Writing is, at its heart, a very solitary occupation. Unless you're co-authoring, with some kind of arrangement that has you both at the same keyboard metaphorical at the same time (you could, after all, be authoring in Wave from across the planet), your work involves long hours spent by yourself at a keyboard, squeezing brain farts out through the alphabet.

Most writers are people who relish their alone-time, but keeping your writing career in isolation hampers your development - it's hard to get a new perspective on your writing if you're the only one looking at it or talking about it.

Enter the writing group. They grew out of writer's needs for various things, foremost someone else with which to discuss their obsession. Which of the other needs a group serves is determined largely by its longest-serving members - the matriarch or patriach whose personality and will tends to permeate the entire setup.

There are two main kinds of groups, which I'll term 'Support' and 'Critique', and two main modes - either face-to-face, or online / correspondence. All forms have their place, but most writers have a particular need when they seek out a group, so it's vital to be able to categorise a group on sight.

It's important to remember that this is two ends of a spectrum rather than mutually exclusive boxes. It depends on the people in the mix. I have found that most writing groups tend to fall fairly heavily in one or the other, but you may well discover a group that perfectly balances both.

Support

The support group is largely a social experience. They'll meet fairly regularly - maybe monthly or even weekly, and spend a large portion of the time talking about their lives - what's going on, what's causing them grief, how difficult it's been to fit the writing in this week because little Jimmy has been up all night with the flu. Some workshopping might be done - usually just one or two pieces a session, which are often brought in on the day, the feedback given 'off the cuff'.

They'll often occur at someone's house, maybe on a rotating basis, where amenities are easily available. Probably over a meal, or even including another activity such as a game of cards or similar. The weight of the session is predominately on things other than, or only slightly related to writing. The one exception is the occasion where one writer absolutely has to talk about this idea for a book she has - but the conversation will very rarely go into technique, improvement, approach or writing craft.

The good

Support groups are usually good at offering what's on the label - a group of sympathetic ears when you need to rail about the impossible plot position you've put yourself in, or that you're always so hungry from writing through your lunch break. It gives you a group of roughly-like-minded people who will provide encouragement, and generally tell you that, whatever you've done, it was the right thing to do, or the best you could do at the time.

It's usually a relaxed, comfortable and friendly atmosphere, with little pressure to produce something for workshopping. Feedback of writing is on the whole positive, with people paying particular attention to things they really liked, rather than ripping pieces to shreds.

The bad

It must be said that the large majority of support groups are comprised of people who aren't really serious about a career in writing. They like to write, or perhaps they like to think about writing, they enjoy stories and may even have one or two shorts published, but it's not something they're prepared to put the real work into like they would a day job.

Note that there's anything wrong with that, as much as many writers like to sneer at someone who wants to be a Writer. There's nothing wrong with wanting to write as a hobby anymore than there's something wrong with wanting to paint or dance or build model railroads as a hobby. Nobody said you have to turn your hobby into a money-maker. But part of the writing-hobby often involves the self-delusion of publication - 'someday'. It's vital that an aspiring professional doesn't mistake that for genuine, working-my-butt-off ambition.

It's also no secret that support groups are often thinly-disguised self-moderating therapy groups - writing attracts a lot of people who are both inexperienced writers and dealing with personal grief or tragedy. Be prepared to listen to a lot of people's daily baggage. The use of the group as a social experience rather than a writing group can mean a lot of secret cliques and political backstabbing, and means the feedback isn't always useful - often, the people it's usually more important not to rock the boat by giving harsh criticism, and the members of the group don't necessarily have the experience to know what isn't working or why.

These groups tend to be a lot of pot-luck in terms of usefulness, and they all-too-easily attract the Listen To Me person, who always manages to bring the group's attention back to their own piece or problem.

The verdict

These groups are not for someone who wants to improve their writing technique, get help with a story that isn't working, get career advice or foster their self-discipline in writing. Or rather, not for someone who's looking for that in a group - the social aspect may still be useful. The lack of emphasis on workshopping and craft means that what little feedback you do get will be infrequent (you may submit a few thousand words a year for workshopping) and largely useless (five people telling you they loved it sounds lovely, but it doesn't help at all, trust me.)

However, they're great for someone who's exploring writing as a hobby and a potential career - a much more friendly, relaxed way to start sharing your work and your writing-side. If you do want to keep writing as a hobby, or perhaps you only have one particular story that you want to write, a support group is ideal.

Critique

If support groups focus on the social and hobbyist aspect, critique groups are all about the craft and career. They'll usually meet less frequently, to give time for each writer to polish a more substantial workshop piece, and there will be minimal chit-chat about things-unrelated-to-writing - everyone understands they're there for a reason. The main body of a session will be taken up by critiques of pieces that were submitted a week or more ago, to give each reviewer plenty of time to come up with useful feedback.

Critique groups may take place at someone's house, but they're more likely to be in a 'neutral' location, such as a writer's association, library, or similar place that may require a hire fee. They may involve a meal, but will refrain from activities that distract from the main purpose of the session, which is clearly writing and feedback rather than social bonding. Which is not to say there isn't any, but this is a group of people who want to be published. That's where the focus goes.

The good

Critique groups are great for a writing career - improving individual pieces, your technique and sharing knowledge and experience about the professional writing arena, not to mention networking. There's often a quasi-mentoring approach to newer or younger members, and a clear focus and dedication to writing that is infectious.

These groups will usually have you writing a lot more - you'll be submitting more frequently (even though the sessions are less frequent), and have much more involved, thoughtful and useful feedback. They're also more often 'official', meaning you can get discounts or special offers at conventions and associations for belonging.

These groups are also often 'invite only', which means each member's writing, commitment and attitude are at a level deemed by the rest of the group - it's rare you'll have the person who wants everyone to read and exclaim over their fifty-seven short stories about bad experiences with banks. This means you can feel pretty comfortable that the people you're with know what they're talking about, and want to talk about it with you.

The bad

These groups can be very intimidating for someone just stepping into the field. They offer little in the way of emotional support about everyday things - regualrly producing writing is a given, and if you can't make the time to write, they'll have little sympathy.

There's also usually a strict social contract with the group - you must participate on a regular interval, both in giving feedback and offering pieces, nor can you monopolise an entire session because you have a great idea for a book. This is not the place to discuss your story idea: this is the place to take it once it's written.

The honesty of the feedback may be more than a beginning writer is willing to take - it takes some practise to accept that nothing you write will ever be perfect, and that the criticism is of the work, not yourself. I've seen at least one member in my own writing group (the Critique variety) take his bat and ball and go home, because we (as individuals) were less than favourable about his magnum opus.

The verdict

If you're aiming at a professional writing career, already writing regularly and have some experience with workshopping or feedback via a support group, then a critique group may be suitable. I would stress these groups are not for the hobbyist or the beginner - you can't expect other people to spend their time teaching you the basics, and you won't be able to provide useful feedback for them until you know what you're talking about.

If you just want to write 'for fun', or only have that one story you want to write, this kind of group isn't for you. This group is for those who already have a social-circle to keep them sane, but want focussed help and advice developing their writing and career. There's a lot of expectation that you can and will provide the same to the rest of the group. These are the people who dance compatitively, sell their paintings in galleries or win awards for their model railroads - if that's not what you want to do, you won't be happy there.

How to tell them apart

Look at:

• The amount of workshopped material per year
• The ratio of time-spent-nattering to time-spent-on-writing-type-stuff
• The quality of the writing submitted
• The publication history of the members
• The planned activities per session.

If the answer is not-much, mostly-nattering, medium-to-inexperienced, not-much and things-beside-writing-related-stuff-included, then it's likely a support group. If it's largely the opposite, it's probably a critique group. As I said before - this is a spectrum, not a box, and there will be variation between all groups depending on the individuals comprising it. (And I haven't even touched on groups that meet to do some writing together, which falls somewhere in the middle).

Correspondence vs face to face

Both groups come in both flavours, there doesn't seem to be much difference in likelihood of type/delivery mode. It does make it far easier to determine the type of group in an online setting, however, particularly if the group is forum-based, where you can view previous samples and discussions to gauge writing skill and feedback.

In my experience, the correspondence group is inferior for a critique style group - it's just far easier to convey feedback and discuss a submission face to face than it is using the written medium. I've also found a face-to-face meeting provide set deadlines that aren't easily changed, attracting more dedicated set of people, and the localness means that the people you meet are facing the same difficulties you are (as opposed to Australian, American, and South African writers all trying to discuss hwo to get published.)

The flip side to that is that the broader your network-base, the easier you'll find increasing said network, and online groups are far more likely to be international in nature. There's merit to be had in belonging to an online group if it increases your networking ability, particularly if you live in a non-North-Ameican region.

That said, it is ultimately about the makeup of the group itself - if you don't get along with and respect the people comprising the group, you're not going to take anything positive from the experience. Don't be afraid to try groups out for a bit - it can take some experimentation to find a group of people who are right - and they might not offer the type of group you thought you wanted. But it's vital to maintain some kind of connection with like-minded people, both for your sanity's sake, and your writing's.

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