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So You Want to Join a Writing Group Part III: Beware of Hobbyhorses

Creative Nonfiction, Creative Writing, Gary Walker / By

When a writer begins spending time with other writers, he learns that there’s a long and intimidating list of writing rules in need of memorization. It goes something like this: Don’t use adverbs, do avoid clichés, don’t switch points of view mid-scene, do only use “said” as a dialogue tag, and—most of all, folks—show, don’t […]

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So You Want to Join a Writing Group Part II: Don’t Make Excuses for Your Work

Creative Nonfiction, Creative Writing, Gary Walker / By

Here’s the scenario. Today is your day to be critiqued by your writing group. One by one, your peers provide you with thoughtful feedback, analyzing the ins and outs of your work. Everyone is tuned in to your writing, catching a few things you missed—okay, let’s say a lot of things, which is the way

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So You Want to Join a Writing Group Part I: Not So Much with the Talking

Creative Nonfiction, Creative Writing, Gary Walker / By

When I was in my MFA program, there were only two non-negotiable rules of the workshop. The first was that we should always begin a critique by saying something positive about the work under discussion. This was nothing new to me, and it made good sense. After all, it’s just as easy to find weakness in

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