Taking your writing group to the next level with deadlines

After a year without consistent results from all of our members the writing group that I belong to decided to take things to the next level.  But where to start?  We were stale.  We needed a change.

We’ve always been supportive and have been there when one person or another has raised their hands for help, but those times were few and far between.  We also had moments when most of us chose not to get that critical extra set of eyes on our work before sending our work out to the cold hard world.

Individual goal setting always seems to work, at least for a short amount of time, so why not on a larger scale, right?  Right indeed.  The results are nothing short of remarkable.

What did we do?
We set a deadline.  One chapter or short story by the twentieth of the month.  Reviews to follow: within two weeks of the date if possible.  Advanced notice of any deviation from the plan.

The results
Entering into our fourth month now with a monthly deadline I’m happy to report that all of us have taken our writing and critiquing to new levels.  Just a couple of observations include:

• Establishment of a standard critique format – This was largely provided by one of our members.  Not everyone uses every part of the standard every time, but it always makes an appearance in some form.
• Critiquing that is more varied by member – You would think that with a standardized format, that we would have similar critiques, but not by a long shot.  It appears that the format is having the opposite effect.
• Regular, high quality contributions – This was the goal, but we’ve really taken it to the next level.  In some cases the submissions are a little more raw than we’ve done in the past, however everyone has been good about calling out the level of their own editing that they’ve done and if they don’t want one type of critiquing or another on their work.

Ultimately, the result has been  better storytelling across the board that is that much closer to to getting published.  I’m loving it.  My latest critique on Chapter 1 of a novel that I worked on earlier this year is already getting me thinking about refining some of the main characters’ journeys.

What tips or tricks has your writing group used to take things to the next level?

photo credit: Mario Carvajal