When I was ...younger, I found that I enjoyed the idea of a writing circle. The chance to improve upon someone elses story or add my own two cents has always appealed to me. But to what end? The only opportunity I got was with several third graders that didn't know one end of a pencil from the other.

So, is this practice banned or frowned upon by older peoples? We are told to write, write, write!! Wouldn't a group of people just committing to write for a half hour a day on an assigned topic keep those minds sharp and pencils moving?

Well, whatever the function of a "writing circle", to practice or continue one story with fresh points of view every turn, are they truly phazed out? I feel they could be revived if they were treated properly by those who are serious about writing. I crave to slip into the muddy flow of my mind and have it joined by the clear stream of thought provided by others to dilute the sludge that keeps me trudging in circles, chanting the same old stuff.

Perhaps those that share my point of view could contact me and we could set up such a lovely situation. It'd be like a cold dip in the pool on a hot summer day: refreshing and invigorating. Feel free to email me: Goldenfrog42@yahoo.com.

April

I think she has something different in mind. This is where one person starts a story and then other people add to it. Sometimes it goes back to the original person to then put the whole thing together, keeping what they think works, deleting other parts, and then tying up the ending.

When I took a creative writing course at a local college a couple of years back, I thought I would hate this,but it ended up being one of the few valuable exercises we did. Other people's stories inspired me and stretched my creativity, while their additions to my story helped me see things from a different angle.

To work outside the classroom, I think something like this would require a lot of structure, like a person might have a time limit or word count to work within. Also, there would have to be some agreement as to who owned the rights. That may sound odd, but the exercise I did in class turned out quite good in the end and I actually got it published.

If you're looking for a critique group, there are several good ones
online. Some specialize in various genres; others are general.
Members post whatever they've written to the group. Other members
critique the piece.  

Obviously, some critiques will be worth more than  others, but
getting different points of view on your work can be valuable. I've
belonged to the Internet Writing Workshop, which has groups for
short fiction, novels, non-fiction, poetry, and other genres, for
several years, and found it extremely useful. I never try to sell
anything until it's been through the mill, and it's paid off every
time.

http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/ 

 

Carter

http://carterj.homestead.com/

I think it would be nice to have such a thing, whether in my area (just south of Vermont) or via an online medium. I bounce ideas off friends and family all the time, and the feedback is invaluable, but it would certainly be interesting to get the perspective of other writers as well as readers.