http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/tags/writers-groups Travel Writers Exchange Forum Home » Tag: writers groups - Recent Posts en-US Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:38:50 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/search.php http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-safe-are-writing-groups-how-can-your-protect-you-and-your-ideas#post-1429 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:14:43 +0000 TravGirl 1429@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>It happened to me once too. I was at a writer's conference and was telling a couple of other writers about an article I was working on.....well one of them wrote an article on the same topic (and not a common one either) and even submitted it to the same place I was planning to submit to! Their article was a different perspective than mine, but it was very clearly my idea, and man was I ever steamed about it! </p> <p>I learned a lesson from that - now I don't discuss articles with other writers until AFTER they are submitted or published. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-safe-are-writing-groups-how-can-your-protect-you-and-your-ideas#post-1408 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:55:04 +0000 Amandah Blackwell 1408@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>It's unfortunate, but it happens. I recommend getting to know people <em>before</em> you begin discussing your ideas. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-safe-are-writing-groups-how-can-your-protect-you-and-your-ideas#post-1406 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:28:39 +0000 Trisha Miller 1406@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>Wow - I've been in a couple of writer's groups in the past (not for the past couple of years though - too busy) and I have never heard of that! But I can easily see it happening - times are tough for writers and earning opportunities are decreasing, so competition can be fierce. Still, it's very sad to hear that it's happening. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-safe-are-writing-groups-how-can-your-protect-you-and-your-ideas#post-1404 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:51:05 +0000 Amandah Blackwell 1404@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>Great question. I would be cautious about sharing ideas right away with the group. I'll tell you my story which has to do with screenwriting, but it could apply to travel writing as well.</p> <p>I shared my teleplay idea with my screenwriting group; it's been completed for a couple of weeks now. Lo and behold, a guy in my writing group wrote a teleplay that is very, and I mean very similar to my teleplay. You could take my teleplay and put it into his. All you would have to do is change the names, setting, etc... Needless to say, I'm speaking with a copyright lawyer because I'm serious about writing, and I want to protect myself. I want to know <strong>every nuance</strong> of copyright laws, especially when it comes to verbalizing your ideas or completed projects. It was a <strong>tough lesson</strong> for me to learn, but I leaned it. I <strong>will not</strong> share my ideas with any writing group again. </p> <p>The writing groups I would look for are ones that offer writing exercises. Perhaps they analyze work that is already written. You could take a travel writing article and re-write it or discuss the structure of it. Any ideas you have, keep them to yourself or discuss them with the organizer <em>if</em> you trust him or her. Good luck! </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-safe-are-writing-groups-how-can-your-protect-you-and-your-ideas#post-1403 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:14:49 +0000 BillieJean 1403@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>I have a friend who's in a writing group. She shared some of her ideas with the group and low and behold, one of the members has written an article similar to hers. The "themes" are the same, but some of the other information is different. My friend was stunned.</p> <p>What can writers do to protect themselves when they're in writing groups? How do you know that someone won't "rip off" your idea and pass it off as their own? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-do-you-make-the-most-of-a-writers-group#post-1287 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:30:36 +0000 SarahQT 1287@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>Great tip TravGirl about joining a group within your genre. I use Meetup.com and there are a ton of groups within my city -- kind of makes your head spin! Sometimes you'll find a group doesn't fit your needs. That's all right. I may seem time consuming to "test" out a bunch of groups, but it's worth it to find the one for you! </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-do-you-make-the-most-of-a-writers-group#post-1284 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:39:21 +0000 TravGirl 1284@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>Something else that I think can be really important, is to look for a writer's group that specializes in the genre you are interested in - and there are specific groups for just about every interest, such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screen-writing, travel writing, science fiction, etc.</p> <p>If you pick the right group you'll get the most out of it. It doesn't do a poet much good to join a science-fiction writing group, or a screen writer to join a poetry group. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-do-you-make-the-most-of-a-writers-group#post-1271 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:11:22 +0000 BillieJean 1271@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>Definitely join more than one group. That's what I did. You get a sense of who will be participating and what direction the writing group will take. Sometimes smaller groups are better because you have more interaction with each other; it's more intimate. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-do-you-make-the-most-of-a-writers-group#post-1269 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:35:19 +0000 Trisha Miller 1269@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>That's good advice Rebecca! I would only add that you should definitely consider joining more than one group as sometimes different writers' groups have different 'vibes' and you'll get a very different interaction. </p> http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/topic/how-do-you-make-the-most-of-a-writers-group#post-1266 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:53 +0000 Amandah Blackwell 1266@http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/Forum/ <p>First, make sure you have the time to be part of a writer's group. Second, make sure it's a good fit for you. If you're constantly giving and giving and not receiving, it may be time to find another group. Third, be open to constructive feedback. If the organizer makes or suggests changes to a piece you wrote, receive the feedback and say "thank you!" Finally, you may see the same faces over and over (I do), this is all right. It shows who is dedicated and who is not (we discussed this in my group). Many groups can have 100+ people, but only 5 or 10 will show up each week. Everyone is busy, but if you're <strong>serious</strong> about being a writer, you will do what it takes to fulfill you dream. Good luck! </p>