Dee, I can appreciate your comments and a part of me here is purely being Devil's Advocate but all the things you list in your 'pro's' column apply to WW.

You mentioned speakers - WW has interviews with agents, authors and the like. Finding other writers - well, isn't that what we're doing here - and in a much wider sense? As for getting off our backsides once a month - I can't attend classes like this precisely because my big fat ass never gets to sit down for ten seconds at a time. Sure I could make a few meetings a year but inevitably I'd have to let people down and that isn't fair. It's the same reason I can no longer be a part of the local Amateur Dramatics society - when I first moved here I got a good role in the major summer performance then had to pull out with only a few weeks to go. Now, I no longer risk letting people down.

As I said, I can see the benefits of a 'physical' group but I've yet to be convinced that they offer much over our 'virtual' group.

As for the locality thing - I'd love to know which WW members are close to me so we could physically meet when we can get together - not necessarily on a schedule. Is there an easy way we could publish or search for a locality in membership, one that's useful (not just Oxfordshire).

J

Jon, I know what you mean. I don’t really want to compare WW to a writers’ group because comparisons inevitable lead to one being regarded as better than the other. Your comment about speakers v WW interviews immediately sparked off a memory… one night last summer, in someone’s dining room, with the doors open onto the garden, wading through copious amounts of alcohol and nibbles while we decided what sort of speakers we wanted in the coming year.

It’s knowing that other writers are not people who live in the south, the north, America, wherever. Writers are people just round the corner, at the next desk, in the next town.

I think I have, in WW and the writers group, the best of both worlds.

Dee

J

I guess this would require a change in the details we provide when we join WW. And I would also guess that not all members would be happy to release that level of information. But then, perhaps, it wouldn't need to be obligatory.

Maybe if a discretionary postcode slot was added to our profile details, we could have a facility to search for other members in our locality.

Any thoughts, David?

jumbo

I would love to meet up with other WW members, maybe twice a year? We’d need some help from DB here… some way to link up the information. Perhaps we could have a page where those of us interested in meeting could simply give the name of their nearest town, how far they would be prepared to travel, and how frequently. For instance, if it was only twice a year I would be happy to stand the cost of an overnight stay in a hotel… which expands my ‘area’ considerably but, if we’re talking about a monthly meet, that’s obviously out.

OK, let’s start something… like another thread… I’ll think about it.

Dee

I think Dee's right, to combine WW and a writer's group would be perfect. I love WW and gain so much from it, but there's nothing quite like being in the physical presence of other like-minded souls, and realising they are just like you..and also not! I went to a poetry class recently which was very small, but it was lovely just to see how other's minds worked, really feel what made them tick. We do similar in the Poetry Seminar Group on WW and its great because we have such a diversity of participants, but it was also fascinating to actually sit with others, be able to read and discuss our work. And have a chat over a cup of tea...

I think starting a Writer's group though, Jumbs, would involve quite a bit of work and if you're going to take the plunge you should be ready for that. Dee sounds lucky in that a group seem prepared to participate, help and share the workload..but if you're the King Pin, lots of the leg work might end up with you, and you'll need to make sure that doesn't prove too much or make you resentful.
Keep us informed.
x
tc

<Added>

Just caught up with your latest post Dee and I'm with you.
Some of us London-ish based folk a have tried to arrange a couple of meets recently (****PLUG*** Poetry Café next Tuesday night***)
and I'd certainly be keen to extend this idea.

Oh, how funny. I saw the thread Dee started anout meeting up, and started casing London for cheap B&Bs. You know you can stay in a London B&B and pay about the same as you would for a hostel? And that's for a single room!

I just hope we can agree dates more than a month in advance so I can get cheap rail fares or a cheap flight from Newquay.

I hope we will write together when we meet up, as well as whatever else we may do.

I think the secret is to spread the work, and the sense of responsibility, so that no-one feels overloaded. Our group has a committee. There’s a chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and a comps secretary. They do all the behind-the-scenes work; contacting the speakers, paying for the meeting room, publicity, organising the annual comps.

Dee

Dee

You're very organised, aren't you!

I'll let you know how the group that I'm 'visiting' tomorrow looks!

j x

Dee, as I've said, I've really been playing DA to this, not disagreeing with it. One of my favourite time-wasting skills is sitting in the pub talking with my literary friend Stuart (a poet at roughly the same level of success as me - make of that what you will). Often we start early to be on our own and are quite disappointed when other friends arrive and the conversation turns inevitably to football.

Stuart and I were recently after hours round a friends house with a number of others who had pigeonholed the seats in the lounge and were arguing about Scotlands chances in some cup or other. We stayed in the kitchen and were soon fairly deep into a discussion about whether the written form of various Chinese dialects were open to malapropism, aliteration and other forms of written cleverness. We were very drunk and neither of us even speaks a single dialect so the discussion was ill-informed and rather random at best. However, at one point one of our friends came out and was quite rude about how we were in some way sneering at the others for not sitting with them and discussing Roy Keane's captaincy.

So yes, I'd love to meet up with other writers and feel safe

J

Back in September 03 I went to an evening class "Writing For Profit", and another following this with mostly the same atendees, "Writing For Television" since these finished in March 04 a small number of us have continued to meet. At the moment we're deep into a group writing exercise. Together we've writted the pilot episode of a sitcom which is almost ready to be sent off. It has been an excellent experience - even though most weeks we sit around eating cake, drinking tea, and laughing at our own jokes! Whilst it's not a traditional writing circle, if you've got the time getting out and meeting people with similar interests can be highly rewarding. Whilst WW offers just as much, and more in many departments, I value my weekly group very highly.

Jumbo
Ether or flesh?
Have you posted up anywhere how the group went?
I'm thinking about looking out for a group and would be interested to hear if it would be worth the effort of prizing myself off this damn machine.
Sue n

Sue

Ether or flesh? What a choice!

The juries still out on this one at the moment. I went to last week's meeting and met the group - small, six or seven people - a range of ages and experience. Too early at the moment to reach a firm conclusion. (The next meet is tomorrow (Thursday).)

I think WW still has the vote for me - although that may be because the site feels safe and comfortable to me. On the other hand I can see that if you can get into the right 'live' group it could be advantageous to meet in the flesh as it were.

So watch this space. I'll try and keep you posted.

All the best

jumbo