!
Websites such as Pinterest, and even a simple Google Search can reveal hundreds of ready to go writing prompts to get your creative juices pumping!
As your twenty minutes come to an end it will be time for your breakout session. This may sound scary at first, but it’s going to be really helpful! When the time runs out and everyone puts down their writing tools, gather a few snacks and talk about some problem you are facing in your story, or how you figure out how to overcome something! This is the time to ask for help, ideas, feedback, and advice. “Why would my character's mother buy her a dog?” “What is a good name for this village?” “I don’t know how to get my aliens to be friends with each other.”
Throw out brainstorms, give each other inspiration, and remember to be respectful of others ideas, no one wants someone telling them that their brainstorming ideas stinks. Instead try something like: “I love that idea, but it doesn’t really work for this situation.” or “That sounds so cool! But I need something a little bit different.” When in doubt, remember to encourage everyone to be kind with their words as they talk over ideas!
Now, your last section is the feedback section. When you’re first starting out with your writing group, you may not be comfortable with this yet, and that’s totally okay! Starting with something simple and small that doesn’t force people to give their brutal critique side an airing is sometimes the best way to go. At the end of your breakout session, have everyone pull up the last thing they wrote and find one phrase, sentence, or quote they really liked about it. Don’t ask for grammar, feedback, or anything else, just go around and have everyone share their favorite quotes! This is a way for everyone to get used to talking about their writing with each other and showing what they worked on during the meeting!
Your last step is a bittersweet time. It’s time to end the meeting…but it’s also time to plan the next! Ask your group how they think it went, what they liked and what they didn’t, tell them to be honest about how to improve things! Maybe the game was too long, or the lesson was too short, or the snacks just weren’t snacky enough. You’re here to learn and so are they! Then ask if they would be willing to meet again, and maybe see if another member would like to host!
As the writer who started this group, it isn’t your job to hold the oars and keep them above the water forever. Teach them how to run their own meetings! Show them what you learned and then sit back and relax as they take over, they may ask you for help, or they may say “I’ve got this!” Whatever the outcome, remember to tell them they did an amazing job stepping up and helping run the meeting.
There you have it! You have the steps to form a writing group, a schedule for what to do, and a resource section for where to find information to do it. Now, as Merlin said, it’s up to you! Find your writers, learn to be open to new members, and enjoy your new community!
Something to know as you head out on his journey as that no writing group is perfect and no writing group is the same. This is simply a roadmap to help you as you start out, soon enough you’ll learn what works and what doesn't and you’ll start making your own trails and leaving behind your own landmarks for others to follow. So figure out what works best for your group, maybe you need to spend a meeting just relaxing and playing games with your fellow writers about their characters, or you need to really hunker down and type out lots of words, or have a music writing session. Don’t be afraid to try new things! Before you know it, you may be starting another writing group with a whole new batch of writers all looking up to you!
So get out there and write! Find your community and learn new things! Just remember to have fun and don’t forget to share your love of writing along the way with new people!
Keep a look out for some specific writing group material on the Resource Jewels section to help you dive into individual meetings with tailored lessons all put together!
With Faith, Hope, Love, and Feathers,
Inertia.
