Cancelled- Disallowed- Writers Group/Workshop

[Sarahlacewing]

Hello everypony.  I think we have quite a few writers here on MLP Arena.  I was wondering if there might be any interest in starting up a Writer's Group here in the Off Topic Forum.  If this sort of thing would not be allowed please just let me know Mods!  If there is interest we'd have to decide how to run it.

Options:
1. We partner up and exchange work for critique and evaluation.  Could be in pairs of 2 or we could do groups of 3 or 4 by genre or story format.
2. Everyone in the group reads a story submitted by an author and comments on it.  Then, we take turns until everyone in the group has had a chance to have their work submitted.
3. We submit chapters or pieces of a story that need work for more specific attention rather than overall stories.
4. Other options!!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I would be interested.  I seriously feel like I need help to get this idea out of my head and onto "paper".

[Kitkumi]

I would very much be interested. Writing is my passion, but I can never find anyone who is willing to actually give me real critiques on my work to help me grow better. It has been the one thing I have really missed about college is having some wonderful English classes where I got to work with other writers

[Katika]

I may or may not be interested...  I tend to go through spurts of time/patience for critiquing work, as well as writing my own stuff, and I'd hate to have one of my lulls pop up in the middle of a critique swap.  I think it would be something that I could greatly benefit from, as I'm sitting on uh... nine (?) completed manuscripts right now and finally trying to push my first one towards something pretty enough to publish, but I'm not sure about the time commitment I'd be able to invest in this.  I'll have to think about it

[Sarahlacewing]

Those who are interested, any ideas about how to run it?

[shindow]

Count me in. I'm working on revising a manuscript for submitting to agents / publication, and I NEED beta readers.

How about we create a thread with, say, groups of 2. We can post our title/summary/warnings /rating (G, PG, R ect.)/word count in the thread and people can quote/PM if they want to read it. Then we list the matches in the original post?

We would need someone to keep track, time limits / check in dates. Also, if there's those that just want to beta read, list something like this: Username, What genre/topics you are willing to read (this is big for me as my stories contain graphic violence and questionable themes at times.. some people may not want to read sad/serious stuff.. some may not want to read fluff, for example. I know I shouldn't bring it up, but writing about gay characters can be an issue for some readers as well.)

I wouldn't mix feedback / posting chapters for feedback in this thread, however. We would probably have to make our own threads for that which would get cluttered... so I guess we could try and request a subforum? 

[HelloGoodbye]

My life is pretty crazy right now, but I may be interested depending on how some stuff pans out for me.

The best "real life" writing group I was ever in was in the format that each month/week/however often we were meeting we would all read what the others wrote the previous week and discuss it, and then there would be a new prompt/theme/general guideline and a general length limit (ie. ours were often to keep it under 1000 words) and we would work on those at home and read and talk about them the next week.  It was very fun and helpful, especially if you were dealing with writers block because you had a starting point.

[Sarahlacewing]

I think that to start with since it seems like it's going to be a really small group, maybe we should post the details about the piece we want read (title, genre, word count, stage in editing process, brief overview) and then let readers pick from them.  That way we can email each other files since posting the whole text here is not going to be possible for some of us.

Thoughts?

I guess we should start with general profiles?

Name
Publication history
applicable degrees
professional or just for fun
ect

[Kitkumi]

Would we be using this workshop to start new ideas as well as things that may already be being worked on? I only ask because at the moment, I don't have anything that I consider 'current'. Or at least, nothing of length.

[shindow]

Lemme give this a shot..

Name: My pen name is S. Walden
Publication history: None
Degrees: Working on Associates of CJ
My work is both fun and professional. Theraputic even.
My work is part of an 11-12 book series... really its 10 main books that can be read out of order with no problems. It's encouraged to go back and re-read before/after books because you'll understand different references. There are also a few spin offs and short stories in the same universe.
My work centers on adult/questionable/gay themes, some humor, and personal growth/weaknesses. All are set in the real world, so to speak, except maybe 2, which are fantasy work.
Finally, I am preparing one manuscript for publication and that's the one I'm hoping to get looked at here, first. Maybe my short stories as well.

[NovelNerd]

I may or may not be interested...  I tend to go through spurts of time/patience for critiquing work, as well as writing my own stuff, and I'd hate to have one of my lulls pop up in the middle of a critique swap.  I think it would be something that I could greatly benefit from, as I'm sitting on uh... nine (?) completed manuscripts right now and finally trying to push my first one towards something pretty enough to publish, but I'm not sure about the time commitment I'd be able to invest in this.  I'll have to think about it

I kinda fall in this boat of time and depending on my writing mood. This sounds interesting, and I will think on it.

[clonecommander]

 I've got...something like a dozen or so things in the works...and nobody is ever willing to read them! I like to give it a shot, considering the few who've read by stuff says its great even though I think is the exact opposite. It's a load of Star Wars stuff I work with, primarily set in the Clone Wars. I seem to not include a lot emotional content in the stuff I write, just to give a heads-up.

[Sarahlacewing]

Would we be using this workshop to start new ideas as well as things that may already be being worked on? I only ask because at the moment, I don't have anything that I consider 'current'. Or at least, nothing of length.

We can have prompts and stuff if people would benefit from it. ^^

Post Merge: June 25, 2014, 04:47:46 PM


Name: Sarah
Publication history: College newspaper (short story/poems), city newspaper (short story contest).
Degrees: BA in English with a concentration on literary study and writing.
I want to write professionally.
I mostly write short stories (1,000-5,000 words.) I usually write horror fiction or literary fiction.  I have one novella length story I am hoping to polish for submission.  That is probably where I would like to start if we exchange.  It's character driven, has elements of horror, but is mostly psychological.  Right now I am in the thick of finishing the story arch.  I have intentionally left out several scenes that I felt were irrelevant and I can't decide if they are needed in the story. 

Word count on that one is 18,000 and change.

[kaoskat]

Sorry guys, but this is not going to be allowed at this time. The moderators don't have the time or energy to moderate this sort of thing the way it is needed. There are alot of writing forums, blogs, and facebook groups out there for just this sort of thing where I'm sure you can get the help you need. You are even welcome to get together and start your own. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm sure you'll have the same fun in another place and maybe even be able to get more people involved. Best of luck with your writing!

[shindow]

Aw, bummer, but I totally understand that.

If anyone wants to swap original fiction for critique/editing, PM me.