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We keep getting asked how to tell if a writing group is a good group. First, are people actually writing, or just talking about writing. Talk is great, and if all you want to do is hang out with other people that want to talk about writing that’s fine, but be wary. Writers don’t just talk about writing; they write.

Second, sometimes it’s hard to be in a group if you write genre of any kind. A lot of writing groups are sort of snoppish. Any group that tells you that what you want to write is bad just because it’s horror, or science fiction, or romance, or mystery, or any other genre, is not the group for you. Don’t let anyone talk you out of what you know in your heart is what speaks to your muse. If the group doesn’t approve of your type of writing, then find a different group.

Third, beware of sharks. Sharks are people that are just in the group to draw blood. They do nothing but criticize in the most vicious terms. They say they’re giving you constructive criticism and trying to help, but trust me, sharks are interested only in destruction and hurting. Some sharks throw off all pretense and begin to attack the writer personally, and not the writing. These are people that are only interested in causing you pain. Any group that tolerates people like this you do not want to be a part of.

Fourth, the group that only says good things. If you’ve written something good, then it’s nice to know, but no one is perfect, especially at the beginning. If you get nothing but praise then you can’t improve your writing, because you don’t have any feedback telling you what your weaknesses are. But true constructive criticism is just that construtive. It contains solutions to help you fix things. It doesn’t just bitch at you.

Fifth, the dominant personality. Beware of a group where one, or two people, but usually one, does all the talking. They’re opinion is the only one allowed, and their critique is the only one that counts. If anyone disagrees with them, they get shouted down, or humiliated until they give up on giving an opinion that is different from the dominant person. Most of these people are just in the group to make themselves feel wonderful, usually at your expense, and they tend to have one, or two, members of the group that are simply there as their Greek chorus. A sort of, "Yes, Sophocles," thing. This group is crippled by their pet Sophocles, leave him and his chorus to their little stroke party and find a group that actually encourages opinions.

This is advice that was hard won for me over the years from personal experience. I hope it helps some of you not have to go through what I endured before I found my own writing group, the Alternate Historians. We’ll be celebrating twenty years as a group. Between us all we have over forty books, and innumerable short stories published. Not bad for a group of people that hadn’t sold anything when we met. (The exception being Sharon Shinn, who had sold several books before she joined us. Our good fortune to have her with us.)