Gail has asked for stories about writing groups. I belonged to one for many years, and Nancy Kopp (well-known to OurEcho readers) joined us several years ago.. When she wrote about the critique group to which she belonged in Rockford, IL, she mentioned that she would soon be moving and would be looking for a writers’ group in the new place. She did find us and did much to encourage and invigorate us.
The group had been in existence for many years when I joined, and that was a long time ago—so long ago that I can’t remember when that happened. A friend invited me to visit a group meeting which I found intriguing, and I was pleased to be asked to become a member. At that time, I learned about the Kansas Authors Club and soon found that the local group were all members of the organization with most of them very active in it, entering district and state contests and in some cases holding offices at different levels. Some are still doing so. One member served as state president some years ago,
Our local writers’ group met in members’ homes once a month on Sunday afternoons. For a time we made the meetings social occasions with refreshments, but later we decided that too much time was going into preparations for entertaining and for socializing. We decided that concentrating on reading and critiquing our materials was a better use of the time.
Writers, as a rule, have sensitive natures, and occasionally an individual would evidence some pique over a comment and would rise in defense of the brain child, or perhaps give reasons for the writing’s being handled in a particular way. However, most criticisms were welcomed and appreciated. I suppose down in our hearts we really hoped for compliments on our writing, Occasionally someone would review an article from a literary magazine, We would have post mortems after KAC contest results were in, particularly if the returned entries had judges’ comments on them.
As years went by, we began to lose members because of ill health and death or members’ leaving town. Gradually the attendance dwindled enough that, sadly, we had to give up trying to meet; now the group exists only in memory for me. Our illustrious Nancy continues to be very active in KAC and is having much success in being published. She is now a celebrity as she has appeared a number of times on TV after being invited to read some of her articles which have been published in several of the “Chicken Soup” books.
Two especially colorful members of our group were a male folk-singing, guitar-playing university faculty member and a woman faculty member who kept birds at her house. She described them as “having the ‘fly’ of the place.” Meeting there presented possibilities of being dive-bombed or dribbled upon, making those meetings particularly exciting events.
I have many good memories of being part of a once very-active group.