I remember when I first started writing seriously, I had an on-line support group of sorts. I remember giving a workshop on writing and the Internet and someone said "Wouldn't it be good to have a writers group locally?"

Yeh, but I wasn't going to start it - besides I was up to my neck in family and Uni.

Years passed and in the end I did start it up - and it's a bigger thing in my life than I had imagined it would be.

As it turns out - I've made good friends, met some fascinating people who write for a hobby or who are hoping to make a living from writing.

Our group has become quite complex - and as I "manage" it - I know that I've created a big task for myself. But I'm OK with that - I just hope that when I'm ready to move on, someone else will take over.

We have little subgroups within the group - and I encourage that.

You just need 3 - 4 people who wish to meet regularly who actually do write in the periods between. So often we find that the only writing one does is at the meetings - which can be frustrating.

With 3 or 4 you can meet in someone's home or even at a quiet cafe, or your local library might have quiet space for you.

With our subgroup we usually work on larger pieces of writing - and so we often distribute it either in hard copy or via e-mail. We really do get down to serious critique - serious editing/proofreading.

We often do it over a glass of wine (or two).

In a few weeks - we are going away for a few days to do just that - write a bit, read a bit, eat and drink a bit.

What fun! What writing will we produce?

(See Part 2)