How to Start a Writing Group

I’ve been part of the same writing group for some ten years or so, now, and like many things in my life, I basically stumbled into it. I was at one of my usual bars, working on the novel I was writing at the time, and ran into a friend who’d just started a novel-writing workshop group. He asked if I wanted to join and the answer was—as ancient astronaut theorists would say—a resounding yes.

Obviously, there have been some changes since, as there are in any group that goes on for that long. We started off meeting every other Tuesday and every member would submit work for each workshop session. As people finished the manuscripts they’d started off writing, we started workshopping other things—short stories, poems, CNF, even some scripts and graphic narratives—and relaxed into a less rigorous submission schedule since not everybody had new stuff ready for every session. We had some new people join, other members who moved away. Eventually, we started hanging out on the Tuesdays we didn’t meet, too, which morphed into a weekly workshop. That changed into 3 monthly meetings once we started running the After Happy Hour journal, with 1-2 Tuesdays every month now devoted to editorial discussions, issue launches, and other journal-type things.

Through all the years and evolutions, the workshop (which we refer to as the Rahnd Table) has become the most dependable, and in some ways most important, commitment in my life. It’s been there for me every time I got stuck on a project, every time I finished one and didn’t how to get it ready for readers, or what to start next, and there to commisserate over every frustrating rejection and celebrate every acceptance—a source of motivation, inspiration, and support that can be hard to come by outside a writing program. Without the Rahnd Table cheering me on, I doubt I would’ve found the chutzpah to quit my job and start freelancing. I certainly wouldn’t be in the process of starting Scribble House—me and the other founder met through the group.

If you’re sitting there thinking “I want that, too!” then I have good news: you absolutely can, and I promise you’re not the only one who feels that way. You don’t need an MFA or other fancy credentials to start a writing group, and you certainly don’t need those to join one. All you really need are other writers, and in my experience that’s hardly a limited resource. If you want a writing group but aren’t sure where to start, here are the steps I’d recommend taking.

Step 1: Decide what you want out of a writing group.

Writing groups can have different core functions. They can be:

The Rahnd Table does a little bit of all of that, but I’d say our core function is as alpha readers. I’ve sporadically been a member of other workshops that were primarily on the publication side, or primarily generative, and while I enjoyed them I didn’t end up sticking with them. The type of feedback that’s most consistently valuable for me tends to be at the alpha/beta reader level, and the group that offers that is the one I’ve stuck with.

Think about the types of writing questions you tend to have, or where in the process you tend to get stuck. Do you have trouble getting started? Then a generative workshop could be the best fit. On the other hand, if you have a drawer or folder overflowing with finished manuscripts waiting for a home, then you’ll likely be better off with a group of beta readers or a publishing-focused writing group that can help you get them in front of readers.

Step 2: Find and try some existing writing groups.

I learned what type of writing group fits me best through trial and error. Now, I did have some privilege in accessing these environments—the fact that I went to a college writing program, for one, and that I live in a city with a fairly active literary scene. Just by probability, there are likely fewer writing groups already meeting in your area if you live in a smaller town, and if you don’t have friends in the local writing community finding these groups can be a challenge wherever you live.

Challenging doesn’t mean impossible, though, and there are writers everywhere—and, remember, you’ll need to find these other writers whether you’re joining a group or starting your own. You may find the exact type of group you were looking for and not need to create one, after all. Even if not, they’ll probably do at least a couple of things you like and want to emulate—and other things you’ll do differently in your own group. There’s no better way to figure out what you do and don’t want from a writing group than to experience it first-hand. 

How do you find existing writing groups? The best way is to go to the places writers tend to congregate, like:

There are also a growing number of online writing groups. A quick Google search will bring you plenty of options to peruse. You can also check out the websites of small presses and literary journals. Some publishers have their own writing communities, or are affiliated with an organization that hosts online events like writing groups. 

Step 3: Decide on a format and frequency.

Some details are better to work out once the group has members, but it’s good to have a few solidified before you start looking for people to join the group. It makes the idea seem more real, for one thing, both in your mind and for other writers you talk to. It also helps to make sure you’re bringing in people who are basically on the same page as you are.

The big-picture things I’d recommend figuring out before you start looking for group members are:

  1. How often you’ll meet. Most successful workshop groups I’ve seen meet weekly, every other week, or monthly. It’s hard to build and maintain momentum if you meet less often than once a month (and more often than once a week will be unsustainable for most).

  2. What you’ll do during the meeting time. This gets back to step 1. Do you want to write together based on prompts? Read and discuss things the members wrote in advance? Read essays on craft together and do exercises based on them? Your group might end up doing a variety of things as it evolves, but it’s smart to start off with one core function and purpose that you can build from.

  3. The vague where and when. This doesn’t need to be exact, yet, but for people to know if they can join your group they’ll need some basic info. Will you meet in person or over something like Zoom? That affects who you ask to join—an in-person group is obviously limited to people who live nearby. By the same token, you’ll need to know roughly when you’re available—“sometime on the weekend”, for example, or “early evening on a weekday”, just some frame of reference you can give to people interested in the group.

  4. Topic, genre, or group of focus. For example, if you want to just workshop with other poets or memoirists, or if you want to start a group for a specific demographic like LGBT writers or writers who are parents, that’s something you should know before you start finding members. You don’t necessarily need to have this, and it’s definitely something that can change as the group goes, but it can help to give the group more focus at its start. I mentioned above that the Rahnd Table started specifically as a novel workshop group. We’re now open to all styles, and that diversity of voices is great for our purposes as alpha and beta readers. For other groups, having a tighter focus can help make sure it’s meeting the needs of its members.

 Step 4: Find 1-4 starting members (aside from yourself).

There’s no one ideal size for a writing group. The Rahnd Table has a core set of 6 members, with a few rotating or occasional members that sometimes get us up to 8-10 people in a given night.

For me personally, I find feedback-style workshop groups are best kept under about a dozen people, and even at that size it will need active moderation to make sure everyone has a chance to contribute to the conversation. Other styles of writing group can get larger before they become unwieldy, but my point is a writing group doesn’t need to be big to be valuable. A small group of dedicated members will keep a workshop going much longer than 20 who are only sort of interested.

This will be easier if you already have a friends’ network of other writers. If you don’t, those same groups and people I recommended for finding writing groups are also a great resource when you’re looking for folks to join yours. Also take advantage of social media, not just your own profile but local groups on sites like Facebook or Reddit. There are tons of writers out there, and at least a few of them are probably looking for that same kind of community you want, but you won’t know until you ask.

Step 5: Collectively finalize the small details as a group.

Giving all the members input from the start will make it more likely they’ll all stay involved long-term. People feel ownership of a thing when they’re able to contribute to it, for one thing, along with making sure the group will be logistically feasible for everyone who wants to participate.

Once you have your core members, set up a group chat or email chain to get their input on things like:

 Feedback-style workshops will also need to clarify details like:

Again, these things don’t need to be set in stone. Every writing group that lasts long-term is going to grow, change, and evolve over time. But starting out with a plan gives you the framework you need to bring it from an idea into reality. 

Step 6: Start meeting (and do it consistently).

This is honestly the most important step. It’s fine for a workshop to miss a few meetings here and there—the Rahnd Table often takes a week or two off around the holidays, for instance, and we’ve skipped a few random weeks when core members were traveling or we didn’t have words to workshop for whatever reason. But part of the value of a writing group is knowing you have people that expect you to keep writing, and that’s diminished if your group only meets once in a while or when you feel like it.

As the person who started the workshop, even if you don’t see yourself as its “leader”, there will likely be a point you need to do some leading. This doesn’t need to be aggressive—some light prodding here to someone who hasn’t written in a while, a quick check in on a member who’s missed the last few meetings. Once the group gains momentum, it’s likely you’ll find you don’t need to do this much; the collective will step in and support itself. But that can only happen if you build that consistency, where people can count on the group to meet when it says it will.

Being a writer can be a lonely pursuit, and having a writing group is, in my view, the absolute best way to overcome that isolation. I hope this post has inspired and helped you to start or join a group of your own!

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