In my quest for a better writers’ group I kept getting the same piece of advice. “Just start your own group.”

Deciding it was time for me to become the change I wished to see in the world, I did just that.

In August 2016 I was offered the opportunity to take over the running of a defunct Meet-up group. My first action was to change the group’s name and remove anyone who had accidentally joined looking for a Meet-up in Moscow, Russia. That paired the list down to 15 members, only 3 of which had ever shown up. Since taking over the group, membership has grown substantially, indicating that others in the area are hungry for professional development and a connection with other writers.

The Palouse Writers’ Guild’s goal is to facilitate literary education by supporting writers’ groups, author readings, workshops, writing contests, and conference attendance. Our calendar lists the dates and times of writing groups from the Moscow/Pullman area. Membership is open to writers of all genres and media. Anyone interested in free writing, critique, participating in writing exercises, attending literary events, or just socializing with groups of like-minded people is welcome to join.

More information can be found on the Palouse Writers Guild website: www.palousewritersguild.org

The Palouse Writers Guild also maintains a calendar and list of events on Meet-up.com. Our address there is https://www.meetup.com/Palouse-Writers-Guild/

If you are a Palouse area writer looking for a home, please connect with one of the writing groups who post to our calendars and join us for other events around the area.

Finding a good writing group can be challenging, especially if you are new to writing and don’t know what to look for. Fortunately, there are a variety of group styles to choose from. No one style is better than the others, what matters is whether it works for its members. Some groups meet weekly, others monthly. There are groups where dedicated writers gather together to work at their craft, others are strictly social gatherings of like-minded individuals.

The difficulty in finding a good group is, like all other groups, they can be dysfunctional. Stories of writing groups gone bad are pervasive on the internet and new writers are particularly susceptible to falling prey to dysfunctional groups. Holly Lisle’s Blog lists some common types of group dynamics:

• Circle of Friends
• Masters and Slaves
• Sharks and Dinner

It only takes one person to completely change the dynamic of a group, quickly spiraling from circle of friends to sharks and dinner.

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