How I Feel About Writing Groups

​I have mixed feelings about Writing Groups. I have only really participated in peer editing groups, rather than writing workshops, but I can find them helpful. Often, the most beneficial aspect of writing or editing in a group is the fact that it makes me conscious of my own writing. I am forced to examine what I have written from another viewpoint. I want my paper to be good when other people read it for the first time, and so I work hard to make it good. Once someone else has read my paper and filled it full of red marks, I am forced to think about the things they found wrong with it. Sometimes this is a good thing. And yet other times, it fills me with bitterness and resentment that someone didn’t think my first draft was perfect.

​I think that resentment is often my first reaction after a writing group. About three weeks ago, one of my first college papers was due, for a class that I love and care about. I wanted to get a good grade and impress the professors. And so, when my classmates wanted to get together for peer editing, I decided that would be a great thing to go to. I wanted others’ opinions on my paper. So I went. And when I handed my paper to one of the girls there, the first thing she said to me was, “Is it alright if I use a red pen?” “Sure” I said, do whatever you like. Boy, did I regret that. She ended up needing a blue pen and a highlighter, in addition to the feared red pen. I remember her handing me my paper with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Here, I thought I had created a wondrous first draft, when in reality it was full of mistakes and corrections that needed to be made.

​I struggled with that essay for a long time after that peer-editing day. I ended up rewriting most of it, and changing my thesis statement. Though I felt snubbed after that evening, the corrections my friend suggested were for the most part helpful and accurate. I ended up doing well on that essay, and I was happy with my final draft. In this instance, peer editing and writing groups have been helpful. However, sometimes I leave feeling unsatisfied and like it wasn’t helpful. In my opinion, for my writing style, writing groups are sometimes helpful and sometimes not. In my opinion, it really depends on the person editing and what is being edited. I think that writing groups are something I should join in the future, and are a way to expose myself to others opinions about my writing. And I know that would be good for me.