Post a description of the kind of group you want to join that gives kind of writing by marketing category and type.

Examples:

fantasy novel

science fiction screenplay

literary short stories

personal essays

poetry and short fiction

science fiction and fantasy only, all lengths

Please also specify what you do not want to include.

Example:

no R-rated stories

no romance

no mysteries

no science fiction or fantasy

no children's fiction

Post the email address you would like people to use to contact you--nameatdomaindotcom (see Kathleen's email addresses below).

Any group that needs another member and fits your description may contact you in email--no posting that your group is interested in this topic.

The group representative must give you the usernames here on Hatrack used by the group members, at the very least, though their real names (or part of it) would also be good.

You may then decide which group (if more than one contacts you) you would like to join and notify Kathleen (via email at workshopatburgoynedotcom or Dalton-Woodburyatsffdotnet) what group you are joining (give Kathleen their email addresses and Hatrack usernames so she can add you to that group in her records).

Then email those groups you did not choose and thank them. Tell them that you have joined a group now and wish them well in finding more members for their group.

People that are willing to stick to their pieces and critique often. Basically anyone that enjoys short stories (5,000or less) and perhaps some poetry. You may only email one story to the members for every 5 you critique.

I don't know how this particualr board works, becsause not many people seem to use it. But if oyu want to join, just email me at crazythorn@writing.com

Have written some science fiction screenplays but am not interested in pursuing them anymore. I attempt to write literary stories--especially lately am trying to keep away from the old horror, SF and fantasy cliches and creating my own style of "beings" rather than elves, vampires, etc.

I have written and sold personal essays and short fiction, and have written novels in the SF, mainstream and dark thriller modes, though right now my own work is exclusively in the short story arena.

Not interested in mysteries, romances, poetry, anything even remotely Tolienish, or children's fiction.

The long version from elsewhere on the site:

Hi all, I'm John. I've sold a couple of stories to small print mags and am in an upcoming anthology. I'm looking for folks who want to crit and be critted.
I've got several novels done and in the various stages of rewriting. One had an agent who I fired for not doing very much. I'm very prolific; I'm temporarily out of work due to an operation and have been using my time well. I do something I call a "story dump" once a year in which I take one month and write a short story a day every day. I then work on the results over the following weeks or months. I already did one in January and am working on the results.

I'm of the Algis Budrys school of writing; I like a story. My work is extremely dark and grusome sometimes; other stories have been called unbelievably sappy. Generally I write morality tales, some with very violent stuff, generally aimed at adults in terms of theme. Not saying it has loads of sex, just that I take my work seriously and put a lot into it.

Some writers who have influenced my work, so you can get an idea of what my stories are like: Harlan Ellison, Samuel R. Delany, Clifford Simak, Pauline Kael, Ethan Canin, Raymond Carver, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Alfred Bester, Andre Dubus, Thomas Pynchon, Jim Carroll, Harry Crews, Larry McMurtry. Hmm, from that you may get the idea I'm some kind of angry homosexual black man from New York who likes living on a farm and watching movies when I'm not performing surgery.... None of which is me. Oh well.

I think I'm a pretty good critic; I'm blunt, and will tell you I don't think your story is publishable, and why. I expect the same. I see no point in getting personal about such things either way and I try very hard to be polite. But I'm here to work.

I like working out, I collect film music on CD and album, I paint in acrylics, love movies, and by summer should be living in some part of the country I'm not even thinking about at this time. I've written screenplays for fun and have resisted the efforts of some friends with connections in LA to go out there and get my heart broken, because I'm too old for the business and can't deal with not being in control of my work.

I'm most interested in exchanging critiques with people of any age who are serious about their work and have some years of writing experience behind them. But am open to anyone.

I can be reached at gryphoncrossing@aol.com

Thanks

My name is Robert and my email addy is burningrob@yahoo.com

If anyone is interested in picking up a member for their group, please let me. If you're not sure I'm interested in your type of group, at least you could contact me and we could discuss it.

I have participated in several writing groups in the past, but I have been out of it for about 2 years. I have never sold anything, but I have had a few good nibbles, from professional editors/magazines and Writers of the Future, where I just missed the final
cut.

My name is Fred Civish
my email is FCivish@prodigy.net

Thanks,

If you want to join a critique group, OR FORM ONE, then I suggest you look on this board, and the other similar boards, and contact each AND all the other people who have posted here, asking about groups.

This means you should contact each other, at the least.

I have found that members in most functioning groups do not spend time looking around here. They are too busy writing. So, if you want things to work, you have to MAKE it work for yourselves.

I posted here and nobody answered me. So, I took the time to go through the posts and contact each person that I could.

I found a few groups that were functioning, but no longer in need of new members.

I found groups that had gone defunct and whose members weren't interested in continuing, for now.

AND, I found one group that wasn't exactly looking for members, but who were happy to have me join (and another person I had contacted from here, who came in with me) so now we have 6 members.

I also STARTED a new group, consisting entirely of people I contacted here and people who THEY brought in, so our new group now has 7 members. None of these people had been in a group before.

Do not bother to contact me on this, the two groups I am participating in (yes I am doing two) do not need any more members now. However, THIS is how you should go about finding or starting groups, in my opinion.

If you are interested, TAKE THE INITIATIVE.

Good luck,

And if you don't get the group you want, DO check back every few weeks, because there are ALWAYS people coming through here, looking. Hopefully they will find you, but if not, then you write THEM.

I dont write particularly fast, or read particularly fast either. It would probably suite me to work in segments, for example maybe crit a section of so many words at a time rather than need to read a whole novel for somebody before giving feedback.

I'm a bit of a novice (even though i think i can critique other people's work pretty well), so will be pestering people for their help and advice on particular aspects as well as requiring general feedback.

If you have a spare place in your group, please send me an e-mail to anthony.benskin@expressdairies.co.uk

In the hopes of helping someone else, here are a couple of suggestions:

I would suggest anyone wishing to be in a crit group read this article by Terry Ervin and published on Fiction Factor:
http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/critlist.html
I would second the suggestions made in that article.

I set up a group list on www.yahoogroups.com which allows us to type in one email address to distribute to everyone on the list. With a closed group like this, list maintenance is pretty minimal. It also gives us a location to upload shared files and website links as references for our members.

At any rate, once Fred got an agreement of participation from all of us, he suggested we set up a schedule. We voted and decided on weekly submissions. There are six of us in the group now, and one person submits each week and the rest of us offer crits.

We all offer our crits on the list, rather than privately to the writer. This helps us all to learn from each other's suggestions.

So far things have been going nicely. This isn't the only way to do things, but it was a good way for us.

My advice is that if you want to be in a group, don't be shy. Go for it! You don't have to have been a member of this board for any pre-set amount of time, you just have to have the desire to improve your writing. Newbies can benefit as well as more established writers.

Identify the folk who are writing in your genre, and toss them an email telling them of your interest. I've learned there are many more people clamoring to be in groups than there are open positions.

The novel critique suggestions at

http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum21/HTML/000005.html

talk about other ways.

Yet another way is as follows:

1) Each member will submit one piece of their original writing between the first and twentieth of each month.

2) Each member will critique everyone else's writing submissions within three weeks of the date of each submission (i.e. if the submission is emailed on May 5, then all critiques for that item will be in no later than May 26; if a submission is emailed on May 15, then all critiques for that item will be in no later than June 5.)

In addition to that, a member may opt to skip a month for a crisis or a long vacation or some other well founded reason. However, they must let the group know that they will not be participating in that month. Only one month should be skipped in any three-month period of time.

So there are no set ways to schedule exchanges. The group members should work out a way that works best for everyone in the group.

I am called Lynk on the internet, and Oliver some of the rest of the time. I don't write any particular kind of fiction exclusively, and I inclusively I don't have any particular kind of fiction genre group I'd like to join. I want to read really good quality writing, just really well crafted stuff; and not well crafted for a genre, but just well crafted. Although I do kind of want to steer around anything too romancy--so not romance, but no real bars held other than that.

However, sci-fi and fantasy hold most appeal to me. Realms of unreality and law-defined inestimability I just think are cool.

e-mail: lynkriin@yahoo.com

This does feel peculiar--I must say.

If you have not found a group for yourself yet, take a look at the topic "Group 2 Needs More Members" and contact us, if you wish.

Miram, Norma and Edith

[This message has been edited by Grandma Edie (edited August 19, 2005).]

I don't particularly care if I'm joining a group or creating one, as long as I'm involved in one. Therefore, I'm posting to both threads.

I'm looking for one of two types of group. Either poetry or science fiction and fantasy only, all lengths.

Again:

Poetry (including short fiction is acceptable)

Or

Science fiction and fantasy only, all lengths

This can be just fantasy with no sci fi, but not just sci fi with no fantasy. I do not want romance or mystery.

I have a few Sci-Fi short stories and a Sci-Fi novel started as well as other ramblings that are dear to my heart with little or no literary value.

I have no interest in R-rated stories or foul language.

If there is a place for someone like me in a Hatrack River group please contact me at;

bobertok@hotmail.com

Thanks

I am attempting my first novel. I have had a lot of ideas for stories and novels, this is my first attempt at putting one of those ideas to paper.

My e-mail is adamsandlerschick@yahoo.com