It’s quite possible that “The Lord of the Rings” would never have been published were it not for the feedback J.R.R. Tolkien received in his writers’ group, the Inklings. In the 1930s and ’40s, Tolkien, along with C.S. Lewis and some 17 other writers, all men, met on Thursday evenings to discuss and dissect their work. They “were quick to praise one another; they were also highly critical,” according to Diana Pavlac Glyer, who wrote about the Inklings in her book “Bandersnatch.” Inklings member Robert Havard described their critiques as “frank but friendly,” and said, “Coming from a highly literate audience, it was often profuse and detailed.”
These days, with more books being published than ever before, writers’ groups like the Inklings have become so prevalent that it almost seems like finding and joining one is as much a part of the writing process as, say, procrastinating or doing some actual writing. There are writers’ groups to satisfy just about every literary itch, and niche — groups run by a facilitator and those that are freeform; genre-specific groups, and groups that throw every genre in the blender. There are highly structured writers’ groups, where each member gets a predetermined time for reading and feedback, and the loosey-goosey who’s-got-something-to-read-tonight approach; groups that give only positive feedback, or positive feedback first, and groups that emphasize critical feedback. Some writers’ groups are made up of just a few people; others will fill an auditorium. There are even nationally organized groups that have spawned regional chapters.
But are writers’ groups necessary? And do they work? I suppose the answer to those questions depends on who you are, how you like to write, and how well you receive feedback. For me, the answers are a definitive yes and yes.
After putting word out asking Vineyard writers (this includes seasonal Vineyarders) to comment on their writers’ groups, author Adrienne Hand emailed me saying, “Our writing flourished and progressed. One of us clarified her book idea and wrote many chapters; one of us published a poem; one of us wrote humorous, poignant pieces about cultural history, life on M.V., and her own family; and I have clarified and made significant progress on the two chapbooks I have been working on.”
Novelist Nancy Star, whose writer’s group met for 20 years, although it was not Vineyard-based, wrote to say: “Our members went through so much together, from enormous literary success to the frustrations of every imaginable thing going wrong, usually completely outside of our control. The successes provided inspiration for everyone, and no matter what went wrong, someone else had been through something similar. Deep friendships came out of this group, and most of us found our perfect ‘first readers’ there as well.”
Elle Lash is currently part of a nurturing writers’ group, but reflected back on what can go wrong: “I was once part of a writing group with two members who came to the group with chips on their shoulders. It’s difficult to share writing, very vulnerable, and not uncommon for writers to bristle when getting feedback. The notes being given were personal rather than constructive. One member was told that her piece of personal narrative was nothing but a trauma dump. The group disintegrated shortly thereafter.”
Lash says of the writers’ group she’s currently in, “We rarely give prescriptive feedback, but mostly notice where the writing is most alive and what the writing is ‘about.’ This lets the writer know if what they hoped they were conveying was conveyed.”
I have been part of one or another Vineyard-based writers’ groups since 1998. For a while I was double-dipping and also belonged to a New York–based writers’ group that was made up of four first-time novelists, but after I suggested a hard deadline for us all to finish our novels, we never met again.
My current Vineyard writers’ group lives on, however. We have been meeting for years, although none of us can recall exactly how many. When I recently asked, I got responses like, “I’m the absolute worst person to ask a question like that — to me, everything happened either 5 to 6 years ago, or 10 to 12. And I’m usually wrong.”
We are writers, not numbers people after all. But the truth is, we’ve lasted longer than some of our marriages.
We are six women, with a seventh who pops in about twice a year. In our group there is an essayist; a journalist and poet working on a memoir; a novelist who has published historical, contemporary, and speculative fiction; a writer of cookbooks; a writer who didn’t allow her dyslexia to hold her back and has published two books and counting; and me — the children’s book author turned novelist and playwright.
We meet on Tuesdays. At least we try to. The rush-about of Vineyard summers disrupts our flow, not to mention our writing. During the pandemic, we moved to Zoom, and now we only occasionally meet in person. We don’t send our work out in advance. Whoever has something they want feedback on reads aloud. We use the technique generally called reverse editing, pioneered in part by Chilmark Writing Workshop founder Nancy Slonim Aronie, who is also a member of my writers’ group. Positive comments first. Then only constructive feedback.
Nancy had stopped writing for over four years after joining a Connecticut writers’ group who welcomed her with all the warmth and support of a nymph tick bomb. She says of that experience, “It’s where I learned that creativity requires safety. And hearing what works first allows me to hear what doesn’t work.”
The members of my writers’ group all agree that our writing has benefited tremendously from the feedback we receive. And because there’s a cookbook author among us, our cooking has improved, too. As for me, my novel, published in 2025, would still be a disconnected series of random chapters with no narrative arc were it not for the feedback and support of my writers’ group. I needed them to reassure me that what I was writing was worth writing, to let me know and give me suggestions when it wasn’t working, and to feed my ego with laughter. An ego fed with laughter is a great motivator for writers.
And so are writers’ groups, at least for some of us.
If you’re looking for a writers’ group, I suggest checking in with the libraries or starting one yourself. Below are some additional options for finding writing communities on the Vineyard and on Zoom in the coming months.
• Writers Read Series — A monthly reading, now in its 14th year, at 7 pm on the second Monday of the month. Anything goes as long as it’s prose: fiction and nonfiction, essays, and plays. Read for a maximum of 10 minutes. You may request specific feedback (optional). Seasonally live or on zoom. Sign up in advance at gaia1@gmail.com. Sponsored by the West Tisbury library.
• Poetry and Prose — Tuesday nights at Pathways Arts, sign up to read eight to 10 minutes. Assigned prompt for Dec. 8: The first time or the last time, or the first and last time. www.pathwaysmv.org
• John Hough Jr. offers two writing classes that meet on Monday and Thursday nights, 6:30 to 8:30. Maximum of 4-5 writers per class. Attendees bring 5-7 pages; John reads the pieces aloud, then they all discuss. Attendees leave their work, and John, a novelist and the author of “The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Dialogue,” edits the pieces rigorously. $30 a class. Everyone enrolls for the month at the month’s beginning. Hough says the premise of the class is, in the words of George V. Higgins, “Writing is for grownups,” adding, “My writers expect to be critiqued as well as supported.” Email John at jthjr31@gmail.com
• Moira Silva convenes small structured groups of writers of various genres to give and glean feedback on works in progress. Zoom or in-person options. silva.mc@hotmail.com, www.moiraconveysilva.com.
• Sherry Sidoti offers three online writing groups, each with a different focus/intention, including Weekly Writing Circles in eight-week cycles, for writers who want to write to prompts or their own material, read their writing, and receive feedback. Ongoing throughout the year. www.sherrysidoti.com
• Donald Nitchie’s monthly “Poetry: Build It, Build it Better” sessions are offered through the Edgartown library on Zoom.
