![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Writer's group lessons
Mar. 18th, 2011 01:40 pmOutside of some creative writing classes, I've never been to a writer's group. Comments in class have generally ranged in usefulness; people taking the class as a requirement generally just write "good poem" on the top of the page.
My first experience was extremely helpful. The group was welcoming, and everyone worked to provide friendly and constructive feedback. The same was true for my poem. The group leader even picked up on a theme in the poem *I* hadn't noticed before - one which I developed further in my re-write.
I've shared a couple of recent poems with friends, and they shared similar concerns with folks in the writer's group: the beginnings of my poems are strong, but the second half tends to be weaker. I don't develop ideas as fully, instead rushing to the conclusion. My use of images isn't as strong, either. Perhaps I've exhausted that part of my brain earlier in the poem.
Whatever the cause, I now know that this is a potential weak area of mine. This is great news! Now when I'm writing I can give extra attention to the end of my poems (and perhaps even prose) to ensure that its' "working."
I'm definitely sold on the idea of writer's groups. Find one in your area if you can!
I found this group through Meetup. Unfortunately, it's expensive for a group to list themselves on meetup. (This is why many people charge nominal dues.) Apparently this group used to advertise primarily on craigslist - until there were all those sex-related scandals. I never even considered looking on craigslist. I wonder what other writing groups are hiding out there, waiting to be found...
My first experience was extremely helpful. The group was welcoming, and everyone worked to provide friendly and constructive feedback. The same was true for my poem. The group leader even picked up on a theme in the poem *I* hadn't noticed before - one which I developed further in my re-write.
I've shared a couple of recent poems with friends, and they shared similar concerns with folks in the writer's group: the beginnings of my poems are strong, but the second half tends to be weaker. I don't develop ideas as fully, instead rushing to the conclusion. My use of images isn't as strong, either. Perhaps I've exhausted that part of my brain earlier in the poem.
Whatever the cause, I now know that this is a potential weak area of mine. This is great news! Now when I'm writing I can give extra attention to the end of my poems (and perhaps even prose) to ensure that its' "working."
I'm definitely sold on the idea of writer's groups. Find one in your area if you can!
I found this group through Meetup. Unfortunately, it's expensive for a group to list themselves on meetup. (This is why many people charge nominal dues.) Apparently this group used to advertise primarily on craigslist - until there were all those sex-related scandals. I never even considered looking on craigslist. I wonder what other writing groups are hiding out there, waiting to be found...
