What we’re about
The La Crosse Area Writer's Group (LAWG) is a fun, quasi-sarcastic group of local writers that share their writing and humble critiques in order to better their work. All forms and genres of writing including prose, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction are welcome. If you would like the opportunity to read your writing aloud and receive honest feedback in a positive setting, then please come to one of our meetings! We look forward to seeing you!
LAWG aims:
~To offer constructive critique and encouragement to writers in all genres
~To maintain a welcoming and supportive environment for writers of all experience levels
~To develop our own and each other’s skills in writing and editing
How we operate:
~Meet regularly (4 times a month, currently over Zoom and using Google Docs) to read each other’s work and discuss how to improve it
~Keep our pieces short (about 2500 words max) so there is plenty of time for each member to read
~Discuss briefly (5-10 minutes) after each reading to offer critique and encouragement to each reader
Keys to giving a good critique:
~Focus on helping each writer succeed in their goal, regardless of genre or style. What are they trying to say, and have they succeeded in saying it?
~Give specific feedback. “I suggest changing this part in this way for this reason,” rather than, “This part is bad.”
~Balance suggestions on how to improve with pointing out successes/parts that work well.
Keys to receiving a critique well:
~Bring pieces you want feedback on and be open to hearing the opinions of others.
~Take every suggestion as a suggestion. You know your work best!
No tolerance for bullying/hate speech:
~We are here to support writers, not to tear them down. As such, no purposefully insulting or intimidating conversation will be tolerated.
~If anything happens which you feel falls under this category, please reach out to one of our organizers so they can address it.
~If a member has been warned and continues to bully or intimidate others, they will be removed from membership and blocked on Meetup.
Content guidelines:
~Our group is adults only, but some people are more comfortable with intense content than others. We offer our “LAWG After Dark” meetings for pieces with more explicit sexual or violent content.
~For regular group meetings, we try to keep things more around PG-13 level, though we recognize that looks a little different for each person. If you’re unsure if members will be comfortable, you can always ask the group before you read.
~When bringing pieces that have more sensitive or difficult content, including a warning at the beginning of your piece can be helpful so people can choose to opt out.
