Making Your Writing Public
For years I had been on my own, struggling as both writer and editor of my own work, pursuing a romantic, albeit lonely, venture.
Five years ago, though, I found a place where I could share the burden of being both editor and writer: The Globe Creative Writing Group, which meets at the Globe Bookstore and Café in Prague. Hundreds have attended, but on any Monday night between six and twelve writers gather to workshop our writing, discussing poetry, prose, memoir, and criticism: we examine a fairly varied fare from realistic fiction to speculative fiction, romance to literary critique and bruising confessions. The only cost? A beer, a pot of tea, or a sandwich—and, occasionally, a bruised ego.
Anyone who’s ever turned in a paper knows what it’s like to have their work criticised. Red ink is as old as cave paintings. But a writers’ group is not a teacher-student relationship, trading notes is an exchange; a quid pro quo, more of an anarchic model. If you agree to read mine, I’ll agree to read yours. The key is to understand the nature of the transaction—learning when to accept criticism, when to reject it, and when to remain dutifully silent.
Almost more than anything, the group provides community. It’s not about being the sharpest critic but about being a helpful critic. After all, we’re likely to see these people again — if not next Monday, then on the streets of Prague. We are not alone; we’re all traveling through a timeline of literature, maybe not concurrent with Prague’s Kafka and Brod, but even small contributions can have a lasting impact, or at least perturbations on the timeline.
I won’t lie — there’s an element of competition too. I want to bring my voice, my signature style, my élan to the tables of the Globe Bookstore and Café. Each week, I strive to be a more engaging writer—smoother, sharper, more deft. Every meeting is a chance to hone my craft and witness others master theirs.
At its best, a writers’ circle doesn’t disrupt an author’s story but helps them see what they are becoming. I hope to do for my fellow writers—and what, in turn, I hope they do for me.
[An extended version of this essay can be found at https://open.substack.com/pub/markstroup/p/some-thoughts-on-writers-groups]