7 Great Reasons to Start a Writing Group

Writing is often a solitary practice. You spend countless hours at your desk, in the company of only your mind. You may step away for contact with other humans when you need a fresh cup of coffee or to check on an experiment. And then you head back to your desk to pick up where you left off.

Some authors collaborate in the writing process. They look to colleagues to help write the text or to other faculty to review the draft. But this process occurs on an as-needed basis.

Continually connecting with other writers can be immensely helpful for your writing process. Here are 7 reasons why you need to establish and regularly meet with a writing group.

Reasons to start a writing group

Get feedback

One of the greatest benefits to being in a writing group is getting feedback on your writing. You can ask your group members to read your draft and suggest how you might improve the story, reduce the passive voice, or cut unnecessary words or content. You might hesitate to ask for help or feel nervous about having someone give you critical feedback. But in a good group, you will have the opportunity to do the same for other members. This dynamic creates a mutually beneficial relationship between members of the group.

Learn to write better

In addition to getting specific feedback on your own writing, you will see how other members of your group write. By reading their writing, you will learn how they tell their stories. You will even discover different ways to phrase ideas or recall words that seemed to disappear from your vocabulary.

Develop new ideas

When meeting with your writing group, you can share viewpoints and discuss possibilities. You might get feedback that will give you new ideas, such as changing your approach or honing your hypothesis. You might even be inspired to develop a new project or shift your work in a new direction.

Build camaraderie

Scientific and medical authors have some of the same experiences. Our manuscripts get accepted or rejected, our grants awarded or triaged, or our ideas welcomed or challenged. Even though we experience these events, sometimes we feel alone in the process. And our friends and family may not understand what we are going through. A writing group can give you a sense of camaraderie. You can share experiences and advice on how to address any issues your group members may face.

Celebrate wins

A writing group can also be great crew for celebrating successes. Whether your grant was awarded, your manuscript was accepted, or you finally updated your biosketch, your group can gather to celebrate the wins. And all wins should be celebrated. Even the tiny ones.

Get encouragement

We all have bad writing days (or weeks). Whether we face writer’s block, diminishing motivation, or a discouraging rejection, we can look to a writing group for validation and encouragement. They can help use move forward, even if only a small step in the right direction.

Feel benevolent pressure

Sometimes we need more than encouragement. We need a gentle push—or even an outright shove—to keep writing. A writing group can be a great resource for nudging us along and holding us accountable for the writing tasks we want to accomplish.

How to start a writing group

All authors can benefit from a writing group. But depending on your circumstances, you may want to create a formal or informal writing group.

Formal

To start a formal group, you might talk to your department head, dean, or similar leader about establishing a group with faculty at your institution. Some organizations have groups that only review proposals during major grant cycles. However, you might consider asking your group to meet more often and to discuss other types of writing projects, such as manuscripts. By meeting with your group regularly, you can establish rapport and build trust among the group, which will help to build stronger relationships among the members.

Informal

To start an informal group, you could simply ask a few colleagues to meet regularly. You also might consider including group members who work outside of your field. Your writing can greatly benefit from the eyes of a non-specialist who can help you overcome the curse of knowledge and point out any unclear ideas or language in your writing.