Pencils NEPA Writers Group Guidelines

Welcome to Pencils NEPA. The purpose of this group is to bring together people like you who have a desire to explore and expand their writing skills. Your goal may be to get published or to write simply for personal satisfaction. Whatever your reason, becoming a skilled writer takes practice. By getting feedback from other writers (who themselves are also readers) you are giving yourself a great opportunity to improve your craft and perfect your voice.

By joining this group, you are agreeing to the following expectations, rules, and guidelines. They are designed to make this a positive and productive experience for everyone.

Meeting Details:                 Morning Group – meets on Zoom

1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

                                                Evening Group – meets on Zoom

2nd and 4th Monday of every month

Note: may sometimes fall on 1st and 3rd to alternate weeks with morning group

6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

 

Protection of Intellectual Property:

All work shared at Pencils NEPA is the sole property of the publisher/author. No work may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the express written permission of the publisher/author. Any work distributed at the meeting shall be returned to the author by the end of the meeting unless otherwise agreed to by the publisher/author.

Member Expectations:         

  1. Attend on a consistent basis. While conflicts will arise from time to time, all members should make the effort attend every meeting. This creates synergy and accountability.
  2. Arrive on time and plan to stay for the entire meeting. The creative process works best when interruptions are kept to a minimum.
  3. Come prepared to share your work. Length of submissions should not exceed 2,000 words. This is approximately 5 pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins, using 12-point font. Make sure to use page numbers and put your name and date on every page.

a) For in-person meetings, members should bring a sample of their work to each meeting. The length should be no more than 1,500 words. This is approximately 5 pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins, using 12-point font. Make sure to use page numbers and put your name and date on every page. Ideally, bring copies to pass out so that other members can make notes for you to refer to when you get home. Any work distributed at the meeting shall be returned to the author by the end of the meeting unless otherwise agreed to by the publisher/author.

b) For virtual meetings, members should post their work in the private Google Group ahead of time (24 hours before meetings is recommended). Start a ‘New Conversation’ and use this format in the subject line: your name/meeting date/title of work. Attach your submission as a Word document or PDF file. Or you can copy and paste your submission into the body of the message. Avoid using images or color as this discourages other members from printing your work because of the cost of toner.

 4. Respect each other’s time. The group leader will manage the agenda and the clock. The allocation of time for reading and commenting will vary depending on the size of the group and any special agenda items. By working together to manage our time, everyone will be able to participate and get the full benefit from the meetings.

5.  New members are always welcome. A first-time member to the group will not be asked to read or critique at their first meeting. This allows them to observe how the group functions so they can benefit from and contribute the most at their next meeting.

6.  Silence all mobile devices during the meeting. This meeting is truly a gift of time that we give ourselves to escape from interruption and immerse ourselves in the creative process.

7.  Respect privacy and confidentiality. What is said in the group stays in the group. This creates a safe environment for everyone to thrive.

8.  Respect the policies and protocols of public meeting locations. We are their guests. Every member is responsible for their conduct, language, tone of voice, and respect for private property.

9.  Offer support and suggestions. The strength and value of Pencils NEPA will come if each member gets what they want and need. Feel free to reach out to the group leader at any time to express ideas, concerns, or solutions for future meetings.

Guidelines for Reading and Feedback:

Every writer benefits from the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback from other members of the group. The spirit of giving and receiving feedback makes everyone stronger. This format works best if a few simple rules are followed.

Reading:

All members are encouraged to read their own work to the group. As noted above, please make your submission available to other members so they can follow along and make notes while you are reading. While this is not a requirement, it is strongly recommended.

  1. Before you begin reading, tell the group in a few words what type of feedback you are looking for relating to that specific piece. This will undoubtedly change from meeting to meeting. For example, you may want feedback on your characters, or the flow of your story. You may want feedback on whether the tone and tempo suit your ideal reader.
  1. Read only your written word. Do not improvise, embellish, or explain what you are reading. Good writing must stand on its own – after all, when someone buys your book on Amazon or in Barnes & Noble, they won’t have you there to supplement what they read on the page.
  1. You may ask someone else in the group to read your work. This is often very effective for both the author and the group. Your work can be heard from an unbiased voice and you can pay more attention to your own words. This is totally optional.
  1. Honor your word count and time limits. If your piece is long or part of a book project, prepare to read only a portion that fits within the group guidelines. Using too much time to read takes away from the time to receive feedback.
  1. Bring something new to read at each meeting. It is not productive for the writer (or stimulating for the other members) to repeat the same work over and over just for the sake of tweaking. However, major rewrites are worth sharing with the group. Your goal is to keep pushing yourself forward and not fall into the trap of editing the same work again and again.
  1. When you are finished reading, the group leader will manage the feedback follow-up. Feel free to take notes on the feedback you receive, but don’t let notetaking get in the way of listening to what is being shared.

Feedback:

The single greatest value an author can receive from a writer’s group is feedback. There is a huge difference, however, between feedback and criticism. The Pencils NEPA philosophy is that positive encouragement combined with insights and opinions for strengthening the work helps everyone in the group learn and grow and ultimately become better writers. Every member will be encouraged to offer feedback; however, no one is required to do so. If you feel the work presented is something you don’t feel qualified or would prefer not to comment, then simply say “I’ll pass today” when it is your turn.

During in-person meetings where the reader has distributed printed copies of their work, other members should use the time to make notes. Put your name on the copy so the author can get back to you if they have questions after the meeting. You are encouraged to mark punctuation errors, misspellings, typos, repeated words, and other issues.

When you are asked to provide your feedback, begin with a positive comment concerning the piece’s strength. It is very important for writers to know what others like about their writing. Positive feedback gives writers the encouragement needed to keep writing (the writing world is lonely and can brutal at times). If writers know what they are doing well, they can continue to build on those strengths. Sharing positive observations is uplifting for everyone.

The second portion of the feedback should be used to give some constructive suggestions or reactions that might make the writer’s submission stronger. Make your strongest point first and respect the clock to allow for others to contribute. Do not use your time to repeat what someone else has already said – rather, build on it or offer something new.

  1.  Say something positive about the piece. Even if a piece of writing needs a lot of work, there is always something good that can be pointed out – the nugget of a great idea, a particularly well-turned phrase, the beginnings of a good organizational structure, or a thorough understanding of the material.
  2. Evaluate the writing, not the writer. A writer’s work is very personal, and it takes a lot of courage to put a piece of writing out there for others to evaluate. Offer honest, non-judgmental, tactful feedback. Put-downs and attacks are not tolerated. Everyone should feel safe sharing their work. Instead of saying “You aren’t very good at conclusions,” say, “This conclusion didn’t really work for me.” Then state why you didn’t think it worked.
  3. Be respectful of genres outside of your comfort zone. You may not particularly enjoy reading romance or horror or poetry, but do not let that factor into your feedback. Comment on the writing, not the genre.
  4. Speak from your own perspective. Use phrases like: “My reaction to this was…” or “I found this to be…” There may be a variety of opinions about the piece of writing. You are in a writing group to help one another improve. It does not help the writer if you see problems with their writing but don’t mention them because you’re afraid of hurting their feelings. Writers would rather hear about a problem from the friendly, supportive members of their group than wait for a 1-star scathing review on Amazon.
  5. Be specific. Instead of just saying “The character needs work,” try to offer suggestions for where and how the writer can improve on strengthening the character. Instead of “Your dialogue is weak,” point out what didn’t work and suggest ways to revise it.
  6. Whatever you say, imagine yourself on the receiving end of the comments. If this were your work, what would be helpful to you? How would you want people to provide constructive feedback?
  7. Write out key points that you want to share with the writer. You can note on the copy of their work or make notes for yourself. This will help you remember and provide a written record of your feedback if asked about it again. Use your copy to note spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. However, avoid pointing these out during feedback as it wastes valuable time—this is not the time for copyediting. The exception to this is offering a substitution of words or phrases to strengthen some portion of the writing. If the meeting is virtual, you should provide your written feedback in the Conversation thread started by the writer.
  8. Valuable feedback does not rest upon subjectivity alone. “I like it” and “I don’t like it” are valid responses to a piece of writing but tell the author what you liked or didn’t like about the piece.
  9. Do not insist that others adopt your style, morals, or values. Avoid the temptation to impose your writing style, morals, or values onto others. The goal of feedback is to help the author be the best that they can be using their own unique style and voice, drawing from their own very personal ethics and life experience.
  10. Avoid using your feedback time to lapse into personal war stories. Sharing something that happened that is similar to the submission story is not helpful to the author. Feedback is not about you—it’s for the writer and is about the words on the page!

Receiving Feedback:

This is the third and perhaps most important element of the writing group process. For you to get the most out of Pencils NEPA, it is important to master how to receive feedback.

  1. Your writing group is here to help you become a better writer. Anything the group members say about your work is designed to help you make it stronger, more readable, and more effective. These are just other people’s opinions. If you think a suggestion is helpful, use it. If you feel strongly about not changing something . . . don’t. Take all comments into consideration but follow your gut about what you should and should not change. 
  1. Be quiet while you are receiving your feedback. It’s difficult to do when you want to defend your work, but you’ll get more out of it if you just listen. The feedback session can easily get derailed when the author tries to explain or defend the writing. Try not to be defensive. It’s easy to think “What do they know?” or “They just didn’t get it,” but consider this: While one reader’s response may be the result of that reader’s own misunderstanding, if several readers agree that a scene or phrase is confusing or implies something you didn’t intend, the problem probably lies with the writing and not with the readers. Once everyone has finished commenting, you’ll have time to respond, ask questions, and get clarification. 
  1. Put yourself in the other member’s shoes. It is not uncommon to struggle when responding to someone else’s work without hurting their feelings or, at the opposite end of spectrum, being too nice. Understand that this process is sometimes hard for both the person giving feedback as well as the writer. 
  1. Keep in mind that every reader is different. What one reader finds confusing another might find crystal clear. It is your writing and you will have to decide which bits of feedback to act upon and which to ignore. Remember that feedback on one piece of writing is not an indictment of you as a writer, nor is it a judgment of your worth as a person. It is simply a response to words that you wrote on one occasion. 
  1. Listen to praise with the same intensity that you listen to critical feedback. Often, writers can obsess over the more critical comments and fail to hear all the good things said about their writing. We can be our own worst critics and harshest detractors. Shut off the filter that says, “They don’t really mean that,” and accept sincere praise at face value. 
  1. Keep track of the feedback that you receive again and again. Do readers often suggest changes in plot or imagery? Do the endings of your poems or stories usually seem to need work? Do people frequently tell you that they don’t understand your word choices? Do readers praise your clarity? Do they regularly tell you that your introductions are interesting? Are you frequently challenged to replace clichés with fresh images? Use these observations to identify patterns of problems and strengths in your writing. 
  1. And most important – remember, you’re the author and you have the final say! As you receive feedback it is your prerogative to accept or reject any suggestions made. This is a useful tip to keep in mind when the group is pretty evenly divided on a point (which will often be the case). Don’t feel like you must change something just because someone in the group didn’t like it; but also, don’t make hasty judgments and reject what others say. Sometimes those comments make more sense when you go back and look at them later. The trick is to remain objective and open to editing your work to make it the best it can be.
Again, welcome to Pencils NEPA. Whatever your writing goals, we are here to support you!

Guidelines Updated Sept 2024