Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman.

The first day of the year I end up outdoors without a coat always leaves me feeling a little scrambled, giddy at sensations I forgot existed.

“Oh,” I think as I marvel at the grass and leaves creeping in to take the place of snow. “So that’s what dirt smells like!” When my toddler actually scooped up a handful and stuck it in his pocket today, I knew exactly how he felt. Sometimes I wish I too could package all of the textures, scents, and sounds that embody this season, and save them for later.

Even if it makes your laundry dirtier, spring can be an inspiring time for writers. It’s a time of growth and change, when a natural cycle gives fresh perspective on old themes.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ve likely seen a few signs of spring emerge already; but even if you’ll be waiting a few months for the season to shift, consider how this time of renewal might serve your writing well.

Why writing is like spring

1. It involves hope. No matter how much mental work I do beforehand, sitting down to write feels like a hopeful act. I might have a fixed plan, but the act of writing always opens paths I might not have considered before, and I never know quite how they’ll turn out until I arrive there. I once spoke with an author at a writers’ conference whose suspenseful short story had me on the edge of my seat. “I was so worried about that character!” I told her after her reading. “I really had no idea what was going to become of him.” To my surprise, the author nodded vigorously. “I know!” she replied. “Me neither. Halfway through writing, I still wasn’t sure what he was going to do. I’m glad it turned out the way it did, though!” Our characters and plots might originate with us, but they also take on lives of their own, and accompanying them on the journey is certainly a leap of faith.

2. It involves work. I’ve been looking at overnight low temperatures lately, trying to figure out if it’s too early to seed peas. I hear the hum of tractors in the fields by our house, tilling ground to prepare for planting. Like writing, spring is about more than hopes and dreams; it demands careful planning, preparation, and attention to detail. We commit to a schedule, fight procrastination and distraction, edit again and again. There’s no way around it.

3. It’s tricky. One day, we’re giddy, half-drunk on sunshine and sunbathing on our porch. The next day, cold rain or even a sudden snowfall remind us that this season isn’t for keeps. Its fragile beauty is intoxicating but hard to trust. Similarly, it’s hard to take a piece of writing for granted. We might start out inspired, only to fall victim to writers’ block. We might get stuck on a piece of dialogue or a plot twist or a conflict between two characters and lose track of our piece’s purpose along the way.

4. What comes up always surprises us, even if we’ve seen it before. I walk past the same patches of multicolored crocuses and snowdrops that crowded the strips of grass along the sidewalk last year. Yet I love them all over again; each year, they look new. In writing, we might rework old themes; characters in different works might share similar traits or plot lines might reflect aspects of our own lives. Nevertheless, each new work offers the opportunity to view a known concept in a different way, and to gain new perspective.

5. Our senses work overtime. After the austere chill of winter, spring is a constant riot of sensation; we’re hyper-aware as the scent of flowers, sound of birdsong, sight of buds bursting on once-bare branches, and texture of soft soil remind us of how to engage meaningfully with our environment. Writers also deal in senses, heeding the old advice to “show, not tell,” striving for highly specific descriptions and metaphors.

How to make the most of writing this season

1. Be optimistic. Dig up an old piece you haven’t edited yet, or get started on one you’ve been mulling over for a while. Polish a piece for submission.

2. Recommit. Create a writing schedule that works for you. Prioritize your projects. Create meaningful and S.M.A.R.T. goals for your writing.

3. Embrace the ups and downs. Recognize that a bad writing day has still served a purpose; you still wrote. And there’s always tomorrow.

4. Work with new perspective. Choose an element from a previous work to make over. Take risks; write a poem based on a theme from a short story, put an old character in a new situation, shift a plot in the opposite direction you’d planned.

5. Activate your senses. Get outdoors. Describe what you see in as many strange, new ways as you can. Use one of those descriptions to kick-start a new piece of writing or spice up an old one.

Enjoy the season. And if you end up with a little dirt on your writing desk…consider yourself lucky.

How do seasonal changes fuel your writing? What inspiration have you gathered this season?

**Have you checked out the free preview of The Busy Mom’s Guide to Writing yet? If you’re still not convinced, head over to this review of The Busy Mom’s Guide to Writing by Patricia Woodside.

About two weeks ago, I mentioned our twins would soon be born.

I’m so pleased to announce the arrival of our third son and our first daughter, who weighed in at about 5.5 pounds each. They are healthy, happy, and finally home from the hospital after a weeks’ stay.

I’m feeling well despite the busy days and sleepless nights of feedings and diaper changes. Still, even though I have plenty of help around me (my mom is visiting for a couple of months and my husband is working from home), I must admit I have little time at the moment for anything outside of caring for the twins and two older boys.

But that’s okay. It just means I need to re-evaluate my self-expectations for a while.

The need to adjust your expectations can sometimes feel oppressive, especially if you have no control over your circumstances. But, it can also feel empowering if you choose to make adjustments for your own good or the good of others.

In my case, re-evaluating self-expectations is not only good for me, it’s good for my family. I can’t argue with that.

My writing regime will be minimal for the next couple of months, but I’ve planned well in advance for this. Here’s what I’ll be up to while the twins are getting settled:

• I have a short story under consideration with a magazine, but the editor has asked me to make a few changes before committing. That exercise will probably be the extend of my fiction writing this month. If I’m unsuccessful this time, I’ll be putting the story through another round of submissions.
• I will be editing and scheduling posts for guest writers and regular contributors, keeping an eye on the blog, and putting together my monthly newsletter, The Resource Wrap-Up. Aside from this post, I have several articles already queued up over the coming months, so I won’t have to write fresh ones each time.
• I have a few guest posts forthcoming on other blogs (dates to be announced), where I will be responding to comments and questions.
• I will continue to work on works-in-progress as time allows, which may increase as the twins settle into a routine. While I won’t start anything new, I have several stories on the go which I can add to at any time when I get a break.

As you can see, I’ve set small, achievable writing goals, but my main goal at the moment is to spend quality time with my four beautiful children. I’m enjoying every minute.

Under what circumstances have you needed to adjust your self-expectations when it comes to writing?

Today’s post is written by Matthew Turner.

I recently wrote a guest post about self-doubt, asking people how they dealt with it and offering solutions for other self-doubting writers.

The response was fantastic, and despite dozens of solutions proposed, it seemed people split into two main camps (affectionally described as)…

1. Fine Wine Writers
2. Imported Beer Scribblers

Here’s what I mean:

Fine Wine Writers are those who need to take a step back, look at their work, and go through a rather long prolonged process of editing, self-doubt, and generally driving themselves insane (in the same way that fine wine takes a long time to make).

Imported Beer Scribblers are the opposite of this, composed of people who just keep on writing. It doesn’t matter how much they doubt themselves, hate their writing, or stumble into creativity barriers. They simply pick up the pen and write. They trust the process to sort itself out and guide them down the road to a satisfying end (in the same way making beer is a rather quick process).

What Type of Writer Are You?

I fall under the category of a Fine Wine Writer, which is rather ironic as I’m not a huge fan of wine in general, let alone fine wine. It’s, quite frankly, wasted on me.

In terms of writing however, this is exactly what I am. I go through huge—often daily—bouts of self-doubt. Roller coaster rides of loving my work one day and looking at it with disgust just 24 hours later.

The process I follow is inefficient and lengthy, but it works for me. Although I hope certain things will change in the future, I like my crazy Fine Wine process—the tune of which often follows this format:

• Write a chapter, read it back straight away and really, really like it
• Come back to it a day later with the intention of writing the next chapter, re-read the previous, hate it, and sulk for an hour
• Walk away from writing altogether for a few days in the hope that a fresh head will make things better
• Come back, re-read, re-edit, make changes here and there, and eventually walk away with a smile
• Come back the next day and start the next chapter, ready for this tortuous process to begin once again

I imagine however, the reverse looks this way:

• Write a chapter, read it back, smile
• Move on to the next chapter
• Repeat

Hmmm, slightly more productive, right?

These fine folks leave editing for editing, and creating for creating. I’m sure they still have doubt, and I’m positive they hate their work from time to time, but the big difference is they move on and trust in their writing to guide them.

I often read blogs about authors releasing over a dozen books a year. They have huge numbers in the Kindle store and, as such, have thousands in income each month. This is something unfathomable for me. Considering I’m still on book number one after six years…well…I think I’ve a way to go before getting to this level.

These people are clearly not Fine Wine Writers. I suppose the defining question is, however, does this make them better writers?

Is One Method Better Than the Other?

I’m proud of my Fine Wine status because it’s what makes me the person I am. I hope to become more efficient in the future, but I feel this will occur naturally as my writing improves, and as my self-doubt decreases.

For all you Fine Wine Writers reading this, hold your chin high and be proud. You may never be the author with ten books for sale per year, but that doesn’t mean you won’t become a success.

And for all you Imported Beer Scribblers, well done too. Be proud of how you go about things and have faith in the process you follow.

There’s so much advice thrown at us these days, it’s easy to deny our natural processes in an effort to conform. Although conformity can be advantageous sometimes, I always believe being yourself is the general rule to follow.

So what are you? A Fine Wine Writer or Imported Beer Scribbler? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your process?

Matthew Turner is a strategic marketer who blogs about how aspiring authors can market themselves. An aspiring author himself, follow him on his journey to becoming published at his blog and on Twitter

Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman.

Unless you’re Emily Dickinson, dressed in white, hanging out alone in your room writing hundreds of heart-stopping poems, you probably find your writing life studded with distractions. I know I do.

For the purposes of this article, anything that’s not writing counts as a “distraction.” That means many distractions are actually very important ones. Working at your job, for example. Raising your kids. Calling your friends. Paying your bills. You wouldn’t want to give up many of your distractions even if you could.

Then, of course, there are the arguably less worthy ones. Television. YouTube. Even…though I’ve learned to love it…Twitter (I did say arguably).

I believe in trying to eliminate distractions while we write. Constant toggling between a Safari window and a Word document can sound the death knell for any work-in-progress.

But nothing can take distraction out of life. We’re all pulled in competing directions. Have you ever met somebody who claims to have a lot of free time? Me neither.

Yet people write anyway, usually in moments that, whether scheduled or spontaneous, are also stolen from a day clogged with other distractions. How can all this distraction be conducive to writing, a task that requires intense focus and inner reflection?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question lately because my own life is such an odd example of how more distraction and less free time can result in better writing.

I’ve always loved to write, but I can’t point to a whole lot of work from the earlier years. I dilly-dallied along with an essay or story here, a poem there. It wasn’t until my first child was born and I started losing sleep and scrambling for even an hour to myself that I really started to get serious about writing.  By the time my daughter came along not too long afterward, I was really ready to buckle down. I now write bleary-eyed late at night, for 10 minutes here or there in the morning, during naptime if I’ve actually managed to finish the breakfast dishes. Yet I’ve written more in the past two years than I did in the previous ten.

What gives? Can the large and small distractions of daily life, the assorted obligations that fracture focus, aid writing?

What’s Great About Distraction

It keeps you grounded.

Living in the world is hard work, but it’s the only real way to fuel writing. William Carlos Williams, the famous poet who also worked throughout his life as a family physician, emphasized the importance of engaging with the world.

“Writing is not a searching about in the daily experience for apt similes and pretty thoughts and images…” he writes in his book Spring And All. “The writer of imagination would find himself released from observing things for the purpose of writing them down later. He would be there to enjoy, to taste, to engage the free world, not a world which he carries like a bag of food, always fearful lest he drop something or someone get more than he.”

Williams also famously coined the much-discussed phrase “no ideas but in things.” Perhaps the messy task of living in a physical world is the very thing we must undertake in order to write authentically.

 It keeps your perspective fresh.

Working with different people, facing challenges, wrestling with new concepts—these interactions keep our brains in recalibration mode, continually stretching to make sense of our environment. What better exercise for writers than to work amid diverse perspectives, conflicts, and ideas?

“I’m constantly learning,” writes author Erika Dreifus in a blog post about the benefits her 9-5 job lends to her writing life. “I’m surrounded by people, and I hear their stories. I carry out a variety of research projects. All of this is good experience for any writer.”

It imposes restrictions, which can actually breed creativity.

I have no idea what I did with all that time, back when I had it. But I do know that having less time to write has made me more serious about writing. When it’s actually time to write, I gratefully plunge in.

A musician friend once told me about challenging himself to compose tunes that didn’t include certain notes on the piano.  Rooted in restriction, the resulting music felt particularly adventurous and unique. It was great creative practice, he said.

Maybe less writing time can function like a crippled piano—there’s music lurking inside that you’d never have found if you actually had all the keys.

Not writing doesn’t mean you’re not writing.

Have you ever found yourself working through your daily tasks only to feel the urge to write something down? Even mundane tasks spark inspiration.

Writer Susan Bearman reminds us in her post Finding Extraordinary Writing in an Ordinary Life to “remember that even when we’re not writing, we are. Our brains keep working when we do the laundry or watch our kids play soccer or take a shower.”

The life you live provides more than enough material to write about.

Making Distraction Work for You

1. Prioritize your distractions. Going to work might be a necessity, but can you let the laundry wait one more day so you can write? Are you volunteering on a committee that you don’t really want to serve?  All distractions are not created equal. Pick a select few you can’t live without, and let a few others go.
2. Schedule writing time, but don’t over-schedule it. Commit to a certain amount of writing per day, or a certain number of writing tasks accomplished each week, but if picking a specific time of day to write feels difficult, don’t worry.  Sometimes having flexible rules makes us more likely to follow them.
3. Use distractions as inspiration.  Consider how characters, conflicts, and plot-lines could grow from your experiences. How can your life enrich your writing?
4. Make the time you have count. When it’s time to write, just write. Consider disabling your internet connection, writing in full-screen mode, or setting a timer to manage breaks.

It’s easy to envy Emily Dickinson, and certainly we deserve to give our writer selves a little TLC via the occasional writer’s conference, class or vacation. Yet we can also challenge ourselves to move beyond feeling slighted by daily busy-ness (“I’d write more if I could!”) and start to make those distractions work for us.

Have your “distractions” from writing been surprisingly helpful? What strategies have you developed to deal with distractions?

This morning, I had an interesting conversation (read: argument) with my just-turned-2-year-old.

Me: “Time to change your diaper.”

My Son: “Mommy read my tiger book.”

Me: “We have to change your diaper, first. Then reading time.”

My Son: “Mommy read.”

Me: “Diaper time.”

My Son: “Later diaper time.”

Me: [Picks up toddler and puts him on change table.] “So, when are you going to learn to use the toilet?”

My Son: “Later.”

Later—An Insidious Word

We often think of procrastination as being something that keeps us from getting started. But, what about when procrastination doesn’t keep up from starting, but from finishing?

Getting to the point where you’re ‘almost done’ can be both thrilling and dangerous. Yes, you’re nearly there. You’ve come a long way. Now, all you have to do is put the final touches on that piece of writing (or whatever other project you’re working on). The thing is, you’re so close to being done, you just can’t get motivated.

Over Christmas, my husband and I got a bit lazy.

We’d over-exerted ourselves before Christmas—probably close to the point of burnout. My twin pregnancy had become a bit of a ticking time bomb: how much can we accomplish before our little angels are born?

But good food, good fellowship, the kids at home and hubby off work…those pressing projects that were almost done stayed almost done for a couple of weeks.

In the evening, when we’d usually be working or answering emails, we were watching television and saying things like, “We should really do some work.”

Later became the easier option.

Overcoming ‘Almost Done’ Syndrome

Thankfully, neither my husband or I are the type to let things linger too long. I’m happy to say we’ve now finished those things that were hanging over our heads.

Overcoming one’s urge to just let those projects sit and linger in their semi-complete states isn’t that difficult. Here are three steps to help you banish the word ‘later’ from your vocabulary:

1. Remind yourself how far you’ve come.

I needed to remind myself just how much I’d accomplished in the last six or eight months. Sometimes I forget I’ve written well over 100.000 words while carrying twins to nearly full-term and caring for two other children. I don’t have any reason to beat myself up. I just needed to finish. Finishing wasn’t optional.

When you’re at the end of a project, remind yourself how far you’ve come. Allow yourself to feel happy with your progress, because you’ve probably worked very hard on it. Maybe even too hard.

2. Set a S.M.A.R.T. goal for finishing the manuscript/project.

S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Sensitive.

After Christmas, I set a goal of having my eBook completed and available before the final month of my twin pregnancy. It was specific (finish the eBook), measurable (I’ll know it’s complete when I can send it out to the world), achievable (it was something I could absolutely do given my current circumstances), relevant (the book is relevant to both my personal and professional goals at this time), and time-sensitive (it needed to be finished before the final month of pregnancy).

Having one major S.M.A.R.T. goal to cover completing your project is a good way to focus on the finish line.

3. Visualize the finished product, and your final reward.

If your goal is to finish your novel, how will it feel to hold the complete manuscript? What emotions will you experience? Try imagining the weight of the actual pages in your hands. Think about how much more time you’ll have when you’re done. By visualizing the end product, you’ll put yourself in the frame of mind to finish.

Likewise, plan a reward for yourself for when you’ve achieved your goal. Is there something you’ve been wanting to buy? Somewhere you’ve been dying to go? Plan an appropriate and relevant reward for yourself to help with motivation.

Just Do It

You know how Nike says, “Just do it”?

In the end, finishing a project just comes down to that. You just have to pick yourself up and start.

Not the start-start, but the start of the end. (You get what I mean).

How do you motivate yourself to finish a piece of writing that’s almost done? 

Today’s article is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman.

I like schedules.

I remember at one point in my life actually managing to, say, go running, teach six classes, make a meatloaf, and get some writing done all on the same day.

But lately, with a toddler and newborn in the house, “scheduling” mostly means just ensuring that everybody eats and sleeps at predictable times. It might sound clear-cut, but the stakes are high; after all, I’m always hovering one poorly timed peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwich-with-carrot-sticks lunch away from a meltdown.

So when to write?

I have visions of rising each morning in the dark, brewing coffee, and hunching over my computer to pound out reams of prose before sunrise, but it never turns out that way. Instead, I often feel like I’m writing on borrowed– or stolen– time.

I love my life and recognize this somewhat crazy stage as just that—a stage. Eventually those inspired pre-sunrise sessions will probably happen again, as they did before I had kids.

But in the meantime, I’ve had to adjust my expectations for how much—and what kind of—writing I can accomplish in a day. The following routines are quick yet productive, and some can even be executed while spreading peanut butter and jelly on a slice of bread.

1. Ten-Minute Task

If you can make a soft-boiled egg, you can write for ten minutes.

This is a low-pressure commitment that also allows just enough time for a little inspiration to kick in. Set the kitchen timer if needed. You might find that when it rings, you’ll want to keep writing– but even if other duties call you away from the desk, you’ve already accomplished something that you can revisit later.

In ten minutes, you can work on an ongoing project or use writing prompts to inject creativity and diversity into your work. Check out Krissy Brady’s list of five writing prompt websites, put a little faith in fate with the random Short Story Ideas generator, or consider purchasing a book (Bryan Cohen’s 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, for example) to leave in easy reach on your desk.

2. Pocket Notebook

Writers need to be ready when inspiration strikes!

A friend of mine told me she once pulled over to the side of the road to dash off a poem that came to her as her daughter slept in the carseat. I carry a tiny palm-sized notebook and pen in my diaper bag and use it to jot ideas and observations as they come. Sometimes I can barely read the crooked chicken-scratch I produced while balancing my stroller with one hand and writing with the other, but I’m almost always able to use it later.

British novelist and journalist Will Self noted the importance of the notebook: “Always carry a notebook. And I mean always,” he said. “The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.”

In this digital age, however, you might be able to ditch the pen and paper for your SmartPhone‘s voice memo feature; a few quick recordings take less time than a phone conversation and ensure you won’t forget those key observations later on.

3. Self-Paced Class

The structure of an online writing class provides creative stimulation and helpful incentive for completing projects.

This fall I signed up for an online travel writing class that is also self-paced; I have unlimited access to the course material, and can receive editorial feedback as I complete the work.  I like the combination of obligation and flexibility; I have concrete assignments that have challenged me and built my portfolio, but I’m not pressed for time.

If you find the cost of a class prohibitive, I can’t think of a better use of $10 than the Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writing Regimen, an online package containing writing exercises and advice, delivered each weekday for six weeks.

4. Weekly Reader

Once a week, dig up something you’ve written and read it.

It could be something you wrote last week or last year, and you can read it to yourself or share it with someone else. Reading some or all of it out loud adds great perspective. The point is that hearing your work, sharing it with someone else or forcing yourself to revisit it, can spark renewed interest in a particular piece. That slight pressure we feel to make our writing perform– even if just for a partner or friend– can be just the incentive we need to continue working.

Remember, the busier life gets, the more there is to write about. And sometimes all it takes is ten minutes. “Writers write,” said Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy. “On you go.”

What manageable writing routines help you stay productive and structured?

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s probably cold and flu season around your parts. Even though it’s summer here in Australia, we’ve still managed to get quite a few illnesses circulating recently.

Well, a couple of months ago, at 22 weeks pregnant with twins, I developed acute bronchitis.

I’d already been sick with a head cold for two weeks before that, and suddenly the cough took a turn for the worse. For three weeks after that, I could barely leave the house. I was in the middle of finishing an eBook, planning a launch, conducting a search for two regular contributors, and trying to keep up with my daily child care and routines.

While I can’t say I was as productive during my illness as I would have been otherwise, I did manage to keep up with my writing schedule to a reasonable extent.

There are a few keys to how I was able to continue carrying my workload while I was feeling under the weather. Next time you’re hit with a bug, try the following tactics:

Call in reinforcements.

When you’re sick, your parents, mother-in-law, friends, or neighbours may be willing to watch your kids, clean your house, or run errands for you. I don’t usually like to beg for help, but the worse I felt with this cough, the more willing I was to ask.

My mother-in-law was kind enough to give me a hand with the kids when she was in town. Just having someone to play with my 2-year-old and do the pile of dishes on the counter for me was a huge help.

Having a few household tasks out of the way gave me more energy to keep up with my writing.

Cut out unnecessary activity.

The school year was just wrapping up when my illness was at its peak. As a parent, this meant there were still before-and-after school runs to do, and extracurricular activities to attend.

I got my husband to take over picking up and dropping off our older son from school, and I asked a couple of other moms who also attended the same extracurricular activities if they wouldn’t mind taking my son with their own kids. My husband took over all the grocery shopping until I started to feel better, as well.

Not having to leave the house as much gave me more time to rest and recuperate, and gave me a chance to work on writing tasks when needed.

Get as much done as possible when you feel the least rotten.

Some days, I felt like I couldn’t pull myself out of bed, while others I had a little more energy. Mornings and evenings were particularly bad (because I was hardly sleeping at all, and the cough seemed to be worse at those times), so I made sure I didn’t do anything for the first and last couple of hours of the day.

In between, sometimes I’d perk up a bit—enough to allow me to write a blog post, work on a short story, or answer some important emails. Because I knew afternoons were the best times of day for me, I allowed myself to rest morning and evening, and did as much as possible in between.

Most of us can ‘look forward’ to catching at least one cold, flu, or stomach virus this season. While being sick is never fun, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean the death of your writing schedule until you regain your health. A hand from friends and family, cutting back on your physical activity level, and working hard during those brief times of relief can help you emerge from your illness without a lengthy to-do list.

When you’re sick, do you allow yourself complete rest? Or, do you push yourself too hard to maintain the same level of productivity you usually have? Have you managed to achieve a healthy balance between the two? 

Today’s article is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman.

Writing can be a pretty lonely business. Butt in chair, eyes glued to computer screen or favorite notebook is not the most social activity, but it is the way most of our work gets done.

Joining a writing group can keep you from turning into a total hermit and put you in contact with other people who love writing just as much as you do, people who may be able to help you or who you may be able to help somewhere down the line.

Writing groups come in all shapes and sizes:

• workshops and lectures
• critique groups
• writing conventions and conferences
• online groups
• MFA programs
• residency programs

The length, meeting frequency, duration, and location of these programs vary widely, but they all have one thing in common: they offer a community of and for writers.

It’s fine to talk to family and friends about your writing, but unless they are writers themselves (or at least avid readers), their eyes will eventually glaze over somewhere between the third and thirtieth revision of your work in progress.

Each of the kinds of writing groups listed above has advantages and disadvantages. Today I’m going to talk about a specific kind of writing workshop, one that meets weekly and has speakers who are professionals in writing.

I’m lucky enough to live near Off Campus Writers’ Workshop (OCWW), the longest continuously running writing workshop in the United States. Our group meets weekly for two-and-a-half hours on Thursday mornings, September through May.

We have speakers from all areas of the writing spectrum covering topics that range from a close investigation of the ending of novels to how to write an effective query letter to how to set up a blog and Facebook page. Some speakers offer critiques, others do not. Each week is like a graduate-level class on some aspect of writing.

If you choose to join a group like OCWW, here are some of the things I’ve learned along the way to make them work for you:

Make a Commitment

Go to every session. This should be your time, an investment you make in your writing and your career. You never know what you might miss if you skip a week. There was a time when I used to pick and choose which sessions I would attend.

One time, I got the dates mixed up and showed up for a speaker who wrote fantasy novels, completely out of my realm. During her presentation, she spoke a lot about the business of writing, showed us actual (redacted) contracts, and helped me better understand how to market myself and my work. Had I followed my inclination, I would have missed all that valuable information.

Being around other writers is always inspiring. As the speaker shares his or her knowledge, I find the synapses in my writer’s brain start firing a lightning speed. If an idea occurs to me during a session, I turn to the back of my notebook and write it there so it’s easy to find later. We frequently have an informal lunch after our sessions. Some people are eager to continue the discussion, but I know just as many who are eager to get home and get writing.

Don’t Judge by Genre

I read a lot about the kind of writing I do. I’ve been studying it and doing it for a long time.Through my writing workshop, I have found I often learn more from writers who work in different formats and venues than I do.

From our poet speakers, I have learned about pacing, rhythm, and economy of words. From the mystery writer, I learned that every page you write — no matter what your genre — should have your reader asking, “I wonder what comes next?” From the food writer and restaurant critic, I learned the importance of setting the mood, identifying the telling detail, and finding words that will make your readers feel as if they are living the experience themselves.

Every single speaker has had something to teach me.

Participate

Most groups offer time to meet and greet before or after the session, or sometimes during a break.

Make the most of these opportunities. Introduce yourself to your neighbor on either side. If possible, try to meet the speaker. If you don’t already have a business card, you can get very inexpensive ones made (100 cards for under $10) or print them yourself. It doesn’t have to be fancy — just your name, title (“writer” will do), and email address. Hand them out and collect other people’s cards to start your writing network.

If there is a discussion or Q&A, by all means, ask your question or offer your opinion. But don’t monopolize the discussion, and always be polite and as positive as possible. When offering a criticism, make sure its constructive.

Take Good Notes

Some people at our workshop bring laptops and type their notes right into their computers. I use the spiral notebooks I buy from Target at the beginning of the school year (10 for a dollar). I’ve seen others use fancy journals and fancier pens, but I like the working attitude of my spiral notebooks. If a session is particularly inspiring or germane to my my writing, I type up my notes at home.

Be sure to note the date and topic, as well as the speaker’s name and any contact information he or she shares. If the speaker invites you to friend him on Facebook or send questions by email, do it. Start that conversation and expand your network, but use common sense. If the speaker offered to answer questions by email, keep yours relevant to the topic of the day. Don’t expect her to be your new best friend or to introduce you to her agent. In other words, don’t be a pain.

Join the Board

Joining the board of a writing group is a great way to beef up your writing street cred. It shows that you are passionate and committed to your craft, and it looks great on a resume or query letter. Most writing groups are run by volunteers. Our board has 15 members, others are much smaller, some even larger.

If you have a particular affinity for numbers, you might want to volunteer to be the group’s treasurer. I’m currently the communications chair for OCWW, because even in my volunteer activities, I like to be writing. It keeps my skills sharp and pushes me to stay current on social networking. Our programming chairs often extol the value of the contacts they have made while booking speakers for our sessions. Use your vocation or avocation and find a way to make a difference in your group.

Writing groups can be a great way to expand your knowledge, meet other writers, and develop a valuable network. Like anything else, the more you give, the more you get. The Writer magazine maintains a list of writing groups. In the UK, check out the National Association of Writers’ Groups. Or do an Internet search using “writing groups” and your location.

Editor’s note: Are you part of a writing group? What are your best tips for making the most of group experiences?