Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Writing Group

Last night I hosted a Writer's Group. Because of scheduling silliness, it was just my family of four this time. We do all have writing projects in the works though. My oldest already wrote a novel and is working on tweaking it and plotting out sequels at the same time. My youngest is also writing a book and she has actually been working on a single story for several weeks now.

The only activity we used for the Writer's Group this time was a brainstorming session. Everyone had at least one plot issue that was causing distress. For example, one of us needed to find a way that a monster who took over a human body would be recognized for the monster he was. Someone else wanted two friends to realize that they love each other in a non-corny way. There were pens and note cards available for writing down the inspirations that resulted from the brainstorming.

The rules were:
1. Responses are not limited.
1.5. Multiple responses are encouraged.
2. An author can either reject an idea being given or comment on the idea. The author may only comment on the idea if doing so helps the group to better understand the parameters of the dilemma. Otherwise, it can be rejected without discussion--no hard feelings.

The rule about commenting turned out to be very important. The first suggestions were often so far off the author's expectation that comments helped everyone refine their subsequent suggestions before blurting them out.

We will be doing this again, as it gave everyone ideas. It was like getting a lungful of fresh air after breathing stale air for a long time. Also, we had dessert!

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