A Meeting of the Minds

I always wanted to join a writers group.  Ever since I read author’s giving thanks to their writers groups in their acknowledgement or dedication pages, I felt the urge to belong.  I made several unsuccessful attempts while living in Saskatchewan.  It seems that being a mother of two young children make joining anything outside of the home difficult. 

When I moved to Alberta, I joined a book club almost immediately.  It was a great way to get to know new people in a new town.  When I found out one of the members was also a writer, I felt excited.  When she asked me to help her start a writers group, I was tickled and a bit apprehensive.  Who would come?  How would we advertise?  What would we do?  Fortunately, my friend Katie is a pro at online life.  I finally joined Facebook and we met for our first writers group.  We were only three, Katie, her husband and me, but by sharing our writing, we got to know one another quickly. 

The first year was touch and go.  I invited a few people who came once or twice, but people began to join our Facebook page.  We also put a free ad in the local paper.  By September, we had a couple of email inquiries and a few more people attended.  This September, we had about four more inquiries and we now have a general attendance of four to six people each month.  We aren’t big, but we’re small, as Stewart McLean would say.

As we now prepare for our first writers retreat this summer, I am reminded of the many things I have gained by meeting with other writers. 

Without Writers Group . . .

I would not have come up with the idea for my latest novel project.

I would not have written at least five of my short stories.

I would not have met about twenty people in my town.

I would not be looking forward to my first ever writers retreat.

I would not have joined Twitter.

I would not have joined Facebook.

I would not have started this blog.

I would love to know, do you belong to a writers group and what is the best thing about your meetings?