How we work:

Our year is divided up into a fall and spring semester, and we meet in person on a bi-weekly basis. At each meeting we critique the previously submitted materials of three members, as well as zoning in on our selected development topics for the current semester. Several sessions each year are devoted to more general “craft” discussions, and we select a relevant text-book/novel per semester to guide and enhance those discussions. Examples of texts we have studied are as follows: ‘The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller’ by John Truby, and ‘Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story’ by John Yorke.

We work with a maximum of around 12 members to ensure productive discussion and sufficient time to focus on each member’s work. The group works in English, with all of our members also writing in English.

In addition to our bi-weekly meetings, we hold two writing-retreats a year, in spring and autumn, which we also open up for previous members and friends/colleagues from our network.

How we critique:

SWG’s general guidelines for group critique sessions are as follows:

• Group critique of each submitted piece (maximum 3500 words) lasts 30-45 minutes

• The writer being critiqued remains silent during the discussion, with 5 minutes at the end of their critique session to ask questions and/or clarify discussion points

• Every critique begins with positive feedback about the submission, i.e. “what we liked”

• We are descriptive and solution-oriented, explaining our reactions and pro-actively providing suggestions for improvement

• We focus on aspects such as plot, pacing, character, setting, style and structure, rather than zooming in on grammatical details and line-edits

• Following the discussion, the writer receives a written critique/notes from each group member.

• Each writer decides for themselves which aspects of the critique they will take on board in improving their manuscript.