Safety in Numbers:
How Forming a Group Can Create the Support You've Been Looking For

by Jamee Rickaye Smith

I'd grown weary (alright, sick to death) of ill-matched writers' groups and lofty, goal-oriented critique classes months before I saw Rachel Templeton's post on the Seattle Writergrrls e-mail list seeking women interested in forming a writing group. After two years of watering down portions of my novel to appease, or at least not offend, delicate sensibilities of my fellow writers, I ached to meet others who understood the mania of the writing process—and from whom I could learn how to balance or at least make a grudging peace with it.

In the last year and a half, our small gang of seven women, all writing in entirely different genres with significantly different goals, has met once and sometimes twice monthly in Templeton's home to share food, drink, and the often tragicomic experience that is the writing life. A recent weekend retreat to Vashon Island and occasional happy hour drink nights have also served to bolster the camaraderie of our group and helped it evolve in new ways.

With the goal of being anything but goal-oriented, we have created a haven where we offer each other support and encouragement as writers and women in a safe, non-judgmental, fun environment.

"What I enjoy about the group is the sense of community and equality. It supports me as a writer because I can share in the struggles and triumphs of other writers and feel encouraged to do some productive writing," said Katie Johnson, a poet and journaler.

Ideas, fears, insecurities, and inspiration are not only welcomed in our group, they are encouraged. It's as if these feelings, so frequently experienced by writers in their isolation, have finally come to a home filled with people who inherently empathize with the desire, the compulsion even, to create the written word and understand why that desire is such a pivotal part of our lives.

"I appreciate the female bonding, which I feel like I haven't had…since college. [The group offers] the chance to get together with like-minded people who are creative and open-minded," said Sunny Monroe, a screenwriter and editor. "Even when I don't have a writing project going on, it keeps my creative and analytical juices flowing. And it's fun, which is good for my soul."

The effectiveness of the group is the result of our relaxed, go-with-the-flow approach. There are no agendas to follow. Discussions are not exclusively writing oriented and tend to be more about how the writing process fits into or fuels our lives. We frequently engage in timed quick-write exercises, often generated from our pre-writing discussions, that we share with the group.

"It's a loose structure," commented Christine Cook, a screenwriter and writing educator. "We do whatever we feel like doing. I don't like the rigidity of some situations. I like it to be a little more loose and accommodating. I just want to be in a community of other writers. I'm a duck wanting to be with my flock."

Forming a group like ours can be as simple as sending out a request on the Seattle Writergrrls e-mail discussion list for other women writers in your area of town. The rest, as we've learned, is a combination of chemistry and open-mindedness.

"The women are different and yet we're finding a way to bridge those differences—and it's through writing," Cook said. "It keeps it interesting. I never know what to expect."

Starting from a point of flexibility and employing a philosophy that accommodates differences while focusing on the most key element, support, can be a first step to creating a group. We began without a shred of expertise and the seven of us have managed to invent a group that works for us, not only as a support in our writing but as an often necessary refuge from the world.

"I'm kind of new to writing for fun," says the group's most recent addition, Kristi James. "What I need…is just a confirmation that I can do it. That I should be doing this. That I'm on the right path. That I'm doing the stuff that I should be doing. I just need to see other people succeeding at it to know that I can do that, too. I need to be around people who understand it."

We are by no means unique in the universe. What we have is something that anyone with an open mind, a genuine desire to support their fellow writers, and a few willing participants can create.

Jamee Rickaye Smith is a 20-something, single girl wreaking havoc on the otherwise quiet Seattle neighborhood of Ballard. In addition to her devotion to fiction writing, she is the lead writer on The Urban Girl's Manifesto: Seattle, a guide to the best of the best of Seattle, due out winter 2004. She can be contacted for tasty martini recipes and tips on causing quite a commotion at kittykitty74@meowmail.com.