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43 Creative Writing Exercises

Creative writing exercises for adults

Welcome to our treasure trove of creative writing exercises. Get inspired with new story ideas, have fun mastering essential writing skills, and find everything you need whether you're flying solo, or running each exercise with a group.

Table of contents

A note on running exercises remotely

A letter from your character to you, the opening sentence, make your protagonist act, overcoming writer's block, writing character arcs, sewing seeds in your writing, giving feedback to authors, the five senses, show don't tell, world building.

Easy gossiping exercise

Degrees of Emotion Game

Three birds, one line, blind date on valentine's day (exercise for adults), a success (works best for online groups), your dream holiday, time travel - child, adult, senior, focus on faces.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

The alphabet story - creating a story as a group

A question or two, murder mystery game, the obscure movie exercise, how to hint at romantic feelings, a novel idea, creative writing prompts, creative story cards / dice, alternative christmas story, murder mystery mind map.

New Year's resolutions for a fictional character

Stephen King - Using verbs & nouns in fiction

It's the end of the world

Other Content:

7 Editing exercises  (for your first draft)

How to run the writing exercises

I run a  Creative Writing Meetup  for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise, followed by an hour and a half of silent writing, during which each participant focuses on their own project. Every exercise listed below has been run with the group and had any kinks ironed out.  Where the exercises specify a number of people, if you have a larger group, simply split everyone up into smaller groups as appropriate.

The solo exercises are ideal to help stimulate your mind before working on a larger project, to overcome writer’s block, or as stand-alone prompts in their own right. If a solo exercise inspires you and you wish to use it with a larger group, give every member ten minutes to complete the exercise, then ask anyone who wishes to share their work to do so in groups of 3 or 4 afterwards.

Looking for something quick to fire your imagination? Check out these  creative writing prompts for adults .

While you can enjoy the exercises solo, they are also designed for online writing groups using Zoom, WhatsApp, or Discord.

If you're running a group and follow a ' Shut Up and Write ' structure, I recommend connecting on WhatsApp (for example) first, doing the exercise together, sharing writing samples as needed. Next, write in silence for an hour and a half on your own projects, before reconnecting for a brief informal chat at the end. This works great with small remote groups and is a way to learn new techniques, gain online support, and have a productive session.

If you have a larger online group, it's worth looking into Zoom, as this has a feature called  Breakout Rooms . Breakout Rooms let you split different writers into separate rooms, which is great for group activities. The free version of Zoom has a 40 minute limit, which can be restrictive, but Zoom Pro is well worth it if you're going to use it on a regular basis. In my experience, Zoom has a better connection than Facebook chat or WhatsApp.

Letter from fictional character to the author

Spend ten minutes writing a letter from a character in your novel to  you , the author, explaining why you should write about them. This serves three purposes:

  • As you write, it helps you get into the mindset of the character. Ask yourself how they would language this letter and what they would consider important.
  • It's motivating to know that your character wants you to write about them.
  • If your goal is to publish a complete work of fiction one day, whether it be a novel, a play or a movie script, you will want to contact an agent or publisher. This helps you practice in an easy, safe way.

If you're doing this exercise with a group of teens or adults, and some of the group haven't already started working on their masterpiece, they can instead choose any fictional novel they love. Ask participants to imagine that a character within the book wrote to the author in the first place to ask them to write their story. How did they plead their case?

First sentence of books

The opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Many authors achieve this by starting with an action scene. In modern literature, it's best to avoid starting with someone waking up, or a description of the weather. In this exercise the task is to write an opening sentence either to a book you're currently writing, or simply for an imaginary piece of literature.  Here are some of my favourite opening sentences to get you going:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell , 1984

The Golem's life began in the hold of a steamship.

Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Djinni

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Diana Gabaldon , Outlander

You better not never tell nobody but God.

Alice Walker , The Color Purple

The cage was finished.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez ,  Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Imagine that you are living your life out of order: Lunch before breakfast, marriage before your first kiss.

Audrey Niffenegger ,  The Time Traveler's Wife

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Douglas Adams ,  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a plethora of ways you can start a book, however two ways that help engage the reader immediately are:

  • Set the scene in as few words as possible, so the reader immediately knows what's happening and wants to know what happens next.  The scene must be original and create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
  • Surprise the reader with an unusual event or usual point of view.

Spend 5 minutes working on your own opening sentence, then share it with the other participants.

Exercise for 2 writers, or can be done solo.

Make your characters act

According to John Gardner:

"Failure to recognise that the central character must act, not simply be acted upon, is the single most common mistake in the fiction of beginners."

Spend 5 minutes writing a scene where the protagonist is passive in a conversation with one other character. It could be that the other character says something dramatic, and the protagonist just listens, or it could be anything else of your choice!

Once the 5 minutes is up, swap papers with another writer. If you're using Zoom, or working online, send it to each other in a private chat. Now the other person spends 8 minutes rewriting the scene to make the protagonist as active as possible. This might include:

Read both scenes together. Which makes you want to keep on reading?

If you're doing this as a solo writing exercise, simply complete both parts yourself.

  • Showing the emotion this evokes.
  • Getting them to disagree with the other character.
  • Showing how they respond physically (whether it's as a physical manifestation of how they feel, or a dramatic gesture to make a point).

Overcoming writer's block

Are you staring at a blank page or stuck for any story ideas? This exercise will help anyone who's experiencing writer's block with a particular piece of writing. If this isn't you, that's great, others will value your input!

If anyone has a particular scene they're stuck with (a pool of blood on the floor they have no explanation for, a reason why the rich lady just walked into a particular pub, etc.) then at the start of the exercise everyone briefly describes their scenes (if working online with a large group, typing it into the chat might be best). Everyone then chooses one scene to use as a writing prompt to write a short story for 10-15 minutes.

Afterwards, split into small groups if necessary, and read out how you completed someone else's writing prompt. As everyone listens to everyone else's ideas, this can be a wonderful source of inspiration and also improves your writing. As an alternative solo exercise, try free writing. With free writing, simply write as quickly as you can on the topic without editing or censoring yourself - just let your creative juices flow. If you're not sure what happens next, brainstorm options on the page, jot down story ideas, or just put, "I don't know what happens next." Keep going and ideas will come.

Character arc

There are several different types of character arc in a novel, the 3 most common being:

For this exercise choose either a positive or negative character arc. Spend 8 minutes writing a scene from the start of a novel, then 8 minutes writing a scene towards the end of a novel showing how the character has developed between the two points. Don't worry about including how the character has changed, you can leave that to the imagination.

The point here is to capture the essence of a character, as they will be the same, but show their development.

  • Positive  - Where a character develops and grows during the novel. Perhaps they start unhappy or weak and end happy or powerful.
  • Negative  - Where a character gets worse during a novel. Perhaps they become ill or give in to evil tendencies as the novel progresses.
  • Flat  - In a flat character arc the character themself doesn't change much, however the world around them does. This could be overthrowing a great injustice, for example.

Sewing seeds in writing

In this exercise, we will look at how to sew seeds. No, not in your garden, but in your story. Seeds are the tiny hints and indicators that something is going on, which influence a reader's perceptions on an often unconscious level. They're important, as if you spring a surprise twist on your readers without any warning, it can seem unbelievable. Sew seeds that lead up to the event, so the twists and turns are still surprising, but make intuitive sense. Groups : Brainstorm major plot twists that might happen towards the end of the novel and share it in a Zoom chat, or on pieces of paper. Choose one twist each. Individuals : Choose one of the following plot twists:   -  Your friend is actually the secret son of the king.   -  Unreliable narrator - the narrator turns out to be villain.   -  The monster turns out to be the missing woman the narrator is seeking.   -  The man she is about to marry happens to already have a wife and three kids.

Write for ten minutes and give subtle hints as to what the plot twist is. This is an exercise in subtlety. Remember, when the twist occurs, it should still come as a surprise.

Animal exercise

This is a fun writing activity for a small group. You’ve found a magic potion labelled ‘Cat Chat’ and when you drink it, you turn into whichever animal you’re thinking about; but there’s a problem, it also picks up on the brainwaves of other people near you!

Everyone writes down an animal in secret and then reveals it to the other writers.  The spell will turn you into a creature that combines elements of all the animals.  Each person then spends 5 minutes writing down what happens when they drink the potion.

After the 5 minutes is up, everyone shares their story with the other participants.

If you enjoy this exercise, then you may also want to check out our  Fantasy and Sci-Fi writing prompts  full of world building, magic, and character development prompts..

I remember

Joe Brainard wrote a novel called:  I Remember It contains a collection of paragraphs all starting with “I remember”.  This is the inspiration for this exercise, and if you’re stuck for what to write, is a great way to get the mental gears turning.  Simply write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that pops into your head.

Spend 5 minutes writing a short collection of “I remember” stories.

Here are a couple of examples from Joe Brainard’s novel:

“I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn't fall off.”

“I remember waking up somewhere once and there was a horse staring me in the face.”

Giving constructive feedback to authors

If you're running a workshop for more experienced adult authors and have at least an hour, this is a good one to use. This is the longest exercise on this page, but I felt it important enough to include.

Give each author the option to bring a piece of their own work. This should be double spaced and a maximum of 3 pages long. If you're running a workshop where not everyone is likely to bring a manuscript, ask everyone who wants to bring one to print two copies each. If someone forgets but has a laptop with them, the reader can always use their laptop.

Print out a few copies and hand them around to everyone in the workshop of the guide on: 'How to give constructive feedback to writers'

Each author who brought a sample with them then gives them to one other person to review. They write their name on the manuscript in a certain colour pen, then add any comments to it before passing it to a second person who does the same (commenting on the comments if they agree or disagree).

Then allow 5 minutes for everyone to discuss the feedback they've received, ensuring they are giving constructive feedback.

Giovanni Battista Manerius - The Five Senses

Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius -  The Five Senses

Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between:

Hearing  Taste Smell Touch

This can be internal as well as external (I heard my heartbeat thudding in my ears, or I smelt my own adrenaline).

After the 5 minutes stop and everyone reads it out loud to each other. Now write for another 5 minutes and continue the other person's story, but do NOT use sight OR the sense they used.

You can use any sense to communicate the essentials, just focus on creating emotions and conveying the story with the specific sense(s).

If you need some writing prompts, here are possible scenes that involve several senses:

  • Climbing through an exotic jungle
  • Having an argument that becomes a fight
  • A cat's morning
  • Talking to someone you're attracted to

2 or 3 people

Show don't tell your story

A lot of writing guides will advise you to, "Show, don't tell". What does this actually mean?

If you want to evoke an emotional reaction from your reader, showing them what is happening is a great way to do so.  You can approach this in several ways:

Split up into pairs and each person writes down a short scene from a story where they "tell" it.  After this, pass the description of the scene to your partner and they then have 5 minutes to rewrite it to "show" what happened.  If there are an odd number of participants, make one group of three, with each person passing their scene clockwise, so everyone has a new scene to show.  After the 5 minutes, for small groups everyone reads their new description to everyone else, or for large groups, each person just reads their new scene to their partner.

  • Avoid internal dialogue (thinking), instead have your protagonist interact with other people, or have a physical reaction to something that shows how s/he feels.  Does their heart beat faster?  Do they notice the smell of their own adrenaline?  Do they step backwards, or lean forwards?
  • Instead of using an adjective like creepy, e.g. "Mary entered the creepy house", show why the house is creepy through description and in the way the protagonist responds - "The light streamed through the filthy skylight, highlighting the decomposing body of a rat resting on top of it.  As Mary stepped inside, she felt a gust of freezing air brush past her. She turned, but there was nothing there..."

Visual writing prompts

World building is the art of conveying the magic of living in a different world, whether it's a spaceship, a medieval castle, a boat, or simply someone's living room. To master world building, it's not necessary to know every intricate detail, rather to convey the experience of what it would be like to live there.

Choose one of the above images as a prompt and spend 10 minutes writing a scene from the perspective of someone who is seeing it for the first time. Now, move your character six months forward and imagine they've spent the last six months living or working there. Write another scene (perhaps with an additional character) using the image as a background, with the events of the scene as the main action.

Click the above image for a close-up.

Gossiping about a character as if they're a friend.

Easy to gossip with friends about a character

Judy Blume says that she tells her family about her characters as if they’re real people. 

Chris Claremont said, "For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends." 

Today’s exercise has 2 parts. First, spend 5 minutes jotting down some facts about a character you’ve invented that might come up if you were telling your friends about them. Either choose a character in something you’ve already written, or invent one from scratch now.

Answer the questions:

What are they up to? How are they? What would you say if you were gossiping about them?

Then split up into groups of 4 to 6 writers. 2 volunteers from each group then role-play talking about their character as if they were a friend (perhaps another character in the story).  The other participants will role-play a group of friends gossiping about the character behind their back and ask questions. If you don’t know the answer, invent it!

Degrees of emotion

This is based on an acting game, to help actors understand how to perform with different degrees of emotion.

Ask everyone to write the following 4 emotions:

For groups of 5 or less, write down numbers starting with 1 and going up until everyone has a number, then give them out in order. For groups of 6 or more, divide groups into 3's, 4's or 5's.

Each person has to write a scene where the protagonist is alone and is only allowed to say a single word, e.g. "Banana".  The writer with number 1 should write the scene with a very low level of the emotion (e.g. happiness), number 2 increases the intensity a bit and the highest number writes a scene with the most intense emotion you can possibly imagine.

Once each writer has written about happiness, rotate the numbers one or two spaces, then move onto anger, then fear, then sadness.

It can help to give everyone numbers showing the intensity of the emotions to write about at the start of the exercise, in which case you may wish to print either the Word or PDF file, then use the ones corresponding to 3, 4 or 5 writers.

PDF

Everyone shares their scene with the other course participants.

Kill three birds with one stone

The first paragraph of a surprising number of best-selling novels serves multiple purposes. These are to:

  • Establish a goal
  • Set the scene
  • Develop a character

Nearly every chapter in a novel also serves all three purposes. Instead of establishing a goal though, the protagonist either moves towards it, or encounters an obstacle that hinders them from achieving it.

Some books manage to meet all three purposes with their opening lines, for example:  

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

J.K. Rowling ,  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  

A little more than one hundred days into the fortieth year of her confinement, Dajeil Gelian was visited in her lonely tower overlooking the sea by an avatar of the great ship that was her home.

Iain M. Banks ,  Excession  

"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

George R.R. Martin ,  A Game of Thrones

For this exercise write a sentence or short paragraph that serves all three purposes. If you're already writing a novel, then see if you can do this for the first line in a chapter. If not, choose any combination from the following table:

Valentine's Day Book

In pairs one writer spends a minute or two describing a character they're writing about, or alternatively they can describe a celebrity or someone from a work of fiction.  The next writer then describes their character.

The story is that these 2 characters (or in my case, person and alien, as I'm writing a sci-fi) have accidentally ended up on a blind date with each other. Perhaps the waiter seated them in the wrong location, perhaps it's an actual blind date, or perhaps they met in some other fashion the writers can determine.

Now spend 10 minutes discussing what happens next!

Winning a race

This exercise works best for online groups, via Zoom, for example.  The instructions to give are:

"In a few words describe a success in your life and what it felt like to achieve it. It can be a small victory or a large one."

Share a personal example of your own (mine was watching my homeschooled sons sing in an opera together).

"Once you have one (small or large), write it in the chat.

The writing exercise is then to choose someone else's victory to write about for 10 minutes, as if it was the end of your own book.

If you want to write for longer, imagine how that book would start. Write the first part of the book with the ending in mind."

This is great for reminding people of a success in their lives, and also helps everyone connect and discover something about each other.

Dream holiday in France

You’re going on a dream holiday together, but always disagree with each other. To avoid conflict, rather than discuss what you want to do, you’ve decided that each of you will choose a different aspect of the holiday as follows:

  • Choose where you’ll be going – your favourite holiday destination.
  • Choose what your main fun activity will be on the holiday.
  • Decide what mode of travel you’ll use to get there.
  • If there’s a 4 th  person, choose what you’ll eat on the holiday and what you’ll be wearing.

Decide who gets to choose what at random. Each of you then writes down your dream holiday destination/activity/travel/food & clothes in secret.  Next spend 5 minutes discussing your dream holiday and add any other details you’d like to include, particularly if you’re passionate about doing something in real life.

Finally, everyone spends another 5 minutes writing down a description of the holiday, then shares it with the others.

Writing haiku

A haiku is a traditional Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry whose short form makes it ideal for a simple writing exercise.

They are traditionally structured in 3 lines, where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables again. Haiku tend to focus on themes of nature and deep concepts that can be expressed simply.

A couple of examples:

A summer river being crossed how pleasing with sandals in my hands! Yosa Buson , a haiku master poet from the 18 th  Century.

And one of mine:

When night-time arrives Stars come out, breaking the dark You can see the most

Martin Woods

Spend up to 10 minutes writing a haiku.  If you get stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable rule, then don’t worry, the overall concept is more important!

See  How to write a haiku  for more details and examples.

Writing a limerick

Unlike a haiku, which is profound and sombre, a limerick is a light-hearted, fun rhyming verse.

Here are a couple of examples:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his beli-can He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the heli-can.

Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller in  Punch,  1923

The 1 st , 2 nd  and 5 th  line all rhyme, as do the 3 rd  and 4 th  line.  The overall number of syllables isn’t important, but the 3 rd  and 4 th  lines should be shorter than the others.

Typically, the 1 st  line introduces the character, often with “There was”, or “There once was”. The rest of the verse tells their story.

Spend 10 minutes writing a limerick.

Adult time travel

Imagine that your future self as an old man/woman travels back in time to meet you, the adult you are today.  Alternatively, you as a child travels forward in time to meet yourself as an adult.  Or perhaps both happen, so the child you, adult you, and senior you are all together at the same time.  In story form write down what happens next.

Participants then share their story with other writers either in small groups, or to the whole group.

Solo exercise

Describing a character

One challenge writers face is describing a character. A common mistake is to focus too much on the physical features, e.g. "She had brown eyes, curly brown hair and was five foot six inches tall."

The problem with this is it doesn't reveal anything about the character's personality, or the relationship between your protagonist and the character. Your reader is therefore likely to quickly forget what someone looks like.  When describing characters, it's therefore best to:

  • Animate them - it's rare that someone's sitting for a portrait when your protagonist first meets them and whether they're talking or walking, it's likely that they're moving in some way.
  • Use metaphors or similes  - comparing physical features to emotionally charged items conjures both an image and a sense of who someone is.
  • Involve your protagonist  - if your protagonist is interacting with a character, make it personal.  How does your protagonist view this person?  Incorporate the description as part of the description.
  • Only give information your protagonist knows  - they may know if someone is an adult, or a teenager, but they won't know that someone is 37 years old, for example.

Here are three examples of character descriptions that leave no doubt how the protagonist feels.

“If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.” S.D. Lawendowski,  Snapped

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war." Maggie Stiefvater,  The Dream Thieves

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling." Charles Dickens

Spend 5 minutes writing a character introduction that is animated, uses metaphors or similes and involves your protagonist.

If working with a group, then form small groups of 3 or 4 and share your description with the rest of the group.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

Onomatopeai, rhyme or alliteration.

Today's session is all about sound.

Several authors recommend reading your writing out loud after you've written it to be sure it sounds natural.   Philip Pullman  even goes as far as to say:

"When I’m writing, I’m more conscious of the sound, actually, than the meaning. I know what the rhythm of the sentence is going to be before I know what the words are going to be in it."

For today's exercise, choose the name of a song and write for 10 minutes as if that's the title for a short story. Focus on how your writing sounds and aim to include at least one onomatopoeia, rhyme or alliteration.  At the end of the 10 minutes, read it out loud to yourself, or to the group.

Alliterations

An alliteration example from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.

Onomatopoeias

Buzz, woof, quack, baa, crash, purr, beep, belch,...

alphabet story

This is a novel way to write a story as a group, one word at a time.  The first person starts the story that begins with any word starting with “A”, the next person continues the story with a word starting with “B”, and so on.

Keep going round until you have completed the alphabet.  Ideally it will all be one sentence, but if you get stuck, start a new sentence.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t make complete sense!

It can be tricky to remember the alphabet when under pressure, so you may wish to print it out a couple of times, so the storytellers can see it if they need to, this is particularly helpful if you have dyslexics in the group.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Here’s an example of an alphabet story:

A Band Can Dance Each Friday, Ghostly Hauntings In Jail Kill Lucky Men, Nobody Or Perhaps Quiet Rats, Still That Unifies Villains Who X-Ray Your Zebras.

As I mentioned, it doesn’t need to make sense!

Small or large groups

1 or 2 questions

The standard format in our group is a short writing exercise followed by an hour and a half of silent writing on our projects.

At one point I felt like we'd done a lot of small group exercises, and wanted to gain an insight into what everyone was working on, so we did the following exercise instead:

Go round the table and ask everyone to briefly talk about their writing.  Each person then asks one or two yes/no questions.

Everyone responds either by raising their hand for 'yes' or shaking their heads for 'no'. You can also leap up and down to indicate a very strong 'yes'.

Questions can be about anything, and you can use them either to help guide your writing or to help find other people in the group who have similar interests.

Here are some random examples you might ask:

  • I want to write a romance novel and am considering setting it in Paris, a traditional romantic setting, or Liverpool which is a less obvious setting. Who thinks Liverpool would be best?
  • I need to know more about the life of a farmer. Has anyone got farming experience who I can interview in exchange for a drink?
  • My character gets fired and that night goes back to his office and steals 35 computers. Does that sound realistic as the premise of a story?

This works best when you give participants some advance notice, so they have time to think of a question.

Groups of 3 or 4

Murder mystery

This exercise takes 20-30 minutes and allows participants to create a murder mystery outline together.

Phase 1 (3 minutes)

  • Split into groups of 3 or 4
  • Decide as a group where the murder occurs (e.g. the opera house, a bar, a casino)
  • Decide one person who will write the details of the victim and the murder itself.  Everyone else writes the details of one suspect each.
  • The ‘victim author’ then invents a few extra details about the scene of the crime, who the victim was (a teenage punk, an adult opera singer, etc.) and the murder weapon and summarises this to the others.

Phase 2 (10 minutes)

Each person then writes a police report as if they are either describing the scene of the crime, or recording the notes from their interview with a single suspect:

Write the following:

  • 1 line description of the victim.
  • When they were last seen by a group of witnesses (and what they were doing).
  • How the murder occurred in more detail based on the evidence available.

Write the following (from the perspective of the investigator):

  • 1 line description of the suspect
  • What they said during the interview (including what they claim to have doing when the murder occurs).
  • A possible motivation (as determined by the police from other witnesses).

Phase 3 (5 minutes)

  • Each person reads out their police reports to the other members of their small group
  • As a group, decide who the murderer was and what actually happened

See more ideas on  creating murder mystery party games

Obscure movie

Pick a famous movie and spend 5 minutes writing a scene from it from an unusual perspective.  Your aim is to achieve a balance between being too obscure and making it too obvious.  Feel free to add internal dialogue.

At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone reads their movie scene to the others and all the other participants see if they can guess what the movie is.

How to hint at romantic feelings

Write a scene with two people in a group, where you hint that one is romantically interested in the other, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

The goal of this exercise is to practice subtlety. Imagine you are setting a scene for the future where the characters feelings will become more important. Choose a situation like a work conference, meeting with a group of friends, etc. How do you indicate how the characters feel without them saying it in words?

Some tips for hinting at romantic feelings:

  • Make the characters nervous and shy.
  • Your protagonist leans forward.
  • Asks deeper questions and listens intently.
  • Finds ways to be close together.
  • Mirrors their gestures.
  • Gives lots of compliments.
  • Makes eye contact, then looks away.
  • Other people seem invisible to your protagonist.

Novel idea

Take it in turns to tell everyone else about a current project you’re working on (a book, screenplay, short story, etc.)

The other writers then brainstorm ideas for related stories you could write, or directions your project could take.  There are no right or wrong suggestions and the intention is to focus on big concepts, not little details.

This whole exercise takes around 15 minutes.

Exercise for groups of 3-5

Creative writing

If you're in larger group, split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.

Everyone writes the first line of a story in the Zoom chat, or on paper. Other people can then choose this line as a writing prompt.

For this exercise:

  • Say who the protagonist is.
  • Reveal their motivation.
  • Introduce any other characters

Once everyone's written a prompt, each author chooses a prompt (preferably someone eles's, but it can be your own if you feel really inspired by it.)  Then write for 10 minutes using this prompt. See if you can reveal who the protagonist is, what their motivation is (it can be a small motivation for a particular scene, it doesn't have to be a huge life goal), and introduce at least one new character.

Take turns reading out your stories to each other.

  • Write in the first person.
  • Have the protagonist interacting with an object or something in nature.
  • The challenge is to create intrigue that makes the reader want to know more with just a single line.

Creative story cards for students

Cut up a piece of paper and write one word on each of the pieces of paper, as follows:

Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random.  The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence.  The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on.  Go round the group twice to complete the story.

You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.

Alternative Christmas Story

Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.

What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!

Group writing exercise

If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.

Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.

If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!

Murder Mystery mind map

In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.

Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:

Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.

The idea is that  everyone writes at the same time!   Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.

  • Who was the victim? (job, appearance, hobbies, etc.)
  • Who did the victim know?
  • What were their possible motivations?
  • What was the murder weapon?
  • What locations are significant to the plot?

New Year’s resolutions for a fictional character

List of ideas for a fictional character

If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.

One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.

If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions  will  be, or what their resolutions  should  be, their choice.

Verb Noun Fiction Exercise (Inspired by Stephen King)

List of ideas for a fictional character

Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."

He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."

In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.

It’s the end of the world

End of the world

It’s the end of the world!  For 5 minutes either:

If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.

  • Describe how the world’s going to end, creating evocative images using similes or metaphors as you wish and tell the story from a global perspective, or
  • Describe how you spend your final day before the world is destroyed.  Combine emotion and action to engage the reader.

7 Editing Exercises

For use after your first draft

Editing first draft

I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”  

Terry Pratchett

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”

Neil Gaiman

Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.

The First Sentence

Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to  On Writing and Worldbuilding  by Timothy Hickson,  “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.

It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.

Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?

As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.  

Show Don’t Tell One

This exercise is the first in  The Emotional Craft of Fiction  by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.  

  • Select a moment in your story when your protagonist is moved, unsettled, or disturbed… Write down all the emotions inherent in this moment, both obvious and hidden.
  • Next, considering what he is feeling, write down how your protagonist can act out. What is the biggest thing your protagonist can do? What would be explosive, out of bounds, or offensive? What would be symbolic? … Go sideways, underneath, or ahead. How can your protagonist show us a feeling we don’t expect to see?
  • Finally, go back and delete all the emotions you wrote down at the beginning of this exercise. Let actions and spoken words do the work. Do they feel too big, dangerous, or over-the-top? Use them anyway. Others will tell you if you’ve gone too far, but more likely, you haven’t gone far enough.

Show Don’t Tell Two

Search for the following words in your book:

Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?

After The Action

Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?

It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.

Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.

Eliminating the Fluff

Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”? 

Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.

“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.

Chapter Endings

When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said,  “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”

Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:

  • End on a cliff hanger? (R.L. Stine likes to finish every chapter in this method).
  • End on a natural pause (for example, you’re changing point of view or location).

Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?  

The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.

With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!

The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer.  Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".

This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages.  It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.

Still looking for more? Check out these  creative writing prompts , or our dedicated  Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts .

If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.

Creative writing games

Writing prompts for adults

Fantasy and sci-fi prompts

Create a murder mystery game

Murder mystery riddles

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Activities for Writing Groups

Touching base.

Mutual support can be one of the most important functions of a writing group. Sometimes encouragement and the knowledge that others are interested in and committed to your work and your progress as a writer can be just as helpful as feedback. To that end, your writing group may want to reserve some time in each session to “touch base” or “check in” with one another. During this time you could:

  • Describe your writing activities since the last group meeting in terms of pages written, parts of a project completed, or hurdles overcome.
  • If you haven’t written much since the last meeting, you could talk about the kinds of pre-writing activities you have undertaken (research, reading, editing previous work, meeting with a professor or advisor, etc.). Or you could talk about the obstacles to writing that have hindered your progress (writer’s block, having a big exam this week, needing to gather more data before you can write, etc.).
  • Explain how work that was discussed during the last meeting is now evolving in response to group comments. You might explain which comments you chose to act on, or tell how a section of the piece has been reorganized or rethought in response to the group’s feedback.
  • Share your writing plans for the coming week or two so that your group members will know what kinds of writing they will see and so that you can help one another stick to your goals.
  • Decide, as a group, on a theme for the next meeting—brainstorming, drafting, proofreading, style, writer’s block, etc. Choosing a writing issue to tackle together will help you understand the challenges each member is facing at the moment and enable you to plan meetings that will help group members meet those challenges.

Systems for sharing work

Some writing groups ask members to distribute their work in advance of the group meeting, particularly if the piece of writing in question is lengthy. Internet-based file-sharing platforms make it easy to share files, and groups can choose a platform that will offer their members the appropriate level of access and security. Standardized file-naming conventions will help members locate documents easily, e.g., consistently naming folders by Date_Name of writer (11.14.20_Maria or Nov. 14 Maria).

Responding to work that you read outside of the group

The following ideas might help you respond to work that has been distributed beforehand:

  • Group members could write comments and suggest editorial changes on their copies of the paper and give those to the writer during the group meeting.
  • Group members could prepare a written response to the paper in the form of a letter to the writer, a paragraph, a written discussion of the work’s strengths and weaknesses, or on a form developed by the group. See the Responding to Other People’s Writing worksheet in this packet for a helpful model.
  • Group members could respond verbally to the piece, each offering a personal, overall reaction to writing before opening the discussion to a broader give-and-take.
  • You could go through the piece paragraph-by-paragraph or section-by-section, with each reader offering comments and suggestions for improvement.
  • The author could come prepared with a list of questions for the group and lead a discussion based on those questions.
  • One group member, either the author or (perhaps preferably) a different member of the group, could keep careful notes on key reactions and suggestions for the author’s future reference.

Responding to writing presented during the group meeting

Some groups prefer to bring writing, particularly shorter pieces, to the group meeting for immediate discussion. You might bring a draft of an entire paper, a section of a paper, or just a sentence or two that you can’t seem to get “just right.” Many of the above ideas will work just as well for writing that has been presented during the meeting of the writing group. However, since writing presented during the meeting will be new to everyone except the author, you might try these additional strategies:

  • Read the paper aloud to the group before launching discussion. The author could read, or another member of the group could read while the author notes things that sound like they might need revision. You could either read the entire text or break it into chunks, discussing each after it is read.
  • Group members could also read silently, making notes to themselves, before launching the discussion.
  • Read the first paragraph or first section aloud and have everyone in the group briefly write down what he or she thinks the paper will be about or what he or she thinks the thesis of the paper is. Share those responses in discussion.

Sharing writing without the anticipation of feedback

Sometimes, especially with new writing or writers needing a boost of confidence, it can be helpful to share writing without anticipating feedback. This kind of sharing can help writers get over fears about distributing their work or being judged:

  • For writers undertaking long projects, sharing a piece can serve to show the rest of the group the progress made since the last meeting, even if the author doesn’t need feedback right now.
  • Sharing a piece of writing without expecting feedback can provide the writer with a deadline to work toward without generating anxieties over whether or not the piece is “good enough” to share.
  • Sharing writing early in a writing group’s work together can be a no-pressure way to get to know one another’s projects and writing styles.

Brainstorming as part of the group process

Writing groups can provide not only feedback and a forum in which to share work, but also creative problem-solving for your writing troubles. Your group might try some of these brainstorming ideas:

  • Have one group member identify a writing problem that needs to be solved. Ask each group member to free-write possible solutions.
  • Cut up a copy of a paper that needs organizational changes so that each section, main idea, or paragraph is on its own slip of paper. As a group, move the pieces of paper around and discuss possible options for reorganizing the work.
  • After reading a piece, generate a list of items that the group might like to know more about. Organize these questions into categories for the author to consider.

Writing during writing group meetings

Your writing group may choose to write during some of its meetings. Here are some ideas for what to write:

  • If everyone in the group has a major deadline approaching, use one session as a working meeting. Meet in a computer lab or other location in which everyone can write and work independently, taking breaks periodically to assess your progress or ask questions.
  • Use some writing group time to free-write about your writing project—new ideas, to-do lists, organizational strategies, problems, or sentences for your drafts would all be appropriate topics for free-writing.
  • Free-write about the writing process (you could all write about “How I start to write” or “The writing environment that works for me” or “When I sit down to edit…”) and share your responses with one another.
  • Write about the dynamics of the writing group as a way of getting everyone’s ideas out on paper. You could free-write about the kinds of feedback that help you, what you like about each other’s writing, your frustrations with the group, and your suggestions for improving the way the group works.
  • Spend a few minutes of each meeting practicing a new writing or editing technique you would like to explore.
  • See the Writing Exercises handout for more ideas.

Reading during writing group meetings

Just as writing during group meetings can prove beneficial, reading can sometimes help writing groups work together better:

  • Pick a book on writing such as Bird by Bird, Writing with Power, Writing Down the Bones, Writing Without Teachers, or Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day and assign yourselves sections to read for each meeting. Discuss the reading during some part of the group’s meeting each time.
  • Read about a particular writing topic such as editing techniques or writer’s block during the group meeting, and then spend the session working on that aspect of one another’s writing.
  • Bring a piece of writing (an article in your field, an article from a journal or magazine that you enjoyed, or a piece of fiction) that you think is especially well-written. Read over it as a group and talk about what the author did in the piece that made it so effective.
  • Bring pieces of data or evidence that you are using in your writing and share them with the group. If the group becomes familiar with the things that you write about, they may be better able to help you write about them effectively.

Bring in a guest

Just as guest lecturers in courses sometimes spice up the classroom experience, guests in writing groups can enliven the discussion:

  • Invite a friend’s writing group to have a joint meeting with yours. Share writing from all participants and also talk about writing group strategies that have worked for each group.
  • Invite a faculty member or other guest writer to your group to talk about his or her writing process and to offer suggestions for improving your own.
  • Bring in a friend who is working on a project related to the project of a group member. This may help your group member develop a network of people interested in his or her particular topic and may also show your friend how helpful a writing group could be.

Your writing group can also help you plan your writing schedule for the week:

  • Discuss your writing goals, both broadly and for the immediate future. Ask your group if those goals seem realistic.
  • Ask group members to e-mail you with reminders of deadlines and encouragement.
  • Create a group calendar in which you all set goals and deadlines for your writing. This calendar could be for a week, a month, a semester, a year, or more. The Writing Center publishes a planning calendar each semester.
  • Give each other writing “assignments” for the next meeting.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Writing groups can be useful tools for writers looking to gain constructive feedback on their work and improve their craft. At Writer’s Relief, we’ve taken the time to curate a list of writers groups so you don’t have to! Scroll down or click one of the links below to view the writing groups in your state or region.

Regional | Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington, D.C. | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming | Canada

For Online Writers Groups, click here!

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Regional writing groups:.

Horror Writers Association (Horror, Dark Fantasy)

The Fellowship of Southern Writers (All Genres)

Midwest Travel Writers Association (Travel)

New England Science Writers (Science, Technology, and Journalism)

Northwest Science Writers Association (Science)

Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains (Science, Photography)

Society of Southwestern Authors (All Genres)

Southeastern Writers Association (All Genres)

Women Writing the West (All Genres)

Alabama Writing Groups:

Birmingham, AL — Alabama Media Professionals (All Genres)

Cullman, AL — Alabama Writer’s Conclave (All Genres)

Homewood, AL — Heart of Dixie (Romance)

Huntsville, AL —  Southern Magic (Romance)

Mobile, AL — Gulf Coast Chapter of the Romance Writers of America (Romance)

Mobile, AL — Mobile Writer’s Guild (All Genres)

Mobile, AL — Huntsville Literary Association (All Genres)

Mobile, AL — Alabama Writer’s Forum (All Genres)

Montgomery, AL — Write Club (All Genres)

Alaska Writing Groups:

Anchorage, AK —  Alaska Writers Guild (All Genres)

Anchorage, AK — Northern Speculative Fiction (Fiction)

Anchorage, AK — Alaska Wilderness Writers (All Genres)

Anchorage, AK — Alaska Professional Communicators (Journalism)

Anchorage, AK — The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators  (Children’s Literature)

Anchorage, AK —  49 Writers (All Genres)

Arizona Writing Groups:

Chandler, AZ — Chandler Romance Writing (Romance)

Glendale, AZ — Writer’s Round Table (All Genres)

Litchfield Park, AZ — West Valley Writer’s Workshop (All Genres)

Mesa, AZ — East Valley Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in AZ — Arizona Authors Association (All Genres)

Peoria, AZ — Peoria Fiction Writing Critique Group (Fiction)

Phoenix, AZ — Central Phoenix Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ —  The Phoenix Writers Club (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ — Nonfiction Authors Association (Nonfiction)

Phoenix, AZ — Gang of Fearless Freewriters (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ — Arcadia Memoir Writers (Memoir)

Scottsdale, AZ — Writing Without Workshops (All Genres)

Scottsdale, AZ — Scottsdale Society of Women Writers (All Genres)

Arkansas Writing Groups:

Fayetteville, AR — Arkansas Writers (All Genres)

Hot Springs Village, AR — Village Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Little Rock, AR — American Christian Fiction Writers (Christian Fiction)

Little Rock, AR — Little Rock Literary Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Little Rock, AR— Central Arkansas Speculative Fiction Writers’ Group (Fiction)

Searcy, AR —  White County Creative Writers (All Genres)

Springdale, AR — Fiction Forge (Fiction)

California Writing Groups:

Bakersfield, CA — Writers of Kern (All Genres)

Berkley, CA —  California Writers Club  (All Genres)

Burbank, CA — Write It Up (All Genres)

Davis, CA — The Davis Writers Saloon (All Genres)

Fountain Valley, CA —  Southern California Writers Association (All Genres)

Huntington Beach, CA — Southern California Writers Association (All Genres)

Lake Forest, CA — Sit Down, Shut Up, and Write (All Genres)

Long Beach, CA — Coffee House Writers Group (All Genres)

Long Beach, CA — The Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles (Children’s Literature)

Los Angeles, CA —  Independent Writers of Southern California (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA —  Los Angeles Writers Group (Fiction)

Los Angeles, CA — Writers With Drinks (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles Poets & Writers Collective (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Organization of Black Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

Los Angeles, CA — The Southwest Manuscripters (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA —  Writers Guild of America, West (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Deus ex Machina Advanced Writers Collective (All Genres)

Murrieta, CA —  International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association (Journalism)

Multiple Locations in CA — Sierra Writers (Fiction, Nonfiction)

Oakland, CA — California Writers Club (All Genres)

Redondo Beach, CA — Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (All Genres)

San Clemente, CA — Poets and Dreamers: Authors and Writers Literary Network (All Genres)

San Bernadino, CA — San Bernardino Writers’ Group (All Genres)

San Diego, CA — San Diego Writers/Editor Guild (All Genres)

San Francisco, CA —  Central Coast Writers (All Genres)

San Francisco, CA — San Francisco Writers Grotto (All Genres)

Sonora, CA — Sonora Writers Group (All Genres)

Simi Valley, CA — Write Here, Write Now (All Genres)

West Hollywood, CA — Creative Express for Writers, Screenwriters & Filmmakers (All Genres)

Colorado Writing Groups:

Boulder, CO —  Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Colorado Springs, CO — Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group (All Genres)

Colorado Springs, CO — Pikes Peak Writers (All Genres)

Denver, CO —  Denver Woman’s Press Club (All Genres, Journalism)

Denver, CO —  Colorado Authors League (All Genres)

Eastlake, CO — Colorado Romance Writers (Romance)

Fort Collins, CO — Northern Colorado Writers (All Genres)

Greenwood Village, CO — Women Writing the West (All Genres)

Montrose, CO — Lighthouse Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Pueblo West, CO —  Pueblo West Writers Group  (All Genres)

Connecticut Writing Groups:

Multiple Locations in CT — Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association (All Genres)

Somers, CT — Northern Connecticut Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Westport, CT —  Westport Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Westport, CT — Just For Writers (All Genres)

Westport, CT —  Fairfield County Writers Group (All Genres)

West Hartford, CT — West Hartford Fiction Writers (Fiction)

West Hartford, CT — Faxon Poets (Poetry)

West Hartford, CT — Connecticut Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

West Redding, CT — Long Ridge Writers Group (All Genres)

Delaware Writing Groups:

Georgetown, DE — Delmarva Christian Writers’ Fellowship (Spiritual)

Rehoboth Beach, DE —  Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Florida Writing Groups:

Avon Park, FL —  Avon Park Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Boca Raton, FL — Indie Writers & Artists (All Genres)

Boynton Beach, FL —  Boynton Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Bradenton, FL —  Bradenton Writers Group (All Genres)

Brandon, FL—  Brandon Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Celebration, FL —  Celebration Writers Group (All Genres)

Cocoa, FL —  Space Coast Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Daytona Beach, FL —  Daytona Beach Writers (All Genres)

Deerfield Beach, FL — Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter (Crime, Fiction)

Deland, FL —  Café Writers (All Genres)

Englewood, FL —  Suncoast Writers Guild, Inc . (All Genres)

Fernandina, FL —  Writers by the Sea (All Genres)

Ft. Myers, FL —  Gulf Coast Writers Association, Inc. (All Genres)

Ft. Pierce, FL — Treasure Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Gainesville, FL —  Writers Alliance of Gainesville (All Genres)

Hallandale Beach, FL —  Gulfstream Writers (All Genres)

Havana, FL —  Havana Writers (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL —  Serivilous Panerians (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL —  River City Writers (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL —  First Coast Christian Writers Group (Spiritual)

Jacksonville, FL — Northeast Florida Sisters in Crime (Crime, Mystery)

Lady Lake, FL —  Lady Lake Writers (All Genres)

Lakeland, FL —  Lakeland Writers (All Genres)

Lake Mary, FL —  Seminole County Writers Group (All Genres)

Lake Mary, FL —  A Novel Group of Writers (All Genres)

Maitland, FL —  Maitland Writers (All Genres)

Miami, FL— South Florida Writers Association (All Genres)

Mount Dora, FL —  Authors Roundtable of Mount Dora (All Genres)

Mount Dora, FL —  Poets Critique Group (Poetry)

Ocala, FL —  Freedom Writers Group (All Genres)

Oldsmar, FL —  Oldsmar Critique Group (All Genres)

Orange Park, FL —  Clay County Writers (All Genres)

Orange Park, FL —  Clay County Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Orlando/Winter Park, FL —  Orlando Area Writers (All Genres)

Oxford, FL —  Oxford Writers (All Genres)

Palm Bay, FL —  Palm Bay Writers (All Genres)

Palm City, FL —  Palm City Word Weavers (All Genres)

Panama City, FL —  Panama City Chapter (All Genres)

Pembroke Pines, FL —  Quills in the Glades (All Genres)

Ponte Vedra, FL —  Ponte Vedra Writers (All Genres)

Port Orange, FL —  Port Orange Scribes (All Genres)

Port St. Lucie, FL —  Treasure Coast Writers Group (All Genres)

Punta Gorda, FL —  Peace River Writers (All Genres)

Sarasota, FL —  Sarasota Writers Group (All Genres)

Sebring, FL —  Sebring Scribblers & Scribes (All Genres)

Sebring, FL —  The Hearland Author Mix (All Genres)

St. Augustine, FL — Ancient City Writers (All Genres)

St. Lucie County, FL — Morningside Writers Group (Fiction)

St. Petersburg, FL —  St. Petersburg Writers (All Genres)

St. Petersburg, FL —  St. Petersburg Writer Critique Group (All Genres)

Sunrise, FL —  Dan Pearl Sunrise Writers (All Genres)

Tallahassee, FL — Tallahassee Writers Association (All Genres)

Tampa, FL —  New Tampa/Wesley Chapel Writers (All Genres)

Tampa, FL —  Tampa Writers (All Genres)

Tampa, FL — Tampa Writers Alliance (All Genres)

Tarpon Springs, FL —  Tarpon Springs Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Treasure Coast, FL — Treasure Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL — Porch Poets (Poetry)

Vero Beach, FL — Tuesday Writers  (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL —  Writers Window Pane (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL  —  Vero Beach Writers Circle (All Genres)

Wellington, FL —  Wellington Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

West Melbourne, FL — Space Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Yankeetown, FL —  Yankeetown Critique Group (All Genres)

Georgia Writing Groups:

Athens, GA —  Athens Writers Association (All Genres)

Atlanta, GA —  Atlanta Writers Club (All Genres)

Calhoun, GA — Calhoun Area Writers (All Genres)

Decatur, GA — Village Writers Group (All Genres)

Gainesville, GA — Northeast Georgia Writers (All Genres)

Kennesaw, GA —  Georgia Writers Association (All Genres)

Hawaii Writing Groups:

Honolulu, HI — Pacific Writers’ Connection (All Genres)

Keauhou, HI — Hawaii Island Writers Association (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in HI— Hawaii Island Writers Group (All Genres)

Idaho Writing Groups:

Boise, ID —  Idaho Writers Guild (All Genres)

Boise, ID —  Idaho Writers Rendezvous (All Genres)

Coeur d’Alene, ID — Idaho Writer’s League (All Genres)

Idaho Falls, ID —  Blue Sage Writers (All Genres)

Meridian, ID — Idahope Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Post Falls, ID — Inland Empire Chapter of Romance Writers of America (All Genres)

Priest River, ID —  River Writers (All Genres)

Twin Falls — Twin Falls Writers (All Genres)

Illinois Writing Groups:

Aurora, IL —  A-Town Poetics (Poetry)

Batavia, IL — Batavia Writers Group (All Genres)

Bloomington-Normal, IL — Bloomington-Normal Writers Group (All Genres)

Carol Stream, IL —  DuPage Writers Group (All Genres)

Carterville, IL —  Southern Illinois Writers Guild (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — Chicago Dramatists (Playwrights)

Chicago, IL — Chicago Women in Publishing (All Genres)

Chicago, IL —  Chicago Writers Association (All Genres)

Chicago, IL —  Poets and Patrons of Chicago (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — The Writers WorkSpace (All Genres)

Elgin, IL — Wordplay (All Genres)

Elgin, IL — Writers on the Fox (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Day Jammers (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Inklings and Speculations (Fiction)

Geneva, IL — Night Writers (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Writers Anonymous (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Write Time Writers Group (All Genres)

North Aurora, IL — Fox Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in IL — Central Illinois Writers Group (Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction)

Multiple Locations in IL —  Fox Valley Writers & Poets (All Genres)

Naperville, IL — Naperville Writers Group (All Genres)

Park Ridge, IL — Prairie Avenue Writers (All Genres)

St. Charles, IL — Lit Lab 51 (Poetry, Sci-Fi, Improv)

St. Charles, IL — St. Charles Writing Group (All Genres)

Indiana Writing Groups:

Hammond, IN —  First Friday Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Hammond, IN — Indiana Writers’ Consortium (All Genres)

Indianapolis, IN —  Indiana Writers Center (All Genres)

Merrillville, IN — Write-On Hoosiers, Inc. (All Genres)

Schererville, IN — Magic Hour Writers (All Genres)

Iowa Writing Groups:

Ames, IA  — Inkspots (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Beaverdale Writers Group (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Central Library Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Des Moines Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA —  Iowa Romance Writers (Romance)

Des Moines, IA — Sisters in Crime (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Southside Library Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Waukee, IA — Waukee Public Library Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Kansas Writing Groups:

Lawrence, KS — Great Plains Writers Group (All Genres)

Olathe, KS — Kansas City Writers Group (All Genres)

Wichita, KS — Wichita Area Romance Writers (Romance)

Wichita, KS — Kansas Writers Association (All Genres)

Kentucky Writing Groups:

Elizabethtown, KY — Bard’s Corner Writers Group (All Genres)

Frankfort, KY — Capitol City Writers Roundtable (All Genres)

Harrodsburg, KY — Writers Bloc 40330 (All Genres)

Horehead, KY — Kentucky State Poetry Society (Poetry)

Lexington, KY — Dreambuilding (All Genres)

Lexington, KY —  Eagle Creek Writers Group (All Genres)

Lexington, KY —  Lexington Fiction Writers Group (Fiction)

Lexington, KY — Poezia Poetry/Prose Group (Poetry/Prose)

Louisville, KY — Green River Writers (All Genres)

Louisville, KY — Louisville Romance Writers (Romance)

Louisville, KY — Women Who Write (All Genres)

Louisville, KY — The Writers Workshop Project (WWP) (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in KY —  Kentucky Indie Writers (All Genres)

Owensboro, KY — Owensboro Writers Group (All Genres)

Louisiana Writing Groups:

Baton Rouge, LA — Baton Rouge Writers (All Genres)

Bossier City, LA — North Louisiana Storytellers & Authors of Romance (All Genres)

Covington, LA —  Northshore Literary Society (All Genres)

Lafayette, LA — Writers Guild of Acadiana (All Genres)

Lake Charles, LA — Bayou Writers Group (All Genres)

Maine Writing Groups:

Bangor, ME — Southern Penobscot Area Writers Network

Blue Hill, ME — Down East Writers (All Genres)

Portland, ME —  Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (All Genres)

Dover-Foxcroft, ME —  Central Maine Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in ME — Maine Poets Societ y (Poetry)

Maryland Writing Groups:

Annapolis, MD — Annapolis Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Annapolis, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Annapolis Chapter (All Genres)

Annapolis, MD — Women Poets Workshop (Poetry)

Arnold, MD — Waterfront Writers (Fiction)

Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Area Writers (Creative/Literary Nonfiction)

Baltimore, MD —  Baltimore Writing Hour (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD — Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD — Charm City Writers (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD —  Maryland Writers Association, Baltimore Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, MD —  Fiction and Screenwriting Critique Group (Fiction)

Columbia, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Howard County Chapter (All Genres)

Easton, MD —  Eastern Shore Writers Association (All Genres)

Finksburg, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Carroll County Chapter (All Genres)

Frederick, MD — Frederick Writers Group (Fiction)

Frederick, MD — Frederick Writers Salon (All Genres)

Hampden, MD — Hampden Writers’ Group (Fiction)

La Plata, MD —  Maryland Writers Association, Charles County Chapter (All Genres)

Leonardtown, MD — Maryland Writers Association, St. Mary’s County Chapter (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, MD — BayHill Writers (All Genres)

Saverna Park, MD — Saverna Park YA/NA Writers Group (Fiction)

Silver Spring, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Montgomery County Chapter (All Genres)

Massachusetts Writing Groups:

Boston, MA —  The Writers’ Room of Boston (All Genres)

Dennis, MA —  Scargo Hill Poets (Poetry)

Hyannis, MA — Writers in Common (Fiction, Memoir, Creative Nonfiction)

Lancaster, MA —  Seven Bridge Writers’ Collaborative (All Genres)

Mashpee, MA —  Mid-Cape Nonfiction Writers Group (Nonfiction)

Mid-Cape, MA — Sands of Time Memoir Group (Memoir, Nonfiction)

Orleans, MA — Dune Hollow Writers (All Genres)

Osterville, MA —  Advanced Writers Group (All Genres)

Sandwich, MA — Upper Cape Writers Group (All Genres)

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Writers Group (All Genres)

Michigan Writing Groups:

Ann Arbor, MI — Mid-Michigan Prose and Writing Group (All Genres)

Ann Arbor, MI —  Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America (All Genres)

Detroit, MI —  Detroit Working Writers (All Genres)

Detroit, MI — Detroit Writer’s Guild (All Genres)

Detroit, MI —  Motown Writers Network (All Genres)

Grand Rapids, MI — Grand Rapids Writer’s Exchange (All Genres)

Grand Rapids, MI — Peninsula Writers (All Genres)

Howell and Livingston County, MI — Howell Area Writers’ Circle (All Genres)

Ludington, MI — The WestSide Gang Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in MI— Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Michigan Chapter (Children’s Literature)

Novi, MI —  Southeast Michigan Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Rochester, MI —  Rochester Writers (All Genres)

Standish, MI — Mid-Michigan Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Minnesota Writing Groups:

Alexandria, MN — Alexandria Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Alexandria, MN — Alexandria Word Weavers (All Genres)

Brainerd, MN — Brainerd Heartland Poets (Poetry)

Brainerd, MN —  Brainerd Writers Alliance  (All Genres)

Duluth, MN —  Lake Superior Writers (All Genres)

Elbow Lake, MN — Elbow Lake Grant County Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Fergus Falls, MN — Fergus Falls Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Hackensack, MN — Hackensack Bards of a Feather (All Genres)

Little Falls, MN — Great River Writers (All Genres)

Maple Grove, MN —  Minnesota Christian Writers Guild (Spiritual)

Minneapolis, MN —  Loft Literary Center  (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN —  Midwest Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Minneapolis, MN —  Minnesota Science Fiction Society (Science Fiction)

Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN —  Open Book  (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN —  MinnSpec (Speculative Fiction)

Ottertail, MN — Ottertail Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Park Rapids, MN —  Park Rapids Jackpine Writers’ Bloc  (All Genres)

Perham, MN — Perham Thousand Lakes Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Rochester, MN — Rochester MN Writing Group  (All Genres)

Sauk Centre, MN — Sauk Centre Gopher Prairie Writers’ Group (All Genres)

St. Paul, MN — Write, Create, Communicate (All Genres)

Twin Cities, MN —  Twin Cities Writers Group  (All Genres)

Mississippi Writing Groups:

Biloxi, MS — Gulf Coast Writers Association (All Genres)

Hattiesburg, MS —  Hub City Writers  (All Genres)

Natchez, MS — Mississippi Writers Guild (All Genres)

Ridgeland, MS —  Mississippi Poetry Society (Poetry)

Starkville, MS —  Mississippi Writers and Musicians (All Genres)

University, MS —  University of Mississippi Writers Project (All Genres)

Missouri Writing Groups:

Branson, MO —  Ozarks Writers League (All Genres)

Cape Girardeau, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Southeast Missouri Chapter (All Genres)

Cassville, MO —  Mid-South Writers Group of Missouri (All Genres)

Columbia, MO —  Missouri Writers’ Guild, Columbia Chapter (All Genres)

Joplin, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Joplin Chapter (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Kansas City Writers Group (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Midwest Children’s Authors Guild (Children’s Literature)

Kansas City, MO —  The Writers Place (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Heartland Romance Authors (Fiction, Romance, Novel)

Kennett, MO —  Heartland Writers Guild (All Genres)

Marshall, MO —  Missouri Writers’ Guild, Marshall Chapter (All Genres)

O’Fallon, MO —  Missouri Writers’ Guild, Coffee and Critique Chapter (All Genres)

St. Louis, MO — Missouri Romance Writers of America (Romance)

St. Louis, MO — Sisters in Crime, Greater St. Louis Chapter (All Genres)

St. Louis, MO — St. Louis Writers Guild (All Genres)

St. Joseph, MO — St. Joseph Writers Guild (All Genres)

St. Peters, MO —  Missouri Writers’ Guild, Saturday Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Montana Writing Groups:

Kalispell, MT —  Authors of the Flathead (All Genres)

Missoula, MT — 406 Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Missoula, MT — Montana Romance Writers (Romance)

Nebraska Writing Groups:

Omaha, NE —  Omaha Writers Group (All Genres)

Omaha, NE —  The Nebraska Writers Guild (All Genres)

Omaha, NE — Romance Authors of the Heartland (Romance)

Ralston, NE — The Nebraska Writers Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Nevada Writing Groups:

Carson City, NV — Ash Canyon Poets (Poetry)

Carson City, NV — Lone Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Henderson, NV —  Henderson Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Pahrump, NV — Oasis Writers Guild (All Genres)

New Hampshire Writing Groups:

Concord, NH — Granite State Writers Group  (All Genres)

Hooksett, NH —  New Hampshire Writers Project (All Genres)

Ossippe, NH —  Poetry Society of New Hampshire (Poetry)

Peterborough, NH —  Monadnock Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH —  Beat Night Poetry (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Creative Writing Group (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH —  Hoot Night at Cafe Espresso (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Memoir Writing Group (Memoir)

Portsmouth —  Nonfiction Writing Group (Nonfiction)

Portsmouth, NH — Pen Central Writers (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Poetry and Short Fiction Writers Group (Poetry, Fiction)

Portsmouth, NH — Portsmouth Writing Salon (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH —  Pisquataqua Poets (Poetry)

Portsmouth. NH —  Writers Night Out (All Genres)

New Jersey Writing Groups:

Atco, NJ — Garden State Writers (All Genres)

Asbury Park, NJ — Writers Group (All Genres)

Bayville, NJ —  Berkeley Adult Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Bellmar, NJ — South Jersey Writers Group (All Genres)

Bergen County, NJ — The Writers of the Weird (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror)

Edison, NJ — Liberty States Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Fanwood, NJ —  Serendipitous Scribes (All Genres)

Iselin, NJ — New Jersey Romantic Writers (Romance)

Mahwah, NJ —  Mahwah Writer’s Collective (All Genres)

Mahwah, NJ — The Science Fiction Society of Northern NJ (Sci-Fi)

Manalapan, NJ —  Monmouth Creative Writing Group (All Genres)

Manchester, NJ — The Manchester (NJ) Writers’ Circle (All Genres)

Middletown, NJ — The Noble Writers (All Genres)

Milltown, NJ – Milltown Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Moorestown, NJ —  Juliette Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NJ — Women Who Write, Inc. (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NJ —  The NJ Authors’ Network (All Genres)

Ridgewood, NJ — Ridgewood Memoir Writing Workshop (Memoir)

Plainsboro, NJ — Princeton Writing Group (All Genres)

Somerset, NJ —  New Jersey Writers’ Society (All Genres)

South Hackensack, NJ — Bergen County Poets & Fictionaires (All Genres)

Summit, NJ — New Providence Writers (All Genres)

Woodbridge, NJ — Woodbridge Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers (Sci-Fi, Fantasy)

New Mexico Writing Groups:

Alamogordo, NM —  The Writers Corner (All Genres)

Albuquerque, NM — SouthWest Writers (All Genres)

Albuquerque, NM — The Wordwrights (All Genres)

Ruidoso, NM —  Lincoln County Writers Association (All Genres)

Santa Fe, NM — Santa Fe Writers Group (All Genres)

New York Writing Groups:

Albany, NY — Poetry Chat (Poetry)

Astoria, NY — Astoria Writers Group (All Genres)

Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Brooklyn, N7Y —  NY Writers Coalition (All Genres)

Brooklyn, NY — The Brooklyn Writing and Creative Group (All Genres)

Bronx, NY — Poetry On Demand (Poetry)

Forest Hills, NY — Forest Hills Poetry Writing (Poetry)

Long Island, NY —  Amateur Writers of Long Island (All Genres)

Manhattan, NY — NYC Writers Circle (All Genres)

Manhattan, NY —  Science Writers in New York (Science and Medicine)

Manhattan, NY — WF Writing (All Genres)

New York City, NY — NYC Laid-Back Writing Group (All Genres)

New York City, NY — New York Writing Club (All Genres)

New York City, NY — Poets House (Poetry)

New York City, NY — Shut Up & Write! (All Genres)

New York City, NY — Storytellers of NY (Fiction)

New York City, NY — The Poetry Table (Poetry)

Nyack, NY — River Writers Circle (All Genres)

Staten Island, NY — The Staten Island Writers (All Genres)

Syracuse, NY — The Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group (Nonfiction)

Multiple Locations in NY —  Morningside Writers Group (Fiction, Screenwriting, Teen Writing, Memoir)

Tarrytown, NY — Hudson Writers Group (All Genres)

Troy, NY —  Hudson Valley Writers Guild (All Genres)

Troy, NY — Capital District Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

North Carolina Writing Groups:

Boone, NC — High County Writers (All Genres)

Charlotte, NC —  Charlotte Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Charlotte, NC — Queen City Writers Group (All Genres)

Graham, NC — Burlington Writers Club (All Genres)

Greensboro, NC — Writers’ Group of the Triad (All Genres)

Monroe, NC — Union County Writers Club (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NC— North Carolina Writers’ Network-West’s Mountain Writers & Poets (All Genres)

Raleigh, NC — Screenline (Screenwriting)

Raleigh, NC —  Triangle Association of Freelancers

Pittsboro, NC —  Bynum Comedy Writers Workshop (Humor)

Southern Pines, NC — North Carolina Poetry Society (Poetry)

Wadesboro, NC —  Anson County Writers Club (All Genres)

Washington, NC — Pamlico Writers Group (All Genres)

Winston-Salem, NC —   Winston-Salem Writers (All Genres)

North Dakota Writing Groups:

Devils Lake, ND —  Lake Region Writers’ Group  (All Genres)

Grand Forks, ND — University of North Dakota Writing Center (All Genres)

Minot, ND — North Dakota Nonfiction Writers (Creative Nonfiction, Journalistic Nonfiction)

Moorhead, ND— Fargo Writers (All Genres)

Ohio Writing Groups:

Akron, OH — Akron Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Beavercreek, OH — Antioch Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Canton, OH — Greater Canton Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Cincinnati, OH—  Greater Cincinnati Writers League  (All Genres)

Cleveland, OH — Skyline Writers (All Genres)

Columbus, OH — Downtown Writers Network (All Genres)

Columbus, OH — The InkStone (Novel)

Columbus, OH —  Ohio Writers’ Guild  (All Genres)

Columbus, OH —  Wild Goose Creative  (All Genres)

Dayton, OH — Western Ohio Writers Association (All Genres)

Dayton, OH — Dayton Christian Writers Guild, Inc. (Spiritual)

Delaware, OH — Poetry at the Delaware Library (Poetry)

Greater Cleveland and North Eastern, OH — Cleveland Writer Group (All Genres)

Hamilton, OH — Hamilton Writers Guild (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in OH —  Romance Writers of America, Central Ohio Fiction Writers Chapter  (Fiction)

Multiple Locations in OH —  The Ohio Poetry Association  (Poetry)

Sylvania, OH — Toledo Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Zanesville, OH — Y-City Writers’ Forum (All Genres)

Oklahoma Writing Groups:

Ada, OK — Ada Writers (All Genres)

Bartesville, OK — Wordweavers Writing Group (All Genres)

Bixby, OK — The South Tulsa Writers Meetup (All Genres)

Enid, OK — Enid Writers Club (All Genres)

Edmond, OK —  Pen and Keyboard Writers (All Genres)

Edmond, OK — The Inklings (All Genres)

Green Country, OK —  Green Country Ruff Riters (All Genres)

Guthrie, OK —  Red Dirt Writers Society (All Genres)

McAlester, OK — McAlester’s McSherry Writers (All Genres)

Midwest City, OK —  Mid-Oklahoma Writers (All Genres)

Norman, OK — Norman Galaxy of Writers (All Genres)

Oklahome City, OK — Creative Quills (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma City Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK —  Oklahoma Horror Writers’ League (Horror)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Write Now (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Romance Inc. (Romance)

Stillwater, OK — Stillwater Writers Group (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Critical Ink (Fiction)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa NightWriters (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Area Children’s Book Writers (Children’s Literature)

Tulsa, OK — Nevermore Edits (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Unbreakable Spines (All Genres)

Woodward, OK — Writers of the Purple Sage (All Genres)

Oregon Writing Groups:

Baker City, OR — The Writers Guild of Eastern Oregon (All Genres)

Eugene, OR — The Lane Literary Guild (All Genres)

Jefferson, OR —  Women’s Fiction Writers Association (Women in Fiction)

Portland, OR — 9 Bridges Writers Guild (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Attic Institute (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Friends of Mystery (Mystery)

Portland, OR — The Moonlit Poetry Caravan (Poetry)

Portland, OR — Mountain Writers Series (All Genres)

Portland, OR —  Oregon State Poetry Association, Portland Unit (Poetry)

Portland, OR —  Oregon Writers Colony (Novel)

Portland, OR — Willamette Writers (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Write Around Portland (All Genres)

Portland,, OR — Writers Mill (All Genres)

Redmond, OR — Central Oregon Writers Guild (All Genres)

Roseburg, OR — An Association of Writers (All Genres)

Pennsylvania Writing Groups:

Bethel, PA —  First Monday Discussion Group (All Genres)

Danville, PA —  Danville Writers Group (All Genres)

Dillsburg, PA — Central PA Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Easton, PA —  Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA —  Millcreek Mall Area Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Fellowship of the Quill (All Genres)

Erie, PA —  Presque Isle Meeting (All Genres)

Hawley, PA — Pencils NEPA (All Genres)

Lancaster, PA —  Lancaster Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Meadville, PA —  Meadville Vicinity Pennwriters (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA —  Pittsburgh East Scribes (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA — Pittsburgh East Writers Group (All Genres)

Mount Lebanon, PA —  South Hills Critique Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA—  Pennwriters (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA — Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (Children’s Literature)

New Cumberland, PA —  Harrisburg Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Philadelphia, PA —  Philadelphia Writers (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA — Pittsburgh Writers (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA —  Second Tuesday of the Month Group (All Genres)

Shenango Valley, PA —  Shenango Valley Pennwriters (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network: The Early Risers (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network: Social Gatherings (All Genres)

Wexford, PA — Critique Group North (All Genres)

Wexford, PA —  The Mindful Writers Group (All Genres)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA — A Writing Hand (All Genres)

Windber, PA —  Southern Alleghenies Writers Guild (All Genres)

York, PA —  York Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Rhode Island Writing Groups:

Cumberland, RI —  Rhode Island Romance Writers (Fiction)

Providence, RI —  Frequency Writers (All Genres)

Providence, RI — Goat Hill Writers (Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoir, & Flash Fiction)

Warwick, RI — Rhody Writing Group (All Genres)

South Carolina Writing Groups:

Aiken, SC— SCWW, Aiken Chapter (All Genres)

Anderson, SC — SCWW, Anderson Chapter (All Genres)

Beaufort, SC — SCWW, Beaufort Chapter (All Genres)

Bluffton, SC — SCWW, Bluffton Chapter (All Genres)

Camden, SC — SCWW, Camden Chapter (All Genres)

Chapin, SC — SCWW, Chapin/Irmo Chapter (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — LILA (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — SCWW, Charleston East Cooper Chapter (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — SCWW, Charleston North Area Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — Columbia Writers Alliance (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia I Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC —  SCWW, Columbia II Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia III Chapter (All Genres)

Daniel Island, SC — SCWW, Daniel Island: Guilty Prose Chapter (Fiction)

Florence, SC — SCWW, Florence Chapter (All Genres)

Greenville, SC —  Sisters in Crime of Upstate SC (Crime, Fiction)

Greenville, SC — SCWW, Greenville Chapter (All Genres)

Lexington, SC — SCWW, Lexington Chapter (All Genres)

North Charleston, SC — Lowcountry Romance Writers (Romance)

Rapid City, SC — Black Hills Writers Group (All Genres)

Seneca, SC — SCWW, Seneca Chapter (All Genres)

Sumter, SC — SCWW, Sumter Chapter (All Genres)

Surfside, SC — SCWW, Surfside Chapter (All Genres)

South Dakota Writing Groups:

Brookings, SD —  South Dakota State Poetry Society (Poetry)

Multiple Locations in SD — South Dakota Authors Association (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD— Black Hills Writers Group (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD — High Plains Writers (All Genres)

Tennessee Writing Groups:

Bartlett, TN — Bartlett Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Bartlett, TN — River City Romance Writers (Romance)

Chattanooga, TN — Chattanooga Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Collierville, TN — Collierville Christian Writers (All Genres)

Franklin, TN —  Music City Romance Writers (Romance)

Hillsboro Villiage, TN — Sisters In Crime, Middle Tennessee Chapter (Crime, Fiction)

Knoxville, TN — Knoxville Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Knoxville, TN —  Smoky Mountain Romance Writers (Romance)

Nashville, TN —  Bellevue Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Nashville, TN — Nashville Writers Circle (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in TN —  Lost State Writers Guild (All Genres)

Murfreesboro, TN — Murfreesboro Writers Group (All Genres)

Oak Ridge, TN —  Tennessee Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Texas Writing Groups:

Abilene, TX —  Abilene Writers Group (All Genres)

Alpine, TX — Texas Mountain Trail Writers (All Genres)

Amarillo, TX — Panhandle Professional Writers (All Genres)

Austin, TX —  Writers’ League of Texas (All Genres)

Cedar Hill, TX —  Dallas Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Clarksville, TX —  Red River Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

College Station, TX —  Brazos Writers (All Genres)

Dallas, TX —  Dallas Screen Writers Association (Screenwriting)

Dallas, TX  — Poetry Society of Texas (Poetry)

Denton, TX —  Denton Poets’ Assembly (Poetry)

Denton, TX —  Denton Writers’ Critique Group (Fiction)

El Paso, TX —  El Paso Writers’ League (All Genres)

Euless, TX —  DFW Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Fort Worth, TX — Fort Worth Writers (All Genres)

Houston, TX —  Houston Writers Guild (All Genres)

Houston, TX — Nuestra Palabra (All Genres)

Houston, TX —  White Oak Writers (All Genres)

Hurst, TX — North Texas Speculative Fiction Network (Fiction)

Katy, TX — West Houston/Texas Writers Group (All Genres)

Mt. Pleasant, TX —  Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (All Genres)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Romance Authors (Romance)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Shenandoah, TX —  Writers on the Storm (Spiritual)

Tyler, TX —  East Texas Writers Guild (All Genres)

The Woodlands, TX — Woodlands Writers Guild (All Genres)

Utah Writing Groups:

Bountiful, UT — League of Utah Writers: Bountiful Chapter (All Genres)

Bountiful, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Rhyme & Reason (Poetry)

Cedar City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Color Country Nightwriters (All Genres)

Cedar City, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Cedar City Chapter (Poetry)

Holladay, UT — League of Utah Writers: Wordcraft (All Genres)

Layton, UT — League of Utah Writers: Wasatch Writers (All Genres)

Lehi, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Write On (Poetry)

Lindon, UT — League of Utah Writers: Utah Valley Legends (All Genres)

Logan City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Cache Valley Chapter (All Genres)

Moab, UT — Moab Poets & Writers (All Genres)

Midway, UT — League of Utah Writers: Heber Valley Writers (All Genres)

Murray, UT — Utah Book Writers Club (Novel)

Ogden, UT — League of Utah Writers: Blue Quill Chapter (All Genres)

Ogden, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Ben Lomond Chapter (Poetry)

Orem, UT — Utah Valley Writers (All Genres)

Provo, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Word Weavers (Poetry)

Richfield, UT — League of Utah Writers: Sevier Valley Writers (All Genres)

Salt Lake City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Salt City Scribes (All Genres)

Salt Lake City, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Valley Winds (Poetry)

St. George, UT —  Utah State Poetry Society: Dixie Chapter (Poetry)

St. George, UT —  Utah State Poetry Society: Red Rock (Poetry)

Taylorsville, UT — League of Utah Writers: Oquirrh Writers (All Genres)

Tooele, UT —  League of Utah Writers: Tooele Writers (All Genres)

Tooele, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Oquirrh Chapter (Poetry)

Vermont Writing Groups:

Brattleboro, VT —  Write Action  (All Genres)

Burlington, VT —  Leage of Vermont Writers (All Genres)

Burlington, VT — The Burlington Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Wilmington, VT — Southern Vermont SCBWI Critique Group (All Genres)

Virginia Writing Groups:

Abington, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Appalachian Authors Guild (All Genres)

Fredericksburg, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Riverside Chapter (All Genres)

Virginia Beach, VA —  Hampton Roads Writers (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Hanover Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Write by the Rails Chapter (All Genres)

Richmond, VA — Agile Writers (All Genres)

Richmond, VA — James Rivers Writers  (All Genres)

Roanoke, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Valley Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Williamsburg, VA — The Poetry Society of Virginia (Poetry)

Williamsburg, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Chesapeake Bay Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Washington, D.C. Writing Groups:

Washington, DC — The Black Women Playwrights’ Group (Screenwriting)

Washington, DC — D.C. Area Literary Translators Network (Literary Translation)

Washington, DC —  D.C. Comedy Writers (Humor)

Washington, DC — Split This Rock (Poetry)

Washington, DC —  The Washington Biography Group (Memoir)

Washington, DC —  Washington Romance Writers (Romantic Fiction)

Washington Writing Groups:

Bothell, WA —  Northwest Christian Writers Association (Spiritual)

Buckley, WA — Plateau Area Writers Association (All Genres)

Issaquah, WA — The Cottage (All Genres)

Langley, WA — Whidbey Island Writers Association (All Genres)

Lewis County, WA —  The Lewis County Writers Guild  (All Genres)

Mount Vernon, WA —  Skagit Valley Writers League (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in WA — Tri-City Writers (Novel, Prose)

Seattle, WA — Writer’s Cramp  (Science Fiction, Fantasy)

Spokane, WA — Inland Northwest Writers Guild (All Genres)

Spokane, WA — Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (All Genres)

Spokane, WA —  Spokane Fiction Writer’s Group  (All Genres)

Wenatchee, WA — Write on the River (All Genres)

West Virginia Writing Groups:

Beckley, WV —  Raleigh County Library Writers Group (All Genres)

Braxton, WV —  Braxton Writers Group (All Genres)

Charleston, WV —  Pens Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Fairmont, WV —  The Crow’s Quill  (All Genres)

Hinton, WV —  Summers County Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  Black Dog Writers Group  (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  The Guyandotte Poets (Poetry)

Huntington, WV —  The Patchwork Writers (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  Society of the Lark (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  Wicked Wordsmiths of the West (All Genres)

Jefferson County, WV —  The Mountain Scribes (All Genres)

Martinsburg, WV —  Athens on the Opequon (Poetry)

Martinsburg, WV —  Martinsburg Writers Group (All Genres)

Morgantown, WV —  Morgantown Writers Group (All Genres)

Parkersburg, WV —  Sacred Way Poets (Poetry)

Philippi, WV —  Barbour County Writers Workshop  (All Genres)

Point Pleasant, WV —  The Point Pleasant Writers Guild (All Genres)

Princeton, WV —  Appalachian Pen Works (All Genres)

Ripley, WV —  The Appalachian Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Romney, WV —  Ice Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Shepherdstown, WV —  The Bookend Poets (Poetry)

Spencer, WV —  Women’s Writing Circle (All Genres)

St. Albans, WV —  St. Albans Writers Group (All Genres)

Triadelphia, WV —  Ohio Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Wisconsin Writing Groups:

Armery, WI —  Northern Lakes Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Balsam Lake, WI —  Poco Penners (All Genres)

Black River Falls, WI —  BRF Writers Group (All Genres)

Door County, WI —  Door Pens (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI —  Writers’ Group at the Library (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI —  Western Wisconsin Christian Writers Guild (Spiritual)

Frederic, WI —  Northwest Regional Writers (All Genres)

Hayward, WI —  Yarnspinners (All Genres)

Janesville, WI —  Janesville Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Kenosha, WI —  Kenosha Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Kewaskum, WI —  Moraine Writers Guild (All Genres)

Madison, WI —  Tuesdays with Story (All Genres)

Manitowoc, WI —  The Lakeshore Writers (All Genres)

Menomonee, WI —  Chippewa Valley Writers (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI —  Red Oak Writers (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI — Wisconsin Romance Writers of America (Romance)

Multiple Locations in WI — Wisconsin Writers Association (All Genres)

Nekoosa, WI —  Home Town Players/Writers Group (All Genres)

Oshkosh, WI —  Oshkosh Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Pinney, WI —  Pinney Writing Group (All Genres)

Portage, WI —  Pauquette Wordcrafters (All Genres)

Portage, WI —  The Writers at the Portage (All Genres)

Sheboygan, WI — Mead Public Library Poetry Circle (Poetry)

Solon Springs, WI —  St. Croix Writers of Solon Springs (All Genres)

Stevens Point, WI —  Aspiring Authors of Stevens Point (All Genres)

Two Rivers, WI — The Cool City Writers Group (All Genres)

Wausau, WI —  Writers of Wausau (All Genres)

Wauwatosu, WI —  Writer’s Voice (All Genres)

West Bend, WI —  Washington County Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Wyoming Writing Groups:

Green River, WY — Wyoming Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Riverton, WY —  WyoPoets (Poetry)

Sundance, WY —  Bearlodge Writers (All Genres)

Canada Writing Groups:

Alberta —  Writers’ Guild of Alberta (All Genres)

Burnaby —  Burnaby Writers’ Society (All Genres)

Kamloops —  Interior Authors Group (All Genres)

Nanaimo —  Writing Life Women’s Writing Circle (All Genres)

New Westminster —  New West Writers (All Genres)

New Westminster —  Waves Writers (All Genres)

Nova Scotia — Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada (Romance)

Ontario —  Canadian Authors Niagara Branch (All Genres)

Ottowa — Ottowa Independent Writers (All Genres)

Quebec —  Quebec Writers’ Federation (All Genres)

Salmon Arm —  Shuswap Writers Group (All Genres)

Sooke —  Sooke Writers’ Collective (All Genres)

Terrace — Terrace Writers Group (All Genres)

Toronto — Canadian Authors Toronto Branch (All Genres)

Toronto —  Writers’ Union of Canada (All Genres)

Vancouver — Grind Café Writers Group (All Genres)

Vancouver — Thursday Writing Collective (All Genres)

Vancouver — West End Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Online Writing Groups:

Critique Circle (All Genres)

Inked Voices (All Genres)

Pen Parentis (All Genres)

Scribophile  (All Genres)

Writer’s Café (All Genres)

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Ada, OK —   Ada Writers   (All Genres)

Bartesville, OK —   Wordweavers Writing Group   (All Genres)

Enid, OK — Enid Writers Club   (All Genres)

Edmond, OK —  Pen and Keyboard Writers   (All Genres)

Edmond, OK —   The Inklings   (All Genres)

Green Country, OK —  Green Country Ruff Riters   (All Genres)

Guthrie, OK —  Red Dirt Writers Society   (All Genres)

McAlester, OK — McAlester’s McSherry Writers (All Genres)

Midwest City, OK —  Mid-Oklahoma Writers   (All Genres)

Norman, OK —   Norman Galaxy of Writers   (All Genres)

Oklahome City, OK —   Creative Quills   (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK —  Oklahoma Horror Writers’ League   (Horror)

Oklahoma City, OK —   Oklahoma Write Now   (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK —   Romance Inc.   (Romance)

Stillwater, OK —   Stillwater Writers Group   (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Area Children’s Book Writers (Children’s Literature)

Woodward, OK —   Writers of the Purple Sage   (All Genres)

Jefferson, OR —  Women’s Fiction Writers Association   (Women in Fiction)

Portland, OR —   Attic Institute   (All Genres)

Portland, OR —   Mountain Writers Series   (All Genres)

Portland, OR —  Oregon State Poetry Association, Portland Unit   (Poetry)

Portland, OR —  Oregon Writers Colony   (Novel)

Portland,, OR —   Writers Mill   (All Genres)

Roseburg, OR —   An Association of Writers   (All Genres)

Bethel, PA —  First Monday Discussion Group   (All Genres)

Danville, PA —  Danville Writers Group   (All Genres)

Dillsburg, PA — Central PA Writers’ Workshop   (All Genres)

Easton, PA —  Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group   (All Genres)

Erie, PA —  Millcreek Mall Area Group   (All Genres)

Erie, PA —   Fellowship of the Quill   (All Genres)

Erie, PA —  Presque Isle Meeting   (All Genres)

Hawley, PA —   Pencils NEPA   (All Genres)

Lancaster, PA —  Lancaster Area Writers Group   (All Genres)

Meadville, PA —  Meadville Vicinity Pennwriters   (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA —  Pittsburgh East Scribes   (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA —   Pittsburgh East Writers Group   (All Genres)

Mount Lebanon, PA —  South Hills Critique Group   (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA—  Pennwriters   (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA — Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators   (Children’s Literature)

New Cumberland, PA —  Harrisburg Area Writers Group   (All Genres)

Philadelphia, PA —  Philadelphia Writers   (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA —  Second Tuesday of the Month Group   (All Genres)

Shenango Valley, PA —  Shenango Valley Pennwriters   (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network   (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network: The Early Risers   (All Genres)

State College, PA —  Nittany Valley Writers Network: Social Gatherings   (All Genres)

Wexford, PA —   Critique Group North   (All Genres)

Wexford, PA —  The Mindful Writers Group   (All Genres)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA —   A Writing Hand   (All Genres)

Windber, PA —  Southern Alleghenies Writers Guild   (All Genres)

York, PA —  York Area Writers Group   (All Genres)

Cumberland, RI —  Rhode Island Romance Writers   (Fiction)

Providence, RI —  Frequency Writers   (All Genres)

Providence, RI —   Goat Hill Writers   (Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoir, & Flash Fiction)

Columbia, SC —  SCWW, Columbia II Chapter   (All Genres)

Greenville, SC —  Sisters in Crime of Upstate SC   (Crime, Fiction)

Brookings, SD —  South Dakota State Poetry Society   (Poetry)

Multiple Locations in SD — South Dakota Authors Association   (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD —   High Plains Writers   (All Genres)

Bartlett, TN —   Bartlett Christian Writers   (Spiritual)

Chattanooga, TN — Chattanooga Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Franklin, TN —  Music City Romance Writers   (Romance)

Knoxville, TN — Knoxville Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Knoxville, TN —  Smoky Mountain Romance Writers   (Romance)

Nashville, TN —  Bellevue Writers’ Group   (All Genres)

Nashville, TN —   Nashville Writers Circle   (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in TN —  Lost State Writers Guild   (All Genres)

Oak Ridge, TN —  Tennessee Mountain Writers   (All Genres)

Abilene, TX —  Abilene Writers Group   (All Genres)

Austin, TX —  Writers’ League of Texas   (All Genres)

Cedar Hill, TX —  Dallas Area Writers Group   (All Genres)

Clarksville, TX —  Red River Writers’ Workshop   (All Genres)

College Station, TX —  Brazos Writers   (All Genres)

Dallas, TX —  Dallas Screen Writers Association   (Screenwriting)

Denton, TX —  Denton Poets’ Assembly   (Poetry)

Denton, TX —  Denton Writers’ Critique Group   (Fiction)

El Paso, TX —  El Paso Writers’ League   (All Genres)

Euless, TX —  DFW Writers’ Workshop   (All Genres)

Fort Worth, TX —   Fort Worth Writers   (All Genres)

Houston, TX —  Houston Writers Guild   (All Genres)

Houston, TX —  White Oak Writers   (All Genres)

Hurst, TX — North Texas Speculative Fiction Network   (Fiction)

Mt. Pleasant, TX —  Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization   (All Genres)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Shenandoah, TX —  Writers on the Storm   (Spiritual)

Tyler, TX —  East Texas Writers Guild   (All Genres)

St. George, UT —  Utah State Poetry Society: Dixie Chapter   (Poetry)

St. George, UT —  Utah State Poetry Society: Red Rock   (Poetry)

Tooele, UT —  League of Utah Writers: Tooele Writers   (All Genres)

Burlington, VT —  Leage of Vermont Writers   (All Genres)

Abington, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Appalachian Authors Guild   (All Genres)

Virginia Beach, VA —  Hampton Roads Writers   (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Hanover Writers Chapter   (All Genres)

Richmond, VA —   James Rivers Writers  (All Genres)

Williamsburg, VA —  The Virginia Writers Club, Chesapeake Bay Writers Chapter   (All Genres)

Washington, DC — The Black Women Playwrights’ Group (Screenwriting)

Washington, DC —  D.C. Comedy Writers   (Humor)

Washington, DC —   Split This Rock   (Poetry)

Washington, DC —  The Washington Biography Group   (Memoir)

Washington, DC —  Washington Romance Writers   (Romantic Fiction)

Bothell, WA —  Northwest Christian Writers Association   (Spiritual)

Mount Vernon, WA —  Skagit Valley Writers League   (All Genres)

Seattle, WA —   Writer’s Cramp  (Science Fiction, Fantasy)

Spokane, WA —  Spokane Fiction Writer’s Group  (All Genres)

Beckley, WV —  Raleigh County Library Writers Group   (All Genres)

Braxton, WV —  Braxton Writers Group   (All Genres)

Charleston, WV —  Pens Writer’s Group   (All Genres)

Fairmont, WV —  The Crow’s Quill  (All Genres)

Hinton, WV —  Summers County Writers’ Group   (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  The Guyandotte Poets   (Poetry)

Huntington, WV —  The Patchwork Writers   (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  Society of the Lark   (All Genres)

Huntington, WV —  Wicked Wordsmiths of the West   (All Genres)

Jefferson County, WV —  The Mountain Scribes   (All Genres)

Martinsburg, WV —  Athens on the Opequon   (Poetry)

Martinsburg, WV —  Martinsburg Writers Group   (All Genres)

Morgantown, WV —  Morgantown Writers Group   (All Genres)

Parkersburg, WV —  Sacred Way Poets   (Poetry)

Point Pleasant, WV —  The Point Pleasant Writers Guild   (All Genres)

Princeton, WV —  Appalachian Pen Works   (All Genres)

Ripley, WV —  The Appalachian Wordsmiths   (All Genres)

Romney, WV —  Ice Mountain Writers   (All Genres)

Shepherdstown, WV —  The Bookend Poets   (Poetry)

Spencer, WV —  Women’s Writing Circle   (All Genres)

St. Albans, WV —  St. Albans Writers Group   (All Genres)

Triadelphia, WV —  Ohio Valley Writers Group   (All Genres)

Armery, WI —  Northern Lakes Writers’ Guild   (All Genres)

Balsam Lake, WI —  Poco Penners   (All Genres)

Black River Falls, WI —  BRF Writers Group   (All Genres)

Door County, WI —  Door Pens   (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI —  Writers’ Group at the Library   (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI —  Western Wisconsin Christian Writers Guild   (Spiritual)

Frederic, WI —  Northwest Regional Writers   (All Genres)

Hayward, WI —  Yarnspinners   (All Genres)

Janesville, WI —  Janesville Area Writers Club   (All Genres)

Kenosha, WI —  Kenosha Writers’ Guild   (All Genres)

Kewaskum, WI —  Moraine Writers Guild   (All Genres)

Madison, WI —  Tuesdays with Story   (All Genres)

Manitowoc, WI —  The Lakeshore Writers   (All Genres)

Menomonee, WI —  Chippewa Valley Writers   (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI —  Red Oak Writers   (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in WI —   Wisconsin Writers Association   (All Genres)

Nekoosa, WI —  Home Town Players/Writers Group   (All Genres)

Oshkosh, WI —  Oshkosh Area Writers Club   (All Genres)

Pinney, WI —  Pinney Writing Group   (All Genres)

Portage, WI —  Pauquette Wordcrafters   (All Genres)

Portage, WI —  The Writers at the Portage   (All Genres)

Solon Springs, WI —  St. Croix Writers of Solon Springs   (All Genres)

Stevens Point, WI —  Aspiring Authors of Stevens Point   (All Genres)

Wausau, WI —  Writers of Wausau   (All Genres)

Wauwatosu, WI —  Writer’s Voice   (All Genres)

West Bend, WI —  Washington County Writers’ Club   (All Genres)

Riverton, WY —  WyoPoets   (Poetry)

Sundance, WY —  Bearlodge Writers   (All Genres)

Critique Circle   (All Genres)

Inked Voices   (All Genres)

Pen Parentis   (All Genres)

Writer’s Café (All Genres)

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft , Understanding Publishing

Posted on Nov 19, 2018

15 of the Best Online Writing Communities for Aspiring Authors

As enjoyable and fulfilling as writing can be, the truth is that it’s often a solitary endeavor. While we might romanticize the focused artist typing away while imaginary worlds and narratives swirl inside their minds — authors know the truth: writing can get lonely. And moreover, when you’re working on a one-person project, it can be hard to remain motivated and accountable. That’s where writing communities come in.

Writing communities are the perfect place to find answers to your writing questions and to discuss the ins and outs of the writing life with people who actually understand what you’re talking about.

So, if you are tired of listening only to the voices in your head, take a look at our list of top online writing communities. (And if you're hungry for more, check out our more exhaustive list of the very best writing websites !)

Top online writing communities

1. absolute write water cooler.

With over 68,000 members, this is a large and highly active community. Here you can find threads on every genre imaginable, as well as discussions about freelance writing , the publishing industry, pop culture, writing prompts and exercises, and much more.

Perfect for: writers who are looking for a large and active community.

2. AgentQuery Connect

While this forum will come in handy for any writer, it’s especially helpful for authors who have already completed their manuscript and are wondering what to do next. The site boasts a wealth of information on publishing topics such as querying agents, self-publishing tips, and book promotion advice.

Perfect for: writers who are looking to connect with agents and learn more about the publishing industry.

3. Camp NaNoWriMo

If you’ve ever wanted to go to a writer’s retreat but can’t afford it just yet, then this site might help scratch your itch. Holding online “camp sessions” in April and July, Camp NaNoWriMo offers a digital space to encourage and empower writers at any point of their career. Here you can work on drafts, revisions, short stories, or any other writing project that involves word-count goals.

Perfect for: writers who can’t wait until November to crack their writing goals .

a creative writing group

4. Critique Circle

Feedback should be a vital part of any writer’s process, and this is exactly what Critique Circle offers. This members-only site allows authors to post stories in exchange for feedback on other people’s writing. You can also find storyboarding tools , writing prompts , workshops, name generators , games like hangman, and much more.

Perfect for: writers who want honest feedback on their writing.

5. Chronicles

As the world’s largest Science Fiction and Fantasy online community, Chronicles offers writers the opportunity to get together and discuss the latest books, news, and pop culture in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy world. This is an active community with thousands of threads that include genre-specific challenges, workshops, critiques, and even publishing and industry information.

Perfect for: writers interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing.

6. Facebook Groups

If social media is more your style, don't miss the chance to interact with your fellow writers by joining Facebook groups in your own niche. Look for groups with a strict "no self-promotion" rules so that it remains supportive and useful to your writing goals.

There are a lot of groups out there in a variety of topics that range from genre-specific writing tips to traditional and self-publishing industry news. Here are just a few of them:

The Street Team — Reedsy's own book marketing group for self-publishing authors. 10 Minute Novelists — a group for the time-crunched writer. Calls for Submissions  — for writers looking for publication opportunities. Fiction Writers Global — a great resource for information about traditional and self-publishing. Writers Unite! — an active group with plenty of support and motivation for novice and experienced writers alike.

Perfect for: writers who prefer using social media.

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7. Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Whether you are a debut or seasoned author, there’s no doubt that writing a book can be intimidating and rife with bouts of self-doubt. The Insecure Writer’s Support Group aims to help you overcome those insecurities by hosting a community of like-minded authors.

Perfect for: writers who have doubts about their writing and are in need of encouragement.

a creative writing group

8. The Next Big Writer

This is an international forum where writers can receive feedback on their writing and support on every other part of the creative process from drafting to publishing and marketing. The critiques are often thorough and many come from published authors. Keep in mind that there is a monthly cost associated with the membership, but it might be worth it to be able to bend the ear of published authors.

Perfect for: writers seeking in-depth critiques from an international audience.

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More than just a single writing community, Reddit has countless ‘subreddits’ where writers of all genres, interests, and levels of experience flock. While it may not offer workshops or tools, members can find niche threads that relate to their interests, critique other people’s work, and discover helpful sources of information.

There are so many different subreddits that you can get lost browsing them, but here are a few of the most popular ones:

r/writing — for general writing purposes. r/writingprompts — for user-submitted writing prompts. r/destructivereaders — beware, if you don’t like harsh criticism this may not be the best fit. But if you are willing to endure it, you will come out a better writer at the end. r/worldbuilding — user submitted fiction worlds. r/fantasywriters — for anybody interested in the fantasy genre. r/characterforge — the place to be for character building. r/writerchat — for those interested in talking with fellow writers. r/selfpublish — for anybody interested in self-publishing. r/logophilia — “the love of words and word games,” and that’s exactly what you’ll find here. r/freelanceWriters — for anybody interested in a career in freelance writing . r/books — because reading is just as important as writing if you want to be a successful author.

Perfect for: writers who want niche threads based on a particular interest or need.

10. Scribophile

One of the largest communities in the world, Scribophile offers workshops, tutorials, and critiques for authors in just about any genre imaginable. While it is free to join, only users who pay for a membership get access to all their features.

Perfect for: authors whowant to take part in writing workshops alongside writers of all experience levels.

a creative writing group

11. She Writes

With over 30,000 members, this is the largest writing community exclusively for women. Here you can find articles on writing, editing, and marketing for every genre. There are forums tailored to specific needs, like travel writers, writing about trauma, NaNoWriMo, and many other topics.

Perfect for: women writers who want a place to connect and learn from fellow writers.

12. Talentville

If your passion lies in screenwriting, then you’ll want to book a one-way ticket to Talentville. Here you can get feedback on your writing and learn the skills necessary to perfect your screencraft. Plus, you can work on and build your network of contacts: the site is also a frequent stop for industry professionals (like agents, managers, and producers) on the lookout for new talent.

Perfect for: writers whoare interested in screenwriting and networking.

13. Underlined

A writing community by Penguin Random House. While any author can find helpful information on this website, it’s geared more towards younger writers. It has a well-designed platform, quizzes, genre-specific information, the latest news on book releases, Q&As with authors, and even some giveaways and excerpts as perks.

Perfect for: younger writers who are looking for genre-specific information and bookish perks.

a creative writing group

14. Writers Helping Writers

This is a free-to-register community where you can find resources for writers, teachers, and editors alike. They offer a vast array of tools to perfect your craft, no matter your level. Their extensive creative library includes webinars, free writing and marketing tools, a thesaurus collection, story maps, idea generators, and more.

Perfect for: writers, editors, and teachers who are looking to build up their writing toolbox.

15. #WritingCommunity

Sometimes, all you need is a hashtag. And indeed, Twitter's own #WritingCommunity is one of the most robust writing collectives on the web. Ask a question, and it'll almost certainly get answered (without a lot of Twitter's trademark snark). The key here is to keep your questions concise, reply often to others, and don't go crazy with other hashtags. The community can tell if you're just thirsty for RTs. Perfect for: writers who are finally ready to use Twitter for good — and not just for procrastinating.

Do you belong to a writing community? Which one is your favorite one? Add yours in the comments below!

13 responses

27/11/2018 – 22:42

Very useful post. Thanks for this. I will be linking to it on my blog.

Dr Jack Edward Effron says:

18/02/2019 – 16:40

You left out taylz.com. It’s truly free. They are not going to give you a rubbish service to make you join their pay site because they have no pay site. Your story can be 8,000 words. They are not going to force you into flash fiction of 3,000 words. One critique out, one critique in: no mucking about with “karma” or critiquing 5+ stories to get one critique. The great new idea whose time has come! And it’s British, not American.

marieseltenrych says:

08/05/2019 – 12:28

Reedsy, thank God you are here! I want to ask a question to other authors or self publishers here: I have been approached by OmniScriptum to publish my books (research) with them. I cannot find much about this company online, so wondered if anyone has published with them recently? Thanks Reedsy in anticipation. Marie

↪️ Reedsy replied:

08/05/2019 – 12:29

Hi Marie! Sounds potentially very shady to me. If you haven't already, check out our post on predatory companies in publishing. One of the rules of thumb is that if a publisher contacts you first, be very wary. I just did 20 seconds worth of Googling and found some people who had a bad experience.

Eunice Brownlee says:

I am a member of illuminate, which is a group designed around supporting women who want to share their stories but don't know how. The majority of us write non-fiction essays and memoirs, but we have a few poets and fiction writers in the mix as well. The overall goal is to support each other, especially through those harder moments of not wanting to write, or not knowing where to start. There are monthly themes and prompts, a weekly exercise inside the Facebook group, and cross-sharing of what we're working on. My favorite feature is the expert review, where you can submit any piece you're working on each month and you'll get quality feedback from one of the editors that manage the group. This group is perfect for anyone who is just getting started writing.

↪️ Brittani B replied:

11/02/2020 – 19:27

I tried the link multiple times both from this page and separately searched and was unable to access the site.

Harry says:

05/06/2019 – 07:51

Personally I think you missed out the best writing community: https://community.jerichowriters.com/ Jericho Writers is a free writing community that writers can safely share thought, make friends, swap work and get advice

Christian says:

08/08/2019 – 12:21

I only recommend Scribophile if you enjoy being coerced into groupthink. If you hope to get meaningful critique that will help you, look elsewhere. The critiques here are mostly SPAG, and it's forbidden to discuss your work on the main forums, except in the broadest, vaguest way.

Randy says:

18/08/2019 – 06:11

I have all my dads writing research and copyrights to 18 different books....all this was before the digital world .... many negatives photos ....every major story from all over the world with his .copyright . These are huge stores and his books are really well written ....what should I do with them .....incredible spy work as well

Ratih says:

27/08/2019 – 03:50

As a new writer this article is really useful for me. Thank you reedsy

Jennifer says:

02/09/2019 – 14:15

Hi guys! Great blog! Just wanted to let you know that we linked to you in a blog on the Peaceful Living Wellness Online Magazine :) It will be published on Friday, September 6th, 2019

↪️ Martin Cavannagh replied:

17/09/2019 – 09:04

Thanks! We appreciate that!

Kaylee Downey says:

14/02/2020 – 19:09

Um...what about Wattpad?

Comments are currently closed.

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50 fun group writing exercises

Group writing exercises you can do with your writing circle or critique group are a fun ice-breaker and a way to get creative ideas flowing. Read 50 ‘fill in the blank’ creative writing prompts.

  • Post author By Jordan
  • 6 Comments on 50 fun group writing exercises

50 fun group writing exercises | Now Novel

‘Fill in the blank’ writing exercises are fun to do in a group. Writing exercises with some set parameters highlight the diverse, interesting ways different writers interpret and respond to the same prompts. Try one of 50 ‘fill in the blank’ creative writing prompts below, and share your creativity in the comments or tag @NowNovel if sharing your version on social media.

The group writing exercises

The first prompt was a prompt for a contest to win a place on our Group Coaching writing course .

Contest prompt

Fill in the blanks Now Novel group coaching contest

Every year, I’d made a resolution not to ever __ again. Yet by January 20th I’d already __ and __.

Entries were voted on blind by a panel of four from the Now Novel team, and the winner was Ethan Myers with this entry:

Writing contest winner - Ethan Myers entry

Here are 49 more prompts to enjoy and stimulate creative ideas:

Writing exercises featuring scene-setting

On leaving As soon as I turned 18, I left__. It was a town of__and__ .

On arrival I walked through the arched entryway and my jaw dropped. Everywhere you looked there were__. Marco Polo himself could never have imagined__.

The first time It was my first ever flight. I was__. Then a__ sat down next to me, turning to me and asking, “__?”

Compare and contrast My hometown was__. When I got to__, a college town, the first thing I noticed was__.

Use the senses The minute you entered, you could smell __. Paired with the sound of __, it was unmistakably home.

Be specific The home we’d rented for the holidays was neither__ nor__, contrary to the listing. Yet my younger brother was delighted when we found__.

Build a bucket list I’d always wanted to go to__. I’d read so much about its__, though nothing had prepared me for__.

Create a world In the books I had read as a kid, portals were gateways to worlds where __. Yet here, I was surprised to find a__.

Outside/inside Outside, the sounds of__ filled the air__. Yet inside, the 19th Century __was like another world, full of strange __.

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Group writing exercises featuring conflict

Lovers’ quarrel We thought it would be a romantic getaway to Rome. Then__. By the end of the day, hot and fed up, we__.

A troubling lookout He climbed the watchtower, yet when he turned to the window, what he saw made him tremble.__.

The duel Many had said that if they were ever to duel, no two could be more equally matched. But what his opponent didn’t know was__.

Alien invasion In alien movies, they always blew up The White House or__. So he hadn’t expected to be toe to toe with an extraterrestrial having a screamed debate about__.

An assassin As the most skilled contract killer in the kingdom, she knew how to__. Yet nobody knew that she__.

Warring nations It started with a trade embargo. Then the president said that our neighbors’ president was a __ with a __. Next thing we knew, __.

Difficult decisions I couldn’t decide whether to__ or to__, but it was 4:45 pm and the last train was leaving in five minutes.

Writing exercises using dialogue

Secrets and lies “I never__,” he said. Yet I knew he was lying because__.

Surprises “Guess what I have behind my back?” she said. “__?” I guessed. “No!” She held out__.

Confessions “I didn’t know how to tell you this … I__.” “I’m glad you told me, now we can__.”

Embarrassing family “Your son is very talented, Mr Jones,” the__ said. “You say that now. You should have seen when he was 9. He__ and we were told that__.”

Thinking aloud “You should__.” “What did you just say?” “Did I just say that out loud? I was thinking about__.”

Know-it-all “Bet you didn’t know__,” he gloated. “Bet you didn’t know__,” I clapped back, full sass.

Bad bard “Shall I compare thee-“ I married a thespian. “Shall I compare you to __?” I rolled my eyes.

Writing exercises using simile and metaphor

Wild reactions His face was as __ as a__ after the bug bite and we were all a bit worried.

Comparing the moon The moon is a__ tonight, its thin crescent glowing like a__.

Making abstraction specific My anxiety is like a__ on the first day of school. A__ with a __.

Sound and simile The first minutes the orchestra was like a __, the music shimmering like __. But in the allegro the principal violinist’s string broke and the conductor__.

Describing emotions Fear is a__ with a__.

Describing the human voice He had a voice like__, like a__ echoing in a __.

Degrees of comparison The mysterious drink they prepared was sweeter than__. But sweeter still was__.

Fill in the blanks writing exercise - use the senses | Now Novel

Writing exercises using different POVs

Fugitive I had run all night, adrenaline keeping fatigue at bay. When I saw__ as dawn broke, I knew__.

Collective They had ways of dealing with dissent. If you dared to go against the clan, you would be__, God help you.

The reader as reader You decide to go to the library. You want to read a book about__. The librarian raises an eyebrow as they run the barcode scanner. “__?” They ask, as you blush.

The group as one That summer, we__ until we couldn’t__. We were all in our twenties, and the days were__.

Writing exercise using different moods of the verb

Future perfect tense, indicative mood In several years’ time, she will have changed, our__ changing like__.

Present tense, potential mood “They may change their minds,” the King says, scowling, “or else we may have to__ and__.”

Future tense, subjunctive mood If I should__, then tell everyone I never__.

[See a helpful explanation of verb moods and tenses in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft . ]

Writing exercises from creating blanks in books

Colum McCann – Let the Great World Spin We had a short driveway full of__. If we crossed the road, we could stand on__ and__.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Love in the Time of Cholera He had returned from a long stay in Paris, where he__, and from the time he set foot on solid ground he__.

Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake Jimmy’s earliest complete memory was of a huge__. He must have been five, maybe six. He was wearing__.

Virginia Woolf – Mrs Dalloway Her only gift was__. If you put her in a room with some one, up went her back like a cat’s; or she__.

Italo Calvino – The Complete Cosmicomics I thought only of the Earth. It was the Earth that caused each of us to__.

David Sedaris – Me Talk Pretty One Day When painting proved too difficult, I turned to__, telling myself__.

Eva Hoffman – Lost in Translation The library is located in a__ street, in an ancient building, which one enters through a__. It is Plato’s cave, Egyptian temple, the space of__.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Half of a Yellow Sun Richard said little at the parties Susan took him to. When she introduced him, she always added__. But they were pleasant to him; they would be to__.

Ursula K. Le Guin – The Left Hand of Darkness I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught__.

Colson Whitehead – The Zone The reunions were terrific and rote, early tutelage in the recursive nature of human experience. “__?” the girlfriends asked as they padded in bearing__, and he’d say “__”.

Barbara Kingsolver – The Poisonwood Bible Once every few years, even now, I catch the scent of__. It makes me want to keen, sing,__.

Jorge Luis Borges – Labyrinths He opened a drawer of the black and gold desk. He faced me and in his hands he held__.

Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights While enjoying a month of fine weather at the sea-coast, I was thrown into the company of a__, a real__.

Find daily writing prompts plus literary device definitions and terms.

Build focus and a steady writing routine, and get help from experienced coaches and editors while connecting with other writers on our 6-month Group Coaching course. Learn more and see what alumni loved.

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  • Tags writing groups , writing inspiration , writing prompts

a creative writing group

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

6 replies on “50 fun group writing exercises”

These exercises look like fun!

Sometimes there comes a point when you can’t think of anything worth writing. I guess every writer will know what I mean. But with these templates, I can get some inspiration and share whole stories with my friends.

Thank you, Jordan.

Hi Daisy, I’m glad that you found these ideas inspiring, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

I love these! They’re inspiring (although I want to cheat and use them as-is). Lots of material for future fun 😉

Hi Margriet, thank you! I’m glad you find these writing exercises fun. We can share fill-in-the-blank exercises in the challenge group, that’s another idea.

Thankyou Jordan for these great points.

It’s a pleasure, Dave. Thank you for reading our blog.

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a creative writing group

Writing might seem to many to be a solitary activity, but actually, community is a huge part of being a writer. A creative writing group is a great way to motivate yourself to keep writing, to give and get support from other writers, and to receive feedback on your work.

My own creative writing group started my senior year of college. A recently-graduated friend started the group because she wanted to have a community of writers like the one she had in her college creative writing workshops. Our group has been going strong for four years now, and it's been a wonderful experience. My group has been a source of constant support, encouragement, and joy for me throughout the years.

The most wonderful thing about starting a creative writing group is that you can build it to be exactly what you want it to be. You can make it a workshop-style group where you read each other’s work. You can form a group where you meet up together and write. You can create a group where you just meet up to talk about writing. There are no rules. For that reason, you should take these tips for starting your own creative writing group as suggestions, not rules. Every writing group is different, and you should talk to each other about your preferences. Open communication is a key part of having a group in which everyone is comfortable to share their writing.

Set ground rules.

Sit down and make an agreement about how the group is going to function. Consider how you want to handle people not showing up to meetings, how many people can submit readings every meeting, how to mediate discussions of people's work, whether or not you should give each other written comments, etc.. Have a conversation with your fellow writers about what you each feel is good workshop etiquette. Delegate responsibilities to each member, and (most importantly) decide who's in charge of setting meeting time. It's easier to talk about these things ahead of time, rather than in reaction to a problem.

Be realistic about everyone's time commitments.

When my writing group first starting meeting, we tried to meet once a week. But it just didn't work out with everyone's schedules. Be upfront about how much time you each have to commit. My group found that it's better to have more people at fewer meetings than the other way around. Maybe try every other week or once a month to begin, and add more meetings as needed.

Agree on a method & schedule for sharing your writing.

When my group first starting meeting, everyone shared their work at each meeting. Spoiler: It didn't work at all. It took too long, and most of else felt a lot of pressure to finish drafts before our meet-ups. Considering this, we decided to switch to a model in which two people submit their writing every meeting. These writers would send it to everyone else before the meet-up, so everyone had a chance to read them through and formulate constructive comments. We function on a first-come-first-serve basis, with priority given to people who haven't shared in a while. However, when your group first begin meeting, it might work best to create a set schedule.

Agree on a form of communication.

Every group works differently. Some people prefer email chains, some people prefer group texts, some people prefer GroupMe. Our group has a private Facebook group wherein we create events for meetings, post links to relevant articles, share opportunities to submit our writing, and just give each other general support. Talk to your group, and figure out what's best for you!

Have hang-outs that don't involve writing at all.

Having a group that gets along is super important. Do some fun stuff! Get some coffee, have a movie night, or go to a reading together.

There are plenty of people who would love to join a writing group.

When we first started, we didn't think we would be able to find anyone who was interested. But we soon learned that there are tons of writers out there looking for. Reach out to people you know who are writers, post a call on your Facebook page, or you could even create a group on Meetup. (Though, once your group is set, I would recommend keeping it a closed group.)

Make a decision about how big/small you want the group to be.

Our group has fluctuated between five to eight people over the years, which is a size that really works for us. But maybe you want to keep your group smaller, or open it up to be larger! Just make sure everyone in the group is on the same page and feels comfortable enough to write and share with the others.

Be prepared for people to come and go.

No group is going to remain exactly the same forever. Don't freak out if someone realizes they can't do it anymore, and create a plan for adding people to the group when the time comes. It's OK to give people a trial run to see how they play into the group dynamic.

Find a meeting place that is convenient and spacious.

It's harder than you would think to find a good meeting space. You definitely want everyone to have enough room and to be able to hear each other. Try a local coffee shop with an outdoor patio, or a park with a seating area. Some local libraries also have meeting rooms that you can rent out for free!

Have nights where you write together.

Sometimes just having someone there while you're writing is super helpful. Plus, it's easy to just send a message out to your group saying "I"m headed to this coffee shop to write. Join me if you're around!" Super casual, no plans required.

Don't be afraid to change things up!

The key to keeping your group going is being flexible, open, and kind to one another. Don't be afraid to make changes if you need to.

a creative writing group

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The Creative Writing Group

The Creative Writing Group at the NU Writing Center is a workshop-based collaborative of graduate and undergraduate writers, poets, novelists, and student authors that strives to provide an encouraging, fun place to share work with one another. Founded by Dr. Isabel Sobral Campos and Victor Hugo Mendevil, the group meets at the Writing Center in Snell Library once a week to share work with one another and receive feedback to polish their creative craft. In addition to their weekly meetings, the group embarks on off-campus literary day trips, weekend writing retreats, attends writing-related events in the Boston community, and publishes semesterly catalogues, thanks to their partnership with TOO MUCH THEORY!

Meeting dates and times vary by semester. If interested in joining, please contact Lead Workshop Facilitator, Victor, via email: [email protected]

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Invisible ink: at the cia’s creative writing group.

The art and life of Mark di Suvero

a creative writing group

Aerial view of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters some time between 1990 and 2006. Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons .

Last spring, a friend of a friend visited my office and invited me to Langley to speak to Invisible Ink, the CIA’s creative writing group.

I asked Vivian (not her real name) what she wanted me to talk about.

She said that the topic of the talk was entirely up to me.

I asked what level the writers in the group were.

She said the group had writers of all levels.

I asked what the speaking fee was.

She said that as far as she knew, there was no speaking fee.

I dwelled a little on this point.

She confirmed that there was no speaking fee.

When an organization has, say, financed the overthrow of the government of Guatemala, you would think there might be a speaking fee. But I was told that, in lieu of payment, the writing group would take me out to lunch in the executive dining room afterward. I would also have my picture taken in front of the CIA seal, and I could post that picture anywhere I wanted.

“So my visit wouldn’t be classified?”

Vivian confirmed that I could tell anyone I wanted. “Just don’t tell them my name—or I’ll have to kill you. Just kidding!”

As I considered the invitation, I kept wondering why I’d been invited. I don’t write about CIA-adjacent topics, nor am I successful enough a novelist that people outside a small circle—one that I doubt includes U.S. intelligence agencies—know my name. So the invite was a bit of a mystery. This was the second-most common question that came up when I told writer friends about it, topped only by: “No speaking fee?” At first, I wondered whether the gig was part of a recruitment strategy. But it doesn’t take a vast intelligence apparatus to know that I am not intelligence material, not least because I am a professional writer.

Next I wondered if my visit could be used as soft-diplomacy propaganda. Look how harmless we are! We let writers come to our headquarters and pose for pictures. The CIA had veered into this type of literary boosterism before—supporting, for example, the founding of the very magazine for which I am writing this piece. So it wasn’t out of the question. In 2021, I had turned down an invitation from the government of Saudi Arabia for an all-expenses-paid trip to a writers’ retreat at al-‘Ulā, as I didn’t want to be a part of their arts and culture whitewashing. But in the end, I couldn’t think of a way that I’d be a useful propaganda tool for the CIA—unless they anticipated me writing this essay (in which case, kudos CIA)—and so I said yes.

On the agreed-upon morning a few weeks later, I left my apartment in D.C. and drove into the haze of Canadian wildfire smoke that was floating over the city. By the time I turned off the George Washington Parkway at the George Bush Center for Intelligence exit, and on to a restricted usage road, I was already nervous. I’m the kind of person who weighs and measures my suitcases before flying, lest I be scolded at the airport, and I do not like driving down roads with signs like EMPLOYEES ONLY and WILL BE ARRESTED.

At the gate intercom, I gave my name and social security number—Vivian had gathered this information and more ahead of time, over a series of phone calls, each from a different phone number—and a police officer gave me a visitor’s badge that was to be displayed on my person at all times . He warned me that I was to be escorted at all times .

I met Vivian in a lot between the first gate and the second gate, where her car was the only one parked. She gave me another badge that appeared identical to the first. I left my phone in my car as instructed, and we got into Vivian’s car and drove to the second gate. That was when things started not going as planned.

Four agitated police officers blocked our way.

“He can’t leave his car here!” they yelled when Vivian rolled down her window.

“But I cleared this ahead of time,” Vivian said.

“He can’t leave his car here. It’s a security risk.”

“But how am I supposed to escort him if we can’t drive together?”

“Ma’am,” one of them said, “I just do parking.”

It turned out that, like in many bureaucracies, the individual parts that made up the CIA were siloed, and there was no point in arguing about logical contradictions.

Vivian gave up and drove me back to my car, clearly stressed. I told her it wasn’t a big deal—I would just follow her.

The problem, she said, was that we wouldn’t be able to park in the same lot. And I had to be escorted at all times. And employee parking at the CIA was a mess. “It’ll take me forever just to walk to you.”

She resolved that she would simply park in VIP visitor parking with me, and if she got a ticket, she got a ticket. “Just follow me.”

I got in my car and followed her to the gate. I watched from behind the wheel as she drove up to the gate, talked to one of the police officers, and drove off past the gate at a good clip, very much not being followed by me.

I pulled up to the gate, and an aggressive police officer questioned me about why I had two badges.

“Didn’t it seem strange to you to get a second badge when you’d just got your first one?”

“I’ve never been here before,” I said. “Everything seems strange to me.”

A different cop told him to give it a rest, handed me a third badge, and asked if I needed directions to VIP parking. I have a terrible sense of direction—I once got lost at Costco for so long that they had to call my mom over the PA; I was fifteen—and Google Maps isn’t much use at Langley.

The nice cop said that I needed to turn right and follow the road until the sixth left. There I would see a line of squad cars and a gate, where my badge would swipe me in.

“If you see a helicopter, you’ve gone too far,” he said. “Just loop back around. Don’t make a U-turn.”

When I later told Vivian about the mean cop and the nice one, she said, “They’re always doing that good cop–bad cop thing.”

“For parking?”

“For everything!”

I found the VIP parking on my first try. I held my badge out to the scanner. The gate rose! I drove in. And drove. And drove. And drove. In circles, because all the spaces in the small VIP lot were taken. I couldn’t leave the parking lot—I wasn’t supposed to be unescorted anywhere on campus, but at least in visitor parking my presence was somewhat explainable—so I kept circling the lot, accumulating sweat. Finally, someone left. I parked, got out, took a breath of ashy air, and wondered what to do next. I was relieved to see Vivian’s car stuck at the VIP gate, negotiating with the voice on the intercom.

“They won’t let me into VIP parking,” she explained as I got into her car. “They said it’s a security risk.”

We turned back onto the main road and drove for a bit. And then, after a bend, there appeared an abundance of parked cars. Cars upon cars upon cars. I’d never seen a parking lot this big, outside of professional sporting events. The quadrants were labeled by color, the rows by letter; we weaved through row after row of Virginia plates, from Blue D all the way up to Purple V without finding a spot.

I asked Vivian how many people worked at the CIA.

“Maybe two million?” She smiled and confessed that she had no idea, even though I was made to understand that she had been at the CIA, and in the writing group, for a number of years.

As we snaked through line after line of cars, Vivian told me that if you worked here and wanted to avoid a twenty-minute walk from your car, you had to be at the office by 7 A.M. I wondered if this was intentional—a way to encourage long hours, like the tech companies that offer employees free dinners in the cafeterias that don’t open until 6:30 P.M. Or if it was the result of expansion necessitated by the post-9/11 surveillance state and the popularity of phones that record our every movement. As Kerry Howley notes in Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State , we have created and stored more data in the twenty-first century than in the rest of human history combined. If the government wants to find coherent stories in all that data, I thought as I looked at the vastness of the lot, someone has to comb through it.

At first, we couldn’t find the conference room. Like me, Vivian wasn’t allowed to bring her phone into the main building, but even if she had, I don’t know who she would’ve called for directions. CIA officers generally don’t know their coworkers’ last names. (The Starbucks at Langley is the only Starbucks where baristas aren’t allowed to ask for your name.) So I am without photos or notes, but walking through the main building at Langley, is, in my memory, like walking through an airport terminal in a major metropolis, crossed with a hospital, crossed with an American mall, crossed with an Eastern European university. It’s big and gleaming and cold and brutal, all at once. There was a hall of presidential portraits with notes from commanders in chief to the Secret Service, all of them written in elegant fountain pen, except for Donald Trump’s, which was written in Sharpie and said “I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!”

We finally found the conference room, through a side door in the CIA Museum. It was unclear who this museum was for, but it was not a bad museum, full of objects of interest: pieces of the Berlin Wall, tie-clip cameras, Soviet bugging devices, et cetera, displayed in glass cases. Six people were seated at the conference table inside the conference room, which was windowless and had a big CIA seal on the wall.

“Sorry we’re late!” Vivian announced.

“Strip search?” one of the men joked.

“Parking,” I said.

A collective groan. The goddamned parking.

I began by asking what people were writing. Surprisingly, none of the CIA writers were writing spy novels. They were working on short stories. Self-published dystopian sci-fi. A presidential biography. Upmarket fiction. A personal blog, which I was told to check out if I ever wanted a really good muffin recipe. The writing group was organized around what sounded like a listserv announcing periodic meetings to whatever members were available that day. Only about half the people in the room seemed to know one another.

I talked a little bit about writing beginnings and working through false starts. I read the first page of my latest novel, explained why I’d set the first scene in the U.S. when the rest of the novel takes place in Ukraine, and went through all the false starts I’d taken to get where I was going. One officer raised their hand and asked about establishing voice in first versus third person. Another asked about revision techniques. Another about the shift from writing alone to working with an editor. It was the least remarkable Q&A I’ve ever been a part of.

I had a little time to kill before our lunch reservation—seating time in the executive dining room was not flexible—so Vivian took me to the gift shop.

Given that almost no one’s allowed inside Langley and the people who work for the CIA aren’t supposed to advertise it, it was, like with the museum, a bit of a mystery who the gift shop was for. The shelves were stocked with T-shirts (Central Intelligence Agency), mugs (Central Intelligence Agency), and novelty barbecue sauce (Top Secret Recipe!). There was also a Pride Month display (Central Intelligence Agency in rainbow). I bought a Pride Month pen for four dollars.

The dining room was long and mostly empty—apparently a security thing—with white tablecloths and a long wall of windows looking out at the swampy greenery of northern Virginia. Or I was told that it normally looked out at greenery. Today it looked out at wildfire smoke. The menu was essentially cafeteria food—normal American fare. I ordered a burger with sweet potato fries and a Coke from a businesslike waitress in a white dress shirt.

The CIA officer seated next to me asked if I thought it was worth getting a literary agent. I said yes, and she seemed skeptical.

“In my other work,” she explained, “I can get movie people attached.”

I still have no idea what she meant.

While we waited for our food, the writer of dystopian sci-fi confirmed that if you work for the CIA, lawyers have to vet anything you publish. But they were more lenient than I would’ve guessed. She said that one of her novels had helped change how the agency viewed fiction versus nonfiction. While reading her novel, the lawyers decided that just because a character in a novel says something doesn’t mean that the author necessarily agrees, so there should be more leeway for CIA fiction writers. (Which suggests CIA lawyers are more nuanced literary critics than half of Goodreads.)

Obviously you can’t share classified information, I was told. You can’t violate the Hatch Act, showing your political affiliation, and you’re also not supposed to violate the Washington Post rule, which was: Would the CIA be embarrassed if this were in tomorrow’s Washington Post ? (This seemed trickiest to determine.)

Another officer mentioned that, since the CIA has people doing things abroad that could be considered dubious, you had to be sensitive about that. I asked what they meant when they said dubious, which resulted in a change of topic. I asked if they knew of any issues with someone trying to publish something that they couldn’t get approved. One of the older writers said that she had heard of an officer who had tried to publish a memoir that discussed his experience of racism in the CIA and was told he couldn’t until he retired.

After lunch—everyone paid at the register, in cash, and Vivian paid for me—Vivian walked me out to my car.

“It was interesting to learn what you all can and can’t write about,” I said to Vivian. “I didn’t realize you had so much freedom to write about your jobs.”

We passed through the security turnstile and walked over a giant CIA seal, which I recognized from several movies, painted on the marble floor.

“The last thing in the world I’d want to write about is this place,” Vivian said at the door. “I can’t imagine anything more boring.”

Johannes Lichtman’s debut novel, Such Good Work, was a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. His second novel, Calling Ukraine, is available in hardcover and will be published in paperback in April.

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If you enjoy creative writing, then the University Writing Center’s Creative Writing Group may be just the place for you. In this group, we will work together to explore creative writing in a safe, open, and encouraging environment. During meetings, we will write, investigate issues of craft, read and respond to each other's work, and have fun. Any member of the UofL community is welcome – undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff.  We welcome any genre of writing and any level of creative writing experience—all you need is an interest in creative writing! 

Spring 2024

The Creative Writing Group will meet in the University Writing Center from 12-1:30pm on the following Tuesdays:

- January 23

- February 27

- April 23 

For more information, please email  or call us at 852-2173.

How Time Affects a Writing Center Session Feb 16, 2024

ESL Instruction in the University of Louisville Writing Center Feb 09, 2024

Mapping Emotional Labor in Our Writing Center Feb 02, 2024

Taking a Flexible Approach to Writers’ Use of AI Jan 26, 2024

Improving Writing: The Gateway to Success Through Conference Participation Jan 19, 2024

Imposter Syndrome During the Writing Process Nov 21, 2023

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3. Writings On Education From Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings by Ernest J Simmons (1968)

After Tolstoy's speech at the Moscow Society of Lovers of Russian Literature in 1859, the president of that organization, devoted to popular views of the immediate social significance of literature, coldly reminded him that, however eternal truth and beauty may be in art, the artist is a man of his own times, and that the present historical moment was one in which self-indictment acquired a special meaning and an indefeasible right and hence must manifest itself in literature.

The time would come when Tolstoy's own views on literature for the people would radically change, but at the moment he had reached a point of despair and thought of abandoning literature forever. To scribble stories was stupid and shameful, he told A. A. Fet in a burst of enthusiastic confidence when he learned that this poet was thinking of settling on an estate near him and subordinating literature to farming. Literary friends, learning of his intention to plunge into educational theory and start a school at Yasnaya Polyana, pleaded with him not to deprive Russia of his literary leadership. He answered that his new endeavours bore a direct connection with his retreat from literature. For whom did Russian authors write, he asked? For themselves and the cultured few. For masses of illiterate Russian peasants literature was useless. If they could not read his writings, then he would teach them. This, he declared, was the first and essential step toward the creation of a "literature for the people." Here was a purpose that would satisfy his thirst for activity and moral influence.

When Tolstoy opened his school in the autumn of 1859 in a single room of his large manor house at Yasnaya Polyana, free education for peasant children did not exist in Russia. Occasionally, a village would boast of a priest or an ex-soldier who taught a few children at so much per head. The subjects were elementary, the method a mixture of blows and learning by heart, and the results negligible. This situation Tolstoy wished to remedy by substituting public education based on entirely original pedagogical methods.

With half a year of highly successful teaching behind him, it was almost inevitable that Tolstoy should find himself bedevilled in a maze of speculation on pedagogy and obsessed with schemes for improving national education. In March, 1860, he wrote to a friend, E. P. Kovalevsky, brother of the Minister of National Education, of his efforts and mentioned that he already had fifty students and that the number was growing.

"Wisdom in all worldly affairs it seems to me," he continued, "consists not in recognizing what must be done but in knowing what to do first and then what comes after."

He boldly questioned the value to progress in Russia of roads, the telegraph, literature, and the arts, as long as only about one per cent of some seventy millions of people were literate. As a remedy he proposed the establishment of a Society of National Education. Among its duties would be setting up public schools where they were most needed, designing courses of instruction, training teachers in suitable educational methods, and publishing a journal devoted to the dissemination of the society's pedagogical ideals.

Tolstoy received no official encouragement for his proposed program, but from the evidence of fragments of pedagogical essays at this time it is obvious that he had begun to think out his own course of instruction. In one fragment, entitled " On the Problems of Pedagogy ," he wrote:

"For every living condition of development, there is a pedagogical expediency, and to search this out is the problem of pedagogy."

Aware that he was trying, without sufficient knowledge, to handle large abstract concepts of educational theory, which in Russia were entirely dominated by Western European influence, he went abroad in 1860 to study them at the source. A full account of this effort reveals how thoroughly he pursued his objective. He visited schools and participated in classroom work in Germany, France, and England; he talked with teachers and leading educational theorists in these countries; and he collected and studied quantities of textbook samples and read numerous foreign treatises on education. After visiting schools at Kissingen, he jotted down in his diary:

"It is terrible! Prayers for the king; blows; everything by rote; terrified, beaten children."

Another entry shortly after:

"The idea of experimental pedagogy agitates me. I can scarcely contain myself...."

And in still a third entry, after reading Montaigne, he wrote:

"In education, once more, the chief things are equality and freedom."

Julius Froebel, nephew of Friedrich Froebel the celebrated educational reformer and founder of the kindergarten system, has left an interesting account of his discussion with Tolstoy:

" 'Progress in Russia,' he told me, 'must come out of public education, which among us will give better results than in Germany, because the Russian masses are not yet spoiled by false education."'

Tolstoy went on to inform him of his own school in which learning was in no sense obligatory.

"'If education is good,' he said, 'then the need for it will manifest itself like hunger."'

And Froebel also relates that Tolstoy spoke of the Russian masses as a "mysterious and irrational force," from which one day would emerge an entirely new organization of the world, and said that from the Russian artel would develop in the future a communistic structure.

This report reflects the proud, dogmatic, almost arrogant attitude that Tolstoy adopted toward European personalities he met on this educational study trip. While sincerely seeking knowledge, he invariably made it clear that he belonged to no school of thought, had his own point of view on most questions, and that Europeans did not understand the real failings of their civilization.

From his visits to the schools of Marseille, Tolstoy took away a gloomy impression of the futility of the subjects taught and the lifeless, unimaginative methods of teaching them. On the other hand, when he talked with workers and children on the streets, he found them intelligent, free-thinking, and surprisingly well informed, but with no thanks to their schooling.

This situation led him to conclude in a later account of these experiences, in an article entitled " On National Education ":

"Here is an unconscious school undermining a compulsory school and making its contents almost of no worth.... What I saw in Marseille and in all other countries amounts to this: everywhere the principal part in educating a people is played not by schools, but by life."

This is the kind of characteristic half-truth that Tolstoy was fond of deducing from incomplete experience, and it became an important factor in his educational theorizing. But even half-truths that blasted away the hard shell of traditional and erroneous thinking on vital social problems had their value for him.

Tolstoy returned to Russia in the spring of 1861. He erected a three-room schoolhouse at Yasnaya Polyana, and, with several teachers employed to assist him in the instruction, he worked for the next year and a half with self-sacrificing zeal on theoretical and practical problems of education. He expounded his theories and described his practice in twelve extensive articles and a series of notes published in a magazine he founded called Yasnaya Polyana, the issues of which appeared between February, 1862, and March, 1863. Teachers and students also contributed to the magazine. Much of what follows here is based upon Tolstoy's articles, which for that time were quite original in substance but often weakened by perverse and exasperatingly dogmatic reasoning. Though truth was his sole aim, he occasionally forgot that his sweeping generalizations were based on limited experience with his own little school and on the efforts of unique students and a unique teacher. A persistent scepticism was the trade secret of his thinking in educational matters as in other fields of human endeavour.

Over the door of the school Tolstoy placed the inscription: " Enter and Leave Freely ." Perhaps he was thinking, by way of contrast, of Dante's inscription over hell: " Abandon Hope, All Ye who Enter Here ," which he would hardly have hesitated to place above the entrance to most European schools he had visited. Certainly the atmosphere of his own school convinced the children that education was a precious and joyous heritage.

Tolstoy believed that all education should be free and voluntary. He supported the desire of the masses for education, but he denied that the government or any other authority had the right to force it upon them. The logic of things, and his study of the operation of compulsory education abroad, convinced him that in this form it was an evil. Pupils should come to learn of their own accord, for if education were a good, it would be found as necessary as the air they breathed. If people were antagonistic, then the will of the people should become the guiding factor. Tolstoy's faith in the " will of the people ," even though the people might oppose commonly accepted notions of progress, contained the seeds of his later anarchism, and was a direct slap at radical reformers who would uplift the masses against their will.

Tolstoy also believed that education should answer the needs of the masses, but his conception of their needs had nothing in common with that of contemporary progressive thinkers. Nor did he have any patience with the widespread pedagogical conviction that education should mould the character and improve the morals of students. These were matters for family influence, he declared, and the teacher had no right to introduce his personal moral standards or social convictions into the sanctity of the home. In public education he was concerned primarily with peasants, the vast majority of the population. But he was not bent on elevating them above their class by the power of education (a definite evil in his eyes); he was concerned with making them better, more successful, and happier peasants.

In this context the individualistic direction of Tolstoy's thought was apparent. The assumption of civilization's progress in Macaulay, Buckle, and especially in Hegel, he firmly rejected. For some time opposition between the good of the individual and the good of society had been troubling him. He was already developing a philosophy hostile to the pragmatic ideal that progress could be achieved only by social education of the people through the medium of democracy. Progress was personal, he felt, and not social. Education must serve the individual and not society, for the individual's capacity to serve humanity was what gave meaning to life. Yet he did not appear to see the contradiction in his rejection of the whole modern concept of progress. He would teach the peasant child what he needed, but what he needed was often conditioned by the social system in which he lived.

In his article " On National Education " Tolstoy defined education as "a human activity based on desire for equality and a constant tendency or urge to advance in knowledge." Education, he asserted, was history and therefore had no final aim. Its only method was experience; its only criterion, freedom.

Tolstoy attempted to realize in practice even the more extreme aspects of his educational philosophy. Since he believed that the functioning of a school must be adapted to the peculiar conditions of the pupils, he conceded that his own village school might well be the worst possible model for those elsewhere. Attendance was non-compulsory and free to all. Classes ordinarily ran from eight o'clock to noon and then from three o'clock to six, but, as Tolstoy proudly wrote a friend, the students often continued an hour or more beyond closing time,

"because it is impossible to send the children away — they beg for more."

During the morning, elementary and advanced reading were taught, composition, penmanship, grammar, sacred history, Russian history, drawing, music, mathematics, natural sciences, and religion; in the afternoon there were experiments in physical sciences and lessons in singing, reading, and composition. No consistent order was followed, however, and lessons were lengthened or omitted according to the degree of interest manifested by the students. On Sundays the teachers met to talk over the work and lay out plans for the following week. But there was no obligation to adhere to any plan, and each teacher was placed entirely upon his own. For a time they kept a common diary in which were set down with merciless frankness their failures as well as their successes.

Originality was the guiding spirit. Freedom ruled, but never to the extent of anarchy. When Tolstoy purposely left the room in the middle of a lesson to test the behaviour of his students, they did not break into an uproar as he had observed was the case in similar circumstances in classrooms he visited abroad. When he left, the students were enjoying complete freedom, and hence they behaved as though he were still in the room. They corrected or praised each other's work, and some-times they grew entirely quiet. Such results, he explained, were natural in a school where the pupils were not obliged to attend, to remain, or to pay attention.

Tolstoy insisted that only in the absence of force and compulsion could natural relations be maintained between teacher and pupils. The teacher defined the limits of freedom in the classroom by his knowledge and capacity to manage. And the pupils, Tolstoy wrote, should be treated as reasoning and reasonable beings; only then would they find out that order was essential and that self-government was necessary to preserve it. If pupils were really interested in what was being taught, he declared, disorder would rarely occur, and when it did, the interested students would compel the disorderly ones to pay attention.

The successful functioning of such a school demanded unusual ability on the part of the teacher. Tolstoy admitted this, and justly claimed for himself a certain pedagogic tact. Always in his mind was the pupil's convenience in learning and not the teacher's in teaching. He argued that there was no best method in teaching a subject; the best method was that which the teacher happened to know best. That method was good which when introduced did not necessitate an increase of discipline, and that which required greater severity was bad. The method should develop out of the exigencies of a given problem in teaching, and it should please the pupils instead of the teacher. In short, teaching, according to Tolstoy, could not be described as a method; it was a talent, an art. Finality and perfection were never achieved in it; development and perfecting continued endlessly.

In this free atmosphere of student-dominated learning, certain traditional subjects were resisted in a manner that led Tolstoy to doubt their ultimate usefulness and to question the desirability of teaching them to youngsters. Grammar was such a subject. Although his emphasis in instruction favoured analysis, the kind involved in grammar put the students to sleep. To write correctly and to correct mistakes made by others gave his pupils pleasure, but this was only true when the process was unrelated to grammar. After much experimentation with teaching the subject, he concluded in an article in Yasnaya Polyana that

"grammar comes of itself as a mental and not unprofitable gymnastic exercise, and language — to write with skill and to read and understand — also comes of itself."

In the pages of his educational magazine, Tolstoy provides vivid accounts, filled with all the charm of his realistic art, of daily life at the school. On a cold winter morning the bell would ring. Children would run out into the village street. There was no lagging on the way, no urge to play the truant. Each child was eager to get there first. The pupils carried nothing in their hands, no homework books or exercises. They had not been obliged to remember any lesson. They brought only themselves, their receptive natures, and the certainty that it would be as jolly in school that day as it had been the day before.

At the end of a lesson Tolstoy would announce that it was time to eat and play, and, challenging them to race him out-doors, he would leap downstairs, three or four steps at a time, followed by a pack of screaming laughing children. Then he would face them in the snow and they would clamber over his back, desperately striving to pull him down. He was more like an older brother to them and they responded to his efforts with devotion and tireless interest. Their close, even tender, relations are touchingly reflected in one of the magazine articles. He describes how, after school, he accompanies several of the pupils home on a moonless winter night by a roundabout way through the woods, entertaining them with tales of Caucasian robbers and brave Cossacks. The youngest, a ten-year-old boy, furtively clasps two of his teacher's fingers during the most fearful part of a story. At the end of the narration, by one of those quick transitions of children, an older pupil suddenly asks why do they have to learn singing at school? "What is drawing for?" Tolstoy rhetorically asks, puzzled for the moment about how to explain the usefulness of art. "Yes, why draw figures?" - another queries. "What is a lime tree for?" a third asks. At once all begin to speculate on these questions, and the fact emerges that not everything exists for use, that there is also beauty, and that art is beauty

"It feels strange to repeat what we said then," Tolstoy writes, "but it seems to me that we said all that can be said about utility, and plastic and moral beauty."

The ten-year-old was the last of the group to be delivered to his home. He still clung to Tolstoy's hand, out of gratitude it seemed, and as he entered the miserable thatched hut of his poverty-stricken parents, in which his father and the drunken village tailor were gambling, the lad said pathetically:

"Good-by! Let us always have talks like this!"

Tolstoy ended this account in his article by meditating on the age-old question of the moral and practical utility of educating the masses. The cultured, he wrote, would remonstrate: Why give these poor peasant children the knowledge that will make them dissatisfied with their class and their lot in life? But such a peasant boy, concluded Tolstoy, addressing the upper class,

"needs what your life of ten generations unoppressed by labor has brought to you. You had the leisure to search, to think, to suffer — then give him that for which you suffered; this is what he needs. You, like the Egyptian priest, conceal yourself from him by a mysterious cloak, you bury in the earth the talent given to you by history. Do not fear: nothing human is harmful to man. Do you doubt yourself? Surrender to the feeling and it will not deceive you. Trust in his [the peasant boy's] nature, and you will be convinced that he will take only that which history commanded you to give him, that which you have earned by suffering."

The question of art and its relation to his young peasant pupils interested Tolstoy. With his customary freshness, attention to detail, and marvellous power of direct vision he discussed the subject in one of his most remarkable articles, " Who Should Teach Whom to Write, We the Peasant Children or the Peasant Children Us ?" It was inspired by an exciting experience in composition in his school. Themes on the usual subjects, such as descriptions of a forest, a pig, or a table, drove the children to tears. Tolstoy then suggested that they write a story on peasant life, to illustrate a proverb. The pupils found this difficult too, but one boy proposed that Tolstoy write the story himself, in competition with them. He composed several pages and then was interrupted by Fedka, who climbed on the back of his chair and read over his shoulder. Tolstoy explained the plot of the story and the boys immediately became interested. They criticized what had been done and suggested different ways of continuing. Fedka took the leading part in this discussion and surprised Tolstoy by his imagination and sense of proportion, important qualities in every art. Tolstoy set to work to write to the dictation of his pupils Syomka and Fedka, who angrily rejected superfluous details offered by others and eventually took command of the situation. The rest of the boys went home.

Tolstoy described how he and his two pupils worked feverishly from seven in the evening till eleven. Neither hunger nor weariness bothered them. In his account of their collective effort, he gave a number of convincing examples of the artistic rightness and fitness of details, descriptions, and selection that the boys argued and insisted upon. They drew from their experience of village life and characters; and they were nearly always right. Tolstoy was tremendously excited and admitted that he had felt such a strong emotion only two or three times in his life. He was amazed at his discovery of such artistic and creative powers in two peasant lads who could scarcely read or write, and it seemed almost offensive that he, a nationally known author, was virtually unable to instruct these eleven-year-old pupils in his art.

The next day, and still a third day, they continued the story with equal enthusiasm. Then the work was interrupted because Tolstoy had to go away for a few days. During his absence a craze for making popguns out of paper swept the school and the unfinished manuscript of the story was unwittingly sacrificed to this childish diversion. When Tolstoy discovered the loss upon his return, he was deeply chagrined. Fedka and Syomka, aware of his keen disappointment, offered to reproduce the tale themselves. They came after school one evening at nine o'clock and locked themselves in his study. Tolstoy listened at the door and heard them laughing. Then all grew quiet, except for subdued voices discussing the story, and the scratching of a pen. At midnight he knocked and was admitted. Fedka still had a few more sentences to dictate to Syomka, who stood at the large table busily writing, his lines running crookedly across the paper and his pen constantly stabbing at the inkpot. At last Tolstoy took the copybook. After a merry supper of potatoes and kvas, the boys lay down on their sheepskin coats under the writing table, and until sleep over-took them, their healthy, childish laughter rang through the room.

Tolstoy read the story over and found it very similar to the original draft. Some new details had been added, but the tale contained the same truth, measure, and feeling for beauty of the first version. Under the title of the Russian proverb, " The Spoon Feeds, but the Handle Sticks in the Eye ," he printed it, with very few changes, in his pedagogical magazine.

From this unusual experiment in composition Tolstoy drew some interesting conclusions. He declared that nearly all contemporary art was intended for people of leisure and artificial training and was therefore useless to the masses, whose demand for art was more legitimate. He dismissed with some vexation the stale notion that in order to understand and appreciate the beautiful a certain amount of preparation was necessary.

"Who said this?" he asked in his magazine account of the writing of the story. "Why? What proves it? It is only a dodge, a loophole to escape from the hopeless position to which the false direction of our art, produced for one class alone, has led us. Why are the beauty of the sun, of the human face, the beauty of the sounds of a folk song, and of deeds of love and self-sacrifice accessible to everyone, and why do they demand no preparation? "

Tolstoy's position was no doubt extreme, and there was also considerable exaggeration in his unqualified praise of the literary ability of his pupils, who were unquestionably inspired by his own artistic interests. Yet such schoolboy efforts helped to teach him the fundamental truth that the need to enjoy and serve art was inherent in every human being, and that this need had its right and should be satisfied.

Although the Society for National Education that Tolstoy projected found no support among government officials, his school was not without its influence. After the emancipation of the serfs, the government encouraged them to open their own schools. Peasants in the Tula district, where Yasnaya Polyana was situated, appealed to Tolstoy for teachers, and he willingly suggested a number. By 1862 there were no less than thirteen village schools in his area, and their teachers were all zealous disciples of Tolstoy's pedagogical approach. They caught from him a devotion and enthusiasm in what was essentially a pioneering venture. Living like peasants in the dirty, stuffy huts where they held their classes, and using tables for blackboards, they worked from seven in the morning until late at night. At first, like Tolstoy, they had to overcome the ignorant suspicions of peasant fathers and mothers who distrusted these newfangled methods of teaching and were alarmed because their children were not regularly beaten by the masters. But the fact that they were entirely free to send them to school or take them out overcame resistance. Finally, the happiness of the youngsters and their obvious progress in so short a time eventually won the parent's complete confidence in the system.

In a brief note " To the Public " that introduced his pedagogical magazine, Tolstoy eagerly invited criticism. Much of it was hostile and unconstructive, and particularly that which came from progressive thinkers of the time. He was called a " pedagogical nihilist " and his experiment was castigated as a complete overthrow of educational order and discipline. In a few periodicals, however, several teachers, weary of slavish Russian devotion to foreign models in pedagogy, bravely encouraged the less extreme aspects of his school. But, in general, his efforts failed to inspire enthusiastic acceptance among educators. His principle of freedom for both teachers and pupils was too radical a demand for even the most progressive theorists.

Worse still, in the eyes of critics, was Tolstoy's conviction that his educational ideas amounted to a revolt against established opinion in the name of healthy common sense. More-over, he scorned scientific exposition in his articles and used the simple and forceful prose of which he was a master. If he had elected to write treatises on experimental pedagogy in the accepted trade jargon, buttressed with elaborate footnotes and well-chosen citations from approved authorities, he would doubtless have gained a hearing, even if an unfavourable one.

As a matter of fact, certain government officials regarded Tolstoy's activities in education with dark suspicion. In October, 1862, the Minister of the Interior wrote to the Minister of National Education to complain about the harmful aspects of the pedagogical magazine. He pointed out that its general direction and spirit perverted the fundamental values of religion and morality, and he suggested that the censor's attention should be specifically directed toward correcting the situation.

In part, the fears of the Minister of the Interior were correct: Tolstoy's educational articles did call into question the whole contemporary concept of morality. His extremely radical position represented a danger not only to the whole foundation of educational practice, but to the authority of the State. The freedom that he advocated seemed to verge on rebellion, and children educated in this spirit would hardly grow up with proper reverence for those institutions of tsarist government that had been infested by corruption and oppression. His educational philosophy would place the human worth and well-being of the individual above the well-being of the State. In short, the spirit of Christian anarchy that Tolstoy was later to preach so openly and eloquently had already crept into his thinking. For in his educational articles he condemned the false morality of government and society, their despotism, the use of force, and the belief in the legality of punishment. And he frankly stated his belief that the masses could exist without the educated classes, and hence without government, but that the educated classes could not exist without the masses.

Because of his marriage, various discouragements, and a suddenly renewed interest in fiction writing, Tolstoy abandoned his school and the pedagogical magazine at the end of 1862. But his concern for the education of the young, which soon revived when his own children came along, remained with him for the rest of his life, as frequent references to it in letters and in his diary indicate. For example, in 1872 he published his first ABC Book, in which, he said, he had put more work and love than in anything else he had done. It contained a complete curriculum for beginning pupils. There are sections on reading and writing, with drawings, exercises, and various typographical devices to aid in spelling and pronunciation; there are also sections on natural sciences and arithmetic. He realized the importance of effective examples and exercises, and his selections are original and often reveal rare artistic taste. The frame of reference is restricted by the limitations of the students and their daily lives.

"From the natural sciences," he wrote a friend, "I did not choose what may be found in books or anything that I by chance knew or what appeared to me necessary to know, but only that which was clear and beautiful, and when it seemed to me insufficiently clear and beautiful, I tried to express it in my own way."

Several of the stories used as examples in the ABC Book are entirely Tolstoy's own; others are drawn from various folk sources.

The ABC Book, based upon pedagogical theories that Tolstoy had developed and put into practice in his village school was designed, as he said, for the teacher who loved both his calling and his pupils. The work firmly eschews useless or erudite knowledge, or facts beyond the comprehension or experience of beginners. For the chief significance of teaching, he maintained, was not in the assimilation of a known quantity of information, but in awakening in students an interest in knowledge.

Tolstoy was sadly disappointed at the reception of the ABC Book, in which he had deliberately tried to avoid extremes in his theorizing. However, the innovations infuriated pedagogues, and a deluge of sharp, even vicious, reviews resulted. The reviewers charged that the work was an attack on accepted methods of instruction, that he had opposed to a pedagogical system of reason one of faith, to a system of science one of instinct and imagination, and to a system of conviction and ideas one of moral principles. Stubbornly he turned once again to teaching peasant children in his district, in order to demonstrate the methods he advocated in his ABC Book.

In 1873 an invitation from the Moscow Committee on Literacy to explain his educational system to them again aroused Tolstoy's conviction that he had a national public service to perform in education. One result of the meeting was a request to test his ideas on teaching, in several subjects, against the conventional methods employed in the schools. Two groups of Moscow children of similar ages and social backgrounds were provided. One of Tolstoy's experienced Yasnaya Polyana teachers instructed a group, and a teacher designated by the Moscow Committee on Literacy the other. At the conclusion of seven weeks of teaching, six members of the committee examined both groups of students. Although there was no unanimity among the examiners, a majority decided that the pupils taught by Tolstoy's opponent had excelled in all three subjects — reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Tolstoy felt that the test had failed to prove anything because it had been conducted under the worst possible conditions. And he submitted the article previously mentioned, " On National Education ," to the popular magazine, ' Notes of the Fatherland '. It is in the form of a letter addressed to the head of the Moscow Committee on Literacy. The article (September, 1874) is largely a reaffirmation of the views Tolstoy expressed in the pages of his own pedagogical magazine twelve years before. With ruthless dogmatism he condemns outright the phonetic and visual methods of teaching then used in Russian elementary schools. And those native teachers who burned incense to German pedagogical theory he sharply criticized for failing to understand or respect the educational needs of the Russian masses. All a teacher has to know, he declares, is what to teach and how to teach. To find out what to teach, one must go to the people, to the students and their parents. At present, he asserts, the people demand that their children learn how to read and write and to cipher. Until they demand something more, teachers have no right to teach more. As for how to teach, he sums it up in his old phrase: the only criterion for pedagogy is freedom, the only method is experience.

The article created a great stir among the public, infinitely more so than all of Tolstoy's publications on educational themes in the past. To be sure, the work was attractively written, but now it had also come from the pen of the famous author of ' war and peace ', and he had had the good sense to print it in a widely read periodical. In a real sense the effort suddenly made the public pedagogically minded and inspired a surprisingly large number of articles and letters in a variety of magazines. Although the experts, with few exceptions, vigorously attacked him, his views elicited widespread sympathetic response among laymen. After years of striving he at last had the satisfaction of knowing that his theories had reached the general public.

With such encouragement, Tolstoy felt impelled to try for further success. In February, 1875, he published his New ABC Book. It was shorter, cheaper, more practical, and as he remarked in the foreword, adaptable to any method of teaching. Here, too, he now won success, for the Ministry of National Education recommended the work. It was widely adopted by schools and ran into many large editions (100,000 copies were printed for the 1900 edition).

At the same time, Tolstoy published four children's Readers, which contained material taken mostly from his first ABC Book. The excellence and variety of the selections, the artistic simplicity of the narratives, and no doubt the inexpensive price gained an enormous market for these little books, and over the years they sold in tens of thousands.

Tolstoy's old dream seemed on the point of realization — he was beginning to exercise a pronounced influence on the course of elementary education in Russia. And the dream expanded. He wanted to take a prominent place in the larger field of national education, and he wrote to the minister to inquire whether the government would consider a detailed program that he was contemplating on instruction in the schools and another for training teachers. Although the reply was favourable, it was delayed so long that the impatient Tolstoy had already charged off in another direction. Breaking a rule he had set up for himself, he accepted election to the County Council and an appointment to its Education Committee.

One naturally thinks of the poet Matthew Arnold, inspector of schools in England at this time. With Arnold, however, the post was a means of livelihood and a most unpoetic business. Tolstoy, in his more restricted sphere, found a world of poetry in the work of inspecting local schools. He agitated with some success for inexpensive instruction in the district, and he launched his pet project of establishing at Yasnaya Polyana a teachers' training seminary, for he wished to train peasant teachers to take their place in the milieu in which they had grown up and to provide the kind of education for peasant children that would not instill in them alien desires or render them unfit for the performance of duties to which they would be called by their position in life. This was to be, he remarked, a " university in bast shoes ."

In 1874 the Ministry of Education approved Tolstoy's carefully prepared plan for a teachers' training seminary. And his request to the Tula government for financial assistance in return for a certain number of tuition teaching scholarships was granted. But for some unexplained reason, perhaps because educational centers in the Tula government did not favour the idea, only twelve candidates applied for the program. This poor showing discouraged Tolstoy and he refused to open his " university in bast shoes ." It was his last constructive effort to improve formal education in Russia. A long and arduous chapter in the history of Tolstoy's civic conscience had come to an end.

Despite hostility to Tolstoy's educational practices and writings during his lifetime, since then there has been a tendency to acclaim him a brilliant innovator and one of the most significant of educational reformers. Experimental schools in America and abroad have profited from the full accounts he left of his own experiences. His methods of teaching the alphabet and reading, his insistence on self-reliance by obliging students to do manual labor, and his belief that the child should be allowed as much freedom as possible in the classroom — these features of his system have had their influence in later progressive education. And one of his principal theses, that the school should always remain a kind of pedagogical laboratory to keep it from falling behind universal progress, has found wide acceptance as an educational premise.

In one respect it may be said that his first absorbing educational experiment between 1859 and 1862 fulfilled another purpose: the school at Yasnaya Polyana contributed as much to the historical development of Tolstoy as it had to the education of peasant children — it brought him back to the career of fiction writing. It was as though a kind of catharsis had been effected that once again left his mind and spirit free for artistic work.

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Longtime Kiosk Marketplace, Vending Times editor to retire

Elliot Maras, the editor of Vending Times and Kiosk Marketplace, will retire Feb. 26. He plans to work on creative writing and travel in his retirement.

Longtime Kiosk Marketplace, Vending Times editor to retire

Feb. 20, 2024 | by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Managing Editor, Networld Media Group

Elliot Maras, editor of Vending Times and Kiosk Marketplace, is retiring effective Feb. 26. Maras has headed the editorial content for the sites since 2016.

Vending Times and Kiosk Marketplace are owned by Networld Media Group. Maras, a resident of Las Vegas, says his time at the sites has been invaluable.

"When I explain to people the difference between Vending Times and Kiosk Marketplace, Vending Times focuses on food and beverage vending. It's basically a channel for workplace food service, whereas Kiosk Marketplace is focused on the non-food self-service aspect," he said.

Maras previously spent 20 years as the editor of a publication called Automatic Merchandiser, which focused on the convenience services industry, and he started a vending newsletter while there.

While at Automatic Merchandiser, Maras became increasingly aware of the hardware and software rise in technology in the self-service industry. Vending machines were starting to add digital touchscreens and social media was coming into play, Maras said. The digital interface, it seemed, was changing the vending industry.

Maras would attend kiosk and digital signage tradeshows, and Networld Media Group owned one of those tradeshows. He became aware of Networld's publications and met an executive from the company.

"I became familiar with Networld in my role as a reporter for the convenience services industry," Maras said. In 2016, an editorial position opened with the company and Maras got the position.

"Working alongside Elliot for the past decade has been truly honorable. His profound reporting, coupled with the establishment of trusted relationships, played a pivotal role in shaping numerous industry trends that have evolved over the years," said Kathy Doyle, CEO of Networld Media Group. "Through crafting compelling stories, delivering news with precision, and uniting individuals with shared interests, Elliot helped push forward an industry."

Maras said he plans to work on creative writing ventures and will travel with his wife, Rina.

"I will certainly miss being a part of Networld Media Group. It is a great company. I will also miss the many friends I've made in the self-service industry over the years — I've enjoyed every minute of it," Maras added.

Networld Media Group would like to wish Maras well on his future endeavors.

Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.   An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

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19th Edition of Global Conference on Catalysis, Chemical Engineering & Technology

  • Victor Mukhin

Victor Mukhin, Speaker at Chemical Engineering Conferences

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

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  3. 11 Tips For Starting A Creating Writing Group That Works For You & Your

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  4. New creative writing group for young people!

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  1. Creative Writing groups

    1 Screenwriting Workshop with Award Winning Screenwriter 16,256 Screenwriters | New York, USA SW Organized by Jacob Krueger 2 Happy Mates Pune 8,521 Members | Pune, India HM Organized by Nikita G 3 Pune Book Lovers and Philosophers 7,662 Book lovers and Philosophers | Pune, India PB Organized by Shraddha Shetty 4 Business Skills for Creative Souls

  2. 43 Creative Writing Exercises & Games For Adults

    43 Creative Writing Exercises & Games For Adults - Get Inspired! 43 Creative Writing Exercises Welcome to our treasure trove of creative writing exercises. Get inspired with new story ideas, have fun mastering essential writing skills, and find everything you need whether you're flying solo, or running each exercise with a group. Table of contents

  3. How to Find a Writing Group: 6 Benefits of Joining a Writing Group

    Whether you're a published author or want to start crafting your first book, a writing group can offer a supportive environment of like-minded people who share a passion for telling stories.

  4. Scribophile: The writing group and online writing workshop for serious

    Scribophile is a writing group focused on getting you feedback on your manuscript. Our points-based peer critique system guarantees you'll get feedback from writers from all walks of life. You can then use that feedback to polish your writing before you take the next step in your publishing journey. How Scribophile works

  5. 6 Writing Group Best Practices: How to Lead a Successful Writers Group

    Oct 9, 2019 Learn how to start and lead a successful writers group. In this post, John Peragine shares 6 writing group best practices, including limiting your group size, how to effectively share work, and more. Three years ago, at the first Writer's Digest Novel Writers Conference in Los Angeles, I arrived with a mission.

  6. 19 Online Writing Groups And Online Communities

    19 Great online writing groups and online communities Every online writing group and community is different, so it's important to find one that suits you. There are online writing groups for beginners, ones for experienced writers, and ones that suit all levels of ability.

  7. Team Up! What Makes Writing Groups Work

    Six writing groups from around the world share their tips to a supportive writing group. Writing often is a solitary endeavor, one that easily can lead to loneliness. You can spend hours alone at your desk, staring at your computer screen or a blank page, without encountering another human being (and no, tweets and Facebook messages don't count).

  8. Ten Rules of a Creative Writing Group: Get it together

    1. Define the group. Make sure everyone agrees what the purpose of your group really is. Different people have different needs - and different expectations. Some writers might want regular writing exercises, some may want to schedule writing deadlines and reading assignments.

  9. Want to Join a Writing Group? 8 Places to Look

    Here are a few ideas for where to look for a writing group. 1. Local writing centers and communities. Usually a quick Internet search with your city and "writing groups" will yield some results. Attend the group, meeting, or class and see if the group feels like a good fit. 2.

  10. Activities for Writing Groups

    Decide, as a group, on a theme for the next meeting—brainstorming, drafting, proofreading, style, writer's block, etc. Choosing a writing issue to tackle together will help you understand the challenges each member is facing at the moment and enable you to plan meetings that will help group members meet those challenges. Systems for sharing work

  11. How to Run a Successful Writing Group

    1. Create the right atmosphere In order to get into the right creative space, you need to feel at ease with your fellow writers. Make sure new members are welcomed and introduced. And get everyone to say something in the big group at the beginning of every meeting so all members feel involved from the start. Beginnings to break the ice could be :

  12. List Of Writing Groups By State Or Region

    Writing groups can be useful tools for writers looking to gain constructive feedback on their work and improve their craft. At Writer's Relief, we've taken the time to curate a list of writers groups so you don't have to! Scroll down or click one of the links below to view the writing groups in your state or region.

  13. 15 of the Best Online Writing Communities for Aspiring Authors

    1. Absolute Write Water Cooler With over 68,000 members, this is a large and highly active community. Here you can find threads on every genre imaginable, as well as discussions about freelance writing, the publishing industry, pop culture, writing prompts and exercises, and much more.

  14. 50 Fun Group Writing Exercises

    Group writing exercises you can do with your writing circle or critique group are a fun ice-breaker and a way to get creative ideas flowing. Read 50 'fill in the blank' creative writing prompts. By Jordan 6 Comments 'Fill in the blank' writing exercises are fun to do in a group.

  15. 11 Tips For Starting A Creating Writing Group That Works For ...

    A creative writing group is a great way to motivate yourself to keep writing, to give and get support from other writers, and to receive feedback on your work. My own creative writing...

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  18. The Creative Writing Group

    The Creative Writing Group at the NU Writing Center is a workshop-based collaborative of graduate and undergraduate writers, poets, novelists, and student authors that strives to provide an encouraging, fun place to share work with one another. Founded by Dr. Isabel Sobral Campos and Victor Hugo Mendevil, the group meets at the Writing Center ...

  19. Invisible Ink: At the CIA's Creative Writing Group

    The writing group was organized around what sounded like a listserv announcing periodic meetings to whatever members were available that day. Only about half the people in the room seemed to know one another. I talked a little bit about writing beginnings and working through false starts.

  20. Creative Writing Group

    The Creative Writing Group will meet in the University Writing Center from 12-1:30pm on the following Tuesdays: - January 23. - February 27. - March 26. - April 23. For more information, please email or call us at 852-2173. creative writing, writing group, writing center events.

  21. Tolstoy On Education: Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings (1968)

    From Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings by Ernest J Simmons (1968) At the end of Tolstoy's first literary period, before his marriage and the beginning of ' War and Peace ', disillusionment with literature and art turned his thoughts to problems of education. A series of experiments resulted in a collection of educational writings that are both ...

  22. Longtime Kiosk Marketplace, Vending Times editor to retire

    Elliot Maras, the editor of Vending Times and Kiosk Marketplace will retire Feb. 26. He plans to work on creative writing and travel in his retirement. Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 ...

  23. Victor Mukhin

    Catalysis Conference is a networking event covering all topics in catalysis, chemistry, chemical engineering and technology during October 19-21, 2017 in Las Vegas, USA. Well noted as well attended meeting among all other annual catalysis conferences 2018, chemical engineering conferences 2018 and chemistry webinars.

  24. Victor Mukhin

    Catalysis Conference is a networking event covering all topics in catalysis, chemistry, chemical engineering and technology during October 19-21, 2017 in Las Vegas, USA. Well noted as well attended meeting among all other annual catalysis conferences 2018, chemical engineering conferences 2018 and chemistry webinars.

  25. Inkscapetober Day 4: Knot

    Inkscapetober Day 4: Knot. rating: +15 + - x. . Image Sources. Subject: flagsam aka CuteGirl. Commentary: CuteGirl is currently one of the operators of SkipIRC. When she is not busy moderating the chat, CuteGirl likes to smith from time to time. Therefore I have included Hephaistos, smith to the Greek gods, in the coat of arms.