A friend of mine from the writing group had dinner with us last ngiht. We’ve known each other for about ten years, more or less.

Part of why we met was because even when the original group we were part of shrank to just the two of us, we still made an effort to meet on a semi-regular basis.

Since becoming part of this more recent group, the meetings were happening less and less frequently. I think the last time was in February. Meeting times kept changing, people couldn’t make it for one reason or another, so get-togethers were always being postponed or canceled altogether.

It didn’t help that the woman organizing it felt that there had to be at least 4 people or it wasn’t worth meeting at all. As somebody who enjoys getting and giving feedback, I’d rather meet with at least one other person than not meet with anybody.

I tried contacting her last week, but have yet to hear back.  I’m sure she’s been busy.  It’s happened before.

But it’s time for drastic action.

I’m taking the initiative and going to invite the group over on an every-other-week basis. If they can make it, great. If not, that’s okay too.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who really benefits from these meetings, so hopefully steering the group in this direction will be good for everybody.

My friend and I also discussed that the group as it was had been helpful to a certain extent. People would have constructive criticism and feedback, but weren’t being supportive about it. You’d hear “This needs to be fixed” instead of “There’s some potential here. What if…?”

I’m not talking about false praise. Without positive support and encouragement, it’s easy for a writer to lose focus and get off track.

The writing group should be a comfortable situation where everybody works together to make each person a better writer.  It also helps if it’s fun; people should want to be there.

Fingers crossed hoping for positive results.