Support Other Writers

Writing Groups 101

This is one of the most important parts. I’m not going to lie, I have points in my life where I can read tons and tons of things from comic books to Journal articles. BUT with that comes struggling through even just a few pages in other points of my life. It’s important to be mindful of what you have to give. And to set time aside where you can give intentional and thoughtful feedback. It’s not just receiving tips to improve your writing that helps with your craft. Teaching and giving mindful guidance to your peers is one of the best ways to learn. So make sure when you sign up for the group, that you will be able to invest the time needed to support your fellow writers.

It’s not just taking time to read and support other writers, it’s also respecting their boundaries. One of the things I learned in college is that it is important to be clear about what type of feedback you’re looking for. I say this to remind you that it’s important to honor boundaries when giving feedback. If someone isn’t looking for grammatical correction focus on what they are looking for.

With all that being said, there are different types of reading groups. Some read their work while they are there. That’s a great option, for people who don’t want to read at home between groups. Find a group that best fits your lifestyle.

The Scary First Time

The first time I attended a writing group, my voice shook. I was nervous. I had no idea how to gauge myself as a writer. I also had been home for a while so I wasn’t as social at that time in my life. Let me tell you, I was scared. I was scared to receive feedback, give feedback, read outloud, even just to speak casually among the writers in the group. Some people may go to these group and be fearless. But it wasn’t that way for me. I still get nervous with new groups for the first time.

It’s ok to be scared. It’s ok to save your most vulnerable piece for only those you trust. It’s ok to only share what you feel comfortable sharing.

Trust your gut. If you’re feeling that writing group isn’t a good fit, leave it. But you’ll never know until you try!

Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

Babe Ruth

Writing Groups -Showing off

and how to do it!

Writing groups are a place where the best practice is sharing: feedback, knowledge and experience and your work. What’s not suggested is treating someone’s manuscript as if your Simon Cowell on The X Factor. Unless the writer asked for every single mistake and missed quotation mark, keep feedback focused on a few important points. It’s good to find a nice variety of feedback to give. Here’s some examples: how you relate to something in the story, what you really liked, a few ways to improve formatting, where you get confused or pulled away from the story, and maybe even take time to discuss some metaphors or fun philosophical ideas.

What inspired this post was a slide I shared on Instagram the other day that says, “It’s not about showing off your writing skills.” I have to admit there are great ways to show of your writing skills. One sure way to show confidence is by using tact when engaging with writers who are giving you feedback. Jot their thoughts down. Respect their level of writing knowledge. Another great way to show of your writing skills is by being vulnerable. Let yourself have fun and learn something from everyone.

I’m saying make the connection with those around you more important than name dropping.


If you did get a moment to brag about your writing experience, what would you say?

Choosing What Feedback

Writing groups provide the “Best way to learn to choose what feedback is important.”

What do I mean by this?

Well, let me start with a little writer’s community gossip. There’s a story going around that Hans Christian Andersen fell on his face and sobbed from getting critical feedback about his writing. (I’ve been there, he’s not alone.) What’s amazing is that now his writing is a huge part of our culture. He wrote: The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina the list goes on. The point here is, sometimes people are wrong about your writing. At the same time some feedback is worth keeping and tucking into your back pocket for both your current work and futures pieces. That doesn’t mean some feedback is invaluable.

All feedback has value in some way.

It’s valuable because giving and receiving feedback can help you develop connections with other writers. Coming to an understanding feels good. Feels like you accomplished being heard. On top of that, your feedback may not help the writer you’re speaking directly to, it can also help those around that are listening. Which is the point! The learn and grow as writers as a community.

I was always nervous when I attended writing groups. I still get nervous attending new writing groups. It took me years to find my own little bubble of confidence. It also took reading a lot of books and philosophers. Something about philosophers trying to get their theories heard helped me feel better as writer. I’m also very interested in philosophy so it’s a double motivator.

Check out my post on instagram where fellow writers shared their thoughts and experiences when it comes to writing groups.

Over the Next Week

We’ll dig in a little more.

I’m going to go over the conversation starters over the next week. I think we can keep working on this subject and keep developing some really great ideas for writers. It’s important to have solitude while you write and think and create, but it’s equally important to include others on your journey. This is how we learn and grow as humans. It took me a long time to find a good balance. I was 100% for having people around as much as possible. I was always with friends and family. Always out being busy and didn’t say no very often at all. And then…. I stopped all of that. I spent years saying no to everything. I stopped talking to people. I isolated quite a bit. But I think it was important for me to do that at that time in my life. I was exhausted and healing from burnout. So now that I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum, my focus is to be intentional about my time. If I’m going to say yes to something, I want to be fully engaged. This is where writing groups come in. Writing and writers bring me joy. They help me and those around me become even better writers and at the same time, better people. This is something I want to be intentional about.

So I’d like to dig in a tad bit more about writing groups.

Get Perspective

Writing Group 101

I’ve been talking about writing groups for a couple days now so I thought tonight would be a good night to share another writers input on writing groups. Author Joani Elliott says something I love. She says,”Writing can be a lonely endeavor and a good writing group can help provide needed strength, feedback and perspective to be successful.” !! I’ve added her link to this post. She shared a wealth of information in that article so make sure you go check it out.

My first writing group, I was so nervous. After the first meeting I left with more confidence in myself. After meeting for several months, I left excited to be a part of a group with such gifted writers. It helped me to shift from looking mostly at myself to truly admiring the artists and creators around me.

Tomorrow I’d like to hear more about your experience with writing groups.

Writing Groups

In honor of our Wednesday Lunch Date

There are a lot of different kinds of writing groups. Some groups are meant to workshop your manuscripts, some are meant to share poetry, some are informative sessions with author talks, and then there are the amazing story slams. Those seem pretty fun. Today, we even have online platforms where virtual writing groups can come together and really have a positive impact on each other’s progress and success. Of all these, I have not been to a story slam. I’ve enjoyed them all in different ways but my favorite is where we workshop our books together.

No matter what type of group, I feel the most important thing I bring is inspiring writers to keep writing. Plot hole? Who cares, keep writing. Too esoteric? Who cares, keep writing. Best book the group has ever read? Who cares, keep writing. That is what I bring and that’s what I always want to bring. The great thing about writing groups is that everyone brings something different. I also like to allow them to see how they can build on their strengths. Someone else may be amazing at the technical stuff, and that’s great. Someone else dialogue. And someone else world-building! (That seems to be my weakness). Learning to give and receive in these groups can be one of the most beneficial things you can do as a writer.

What type of writing group do you prefer?

About Our Lunch Date

Hello writers!
I’m just over here getting ready for our Wednesday lunch date!! 😁😁😁

You can join the conversation on IG @Jayne_press For June, My goal is to inspire some conversation in comments section.

In case you didn’t take the time to slide left or right yet, I’ll explain.
One picture is the Lunch date info. The other is just some different things you can share and chat about in the comments on Wednesday. These aren’t meant to limit conversation just giving us a place to start.

See you there. 😀

-Saschia Writer of Jayne.Press

Wednesday Lunch Chat

w Jayne.Press On Instagram

I’ve decided to plan Lunch chats at 12pm est with fellow writers on Instagram. I was inspired by my latest post, Writing Groups and made that the first topic we’ll chat about. I’m excited to learn about how other writers feel an think about writing groups. Were the writing groups you joined good or hindering? I think Writing Groups can become a big topic but you know what they say, we gotta start somewhere.

I wanted to make sure I invited my entire writing community from IG ➡️ WordPress.

Look out for my posts starting at 12pm this Wednesday and join me for a chat in the comments @jayne_Press

Hope to see you there!