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Other Writers Websites
of Interest
To find or start a writers Group/critique group in your
local area, check out
www.meetup.com
Meetup.com isn't just for Writers! There
are Meetup Groups for over 5,000 interests--from pets to politics,
and from hobbies to health issues? Their mission is to help people
everywhere to organize local Meetup Groups on anything
they care about. Over a million Meetup members are bringing local
communities to life!
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The
Virginia Writers Club, founded in 1918, is a statewide
association of published professionals: poets, journalists,
historians, essayists, biographers, literary scholars, technical and
fiction writers, and other specialists. Dues are a mere $30
per calendar year. There are now six chapters statewide, where
Club members can meet on a regular basis, exchange critiques,
praises and network with other writers.
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The
James-York chapter of the Virginia Writers Club meets
1:30-3:30 P.M. on the third Saturday of every month at the Tabb
Library.
Membership consists of adult published and aspiring writers from
Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, York County and nearby
communities. Dues are $12 per annum, and meetings are open to
the public. Monthly meetings will now be devoted to
critiques of members' work.
If you want to submit work to be critiqued, you can do it one of
two ways: If you want the material to be read in advance of the
next meeting, email it to me at dorenebraun@aol.com and I will
distribute it to the other members. Please make sure that the
file you send is in RTF format, includes your name and a title,
and that the pages are numbered.
If you would rather submit hard copies, bring enough for the
other members to the next meeting. They will read the material
before the April meeting.
Submissions will not be read aloud. Critiquers are encouraged to
markup up the copies and return them to the author at the end of
the meeting.
There are no restrictions on the number or size of the
submissions. However, the group will decide which submissions to
discuss in the time allowed, and longer pieces or pieces that
were not emailed in time to review prior to the meeting may be
held over until the next meeting. So send it early and keep it
short if you want to be critiqued.
Critique meetings will be open to the public so aspiring authors
can see how the process works before joining the chapter and
submitting their own work.
In addition, there will be at least two "special" meetings held
in the large meeting room and devoted to a topic of interest to
the public. The first special meeting will be held in May (not
on a chapter meeting day) and will feature a speaker who writes
nonfiction. For details,
Contact
Chapter President, Dorene Braun.
The
Chesapeake Romance Writers is a non-profit organization.
It's goal is to promote excellence and professionalism in romance writing through
networking opportunities, skills enhancements programs, and the dissemination of market information. There is something for everyone from
the aspiring writer to the published author. Click and visit to view
events and meetings calendar!
Chesapeake Bay Poets
is the home of poetry throughout Hampton Roads from
Richmond to upper North Carolina to the Eastern Shore... connecting
poets to events, resources, and one another, encouraging the care
and feeding of poetry and poets where ever they may be ...
publishing A LINE IN TIME weekly online newsletter and SKIPPING
STONES, an annual anthology of Hampton Roads poetry illustrated by
photography & art by Hampton Roads photogs & artists.
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Virtual
Writer's Groups in cyberspace: Don't want to leave home? Can't
find writers with similar interests locally? Click here for a menu
of on-line writer's groups for all genres and areas of interest and
assistance! A number of sites offer critiques. Sometimes even good critiques. Some boards have people answering questions writers may have. Many sites offer friendly
comraderie.
Tips from another
site: "I don't know if there is any 'best' site because so much depends on what you want. You can visit sites and lurk around for a while to find out if you're comfortable with the place and people. If writers are critiquing other writers, check the comments to see if you'll feel comfortable with those sorts of responses.
Be prepared for C&C (comments & criticism) that ranges from insightful to
did-that-damn fool-actually-read-what-I-wrote? Often you've find remarkably helpful critics. Yes, some C&C will appear to be the critic's personal agenda that has nothing to do with what you submitted and some will be sophomoric attempts to prove literate intelligence. Shrug it off. Silently. Don't be argumentative or defensive; instead (tip #2:), graciously thank those who commented (yes, even those who panned your work). Tip #3: You're expected to return the service: offer C&C on others' submissions if you expect comments on your work.
" Dr. Louis E. Catron
Professor of Theatre
Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance
College of William and Mary
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