Now put down your defences and hear me out :)
I used to be one of those writers who pretty much shied away from people and opinions in general. Most friends and family that came across my poetry always just said nice things and gave me zero criticism/feedback. I was content with this self reliance and sole responsibility status.
Until a little over a year ago when I got enrolled in a poetry workshop with Andy Jackson (this is a link to his blog which you should check out fo shizzle). The workshop consisted of women from varying age groups and ran over 6 beautiful Sundays. There is nothing better than starting your Sunday with poetry/coffee and beautiful people.
Over the weeks we grew closer as we explored form and moods and work-shopped each other's more personal pieces of poetry. I consider them to be my poetry family :)
We enjoyed each others company so much and felt so safe in each others presence that we went on to meet every fortnight to talk, drink, write and explore. We have even encouraged each other to perform and are friends even across the distance.
I craved something similar when I moved to Mumbai/Bombay and was beyond thrilled to be told about Alphabet Sambar - they're a closed group of writers which is why I haven't linked to them here.
AS is made up of writers be it fiction/non-fiction/poetry/blog writers and so on and consists of people from all ages across the spectrum.
Everyone brings in an original piece of writing which the group then critiques. The feedback is succinct without being offensive and is honest.
I enjoyed the fact that we dabbled in so many different genres.
The group on Facebook has about 50 members though about 7-8 members show up at the meets. They are generally held in local coffee shops and I rather wish there was a better more quiet and less 'public' option. That being said they're lovely people who are kind and warm and welcoming and it is such a relief to find creative people who make an effort to 'create' and also share what they write.
There is a lot of exchange of knowledge and ideas and I am glad to be a part of it!
SO moral of the story? Writer's groups win!
Embrace the idea of getting constructive feedback and getting the opportunity to test the waters with your work before it is published or performed.
I used to be one of those writers who pretty much shied away from people and opinions in general. Most friends and family that came across my poetry always just said nice things and gave me zero criticism/feedback. I was content with this self reliance and sole responsibility status.
Until a little over a year ago when I got enrolled in a poetry workshop with Andy Jackson (this is a link to his blog which you should check out fo shizzle). The workshop consisted of women from varying age groups and ran over 6 beautiful Sundays. There is nothing better than starting your Sunday with poetry/coffee and beautiful people.
Over the weeks we grew closer as we explored form and moods and work-shopped each other's more personal pieces of poetry. I consider them to be my poetry family :)
We enjoyed each others company so much and felt so safe in each others presence that we went on to meet every fortnight to talk, drink, write and explore. We have even encouraged each other to perform and are friends even across the distance.
I craved something similar when I moved to Mumbai/Bombay and was beyond thrilled to be told about Alphabet Sambar - they're a closed group of writers which is why I haven't linked to them here.
AS is made up of writers be it fiction/non-fiction/poetry/blog writers and so on and consists of people from all ages across the spectrum.
Everyone brings in an original piece of writing which the group then critiques. The feedback is succinct without being offensive and is honest.
I enjoyed the fact that we dabbled in so many different genres.
The group on Facebook has about 50 members though about 7-8 members show up at the meets. They are generally held in local coffee shops and I rather wish there was a better more quiet and less 'public' option. That being said they're lovely people who are kind and warm and welcoming and it is such a relief to find creative people who make an effort to 'create' and also share what they write.
There is a lot of exchange of knowledge and ideas and I am glad to be a part of it!
SO moral of the story? Writer's groups win!
Embrace the idea of getting constructive feedback and getting the opportunity to test the waters with your work before it is published or performed.
