Writers' Groups

A couple of new writers have contacted me during the past week. I feel a bit of a fraud when consulted for advice, in that I’m certainly not a best-seller, so there has to be a question mark about how valuable my suggestions might be. Having said that, the writing process does fascinate me, and it is for this reason, rather than because I see myself as a fount of knowledge, that I have the temerity to offer my thoughts on the writing game.

When I was working on what became my first published novel, during the 1980s, I was a member of Wirral Writers. We met every Friday at Bromborough Library, and I found it an enjoyable and sociable pastime. One of the members was a retired policeman, who gave me one or two ideas about police procedure, but the main benefit was the sharing of experiences and the chance to talk to other people with a common interest, including some who had actually published for money.

My first published story was one that I’d submitted for a competition run by another writers’ group, based in Southport (members included two people who would later contribute crime stories to anthologies which I’d edited on behalf of the Crime Writers’ Association.) This particular group was a very good one. The quality of groups does, naturally, vary but I am sure that there is much to be gained from joining your local group when you are starting out as a writer.

And after you have established yourself, it’s nice to stay involved, or at least in touch, with the group, if that is possible. I really enjoyed returning to Wirral Writers years after I’d moved away from the area, and had finally published a few novels. A great bunch of people, to whom I owe a lot.