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Get feedback on your writing and become a better writer in our online writing group

Scribophile is one of the largest and most award-winning online writing communities.

Scribophile in Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers 2014

Make your writing shine with feedback from other writers

You’ve spent a lot of time writing your story. But how can you make it perfect before you start thinking about publishing?

Scribophile is a writing group focused on getting you feedback on your manuscript. Our points-based peer critique system guarantees you’ll get feedback from writers from all walks of life. You can then use that feedback to polish your writing before you take the next step in your publishing journey.

How Scribophile works

1 earn points by giving feedback.

Earn karma points by critiquing writing. Giving feedback to other writers is fast, easy, fun, and helps improve your own writing, too!

2 Get feedback on your own writing

Spend karma points to post your own writing for critique — anything from flash fiction to novels. Our busy community of writers from all over the world will give you detailed feedback on how to improve it.

3 Make friends and meet beta readers

As you participate in our writing group, you’ll meet and form relationships with other writers. These friends will be your beta readers, ready to help with your current manuscript, and your next ones too!

Scribophile was the first place I stopped when I went from being an I-wanna-be-a-writer to I-am-an-author. Now I have four international bestselling novels with major publishers, and when authors come to me I always send them to Scribophile. Genevieve Graham Tides of Honour and others published with Simon & Schuster

Join writing workshops and level up your writing

Our writing workshops are taught by bestselling authors, expert teachers, and industry insiders. We have workshops for writers of any skill level, where we cover everything from beginning topics to advanced techniques.

Our writing workshops are designed to be both comprehensive and transformational — they’re your fast track to becoming an unforgettable writer.

Some of our upcoming writing workshops

Writing Powerful Settings with Ross Turner

Apr 13, 2024 • 2 hour workshop, with instructor feedback on your writing

Editor and teacher Ross Turner explains the techniques master writers use to write settings so memorable that they become characters of their own.

Be Your Own Freelance Editor with Tanya Egan Gibson

Apr 20, 2024 • 2 hour webinar

Author and editor Tanya Egan Gibson teaches you how to self-edit your manuscripts with the careful, critical eye of an editor to make them the best they can be.

Improve your writing, at any skill level

Our writing group welcomes writers of all skill levels — from beginners to published authors, and every writer in between.

Each critique you receive on your manuscript is a fresh perspective for you to incorporate. Our bustling writing forums feature writers discussing the craft twenty-four hours a day. And our extensive Writing Academy is full of insightful articles on the art — and business — of writing.

Scribophile played a major part in helping me polish my novel for submission. I learnt a huge amount from critiquing other people’s work, as well as from reading critiques of mine. I now have a wonderful agent and have signed a three-book deal in the UK, a two-book deal in Germany, and a TV option. The book was also shortlisted for The Debut Dagger! Roz Watkins The Devil’s Dice and others published with HarperCollins

Giving and receiving critiques on Scribophile made a big difference to the quality of my writing. I learned how to write a query letter here and that led to an agent and a book deal. Ruth Lauren Prisoner of Ice and Snow and others published with Bloomsbury

No more writing alone — meet your new writer friends

Sometimes, the hardest part of being a writer is how lonely it can get.

That’s why the most important part of Scribophile is our community of hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world. No matter what genre you write in, or how far along you are in your manuscript, the friends you make at Scribophile will finally take the loneliness out of our solitary craft.

My years on Scribophile have given me a master’s level education in writing. The critiques are great, but I’ve learned as much from reading and analyzing other writers on Scribophile. I don’t think I could have polished my novel to a publishable level without this site. I’m an addict. Laura Creedle The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily published with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Ready to take the next step in your writing journey?

It’s easy and free.

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Our newsletter delivers a list of the latest publishers, writing markets, and writing contests directly to your inbox once per week, totally free. Unsubscribe at any time.

Ashley Weaver

Historical & Paranormal Fiction Writer

14 Fun Virtual Creative Writing Group Activities

Write a story collaboratively . I recently did this with my group for Halloween and it was a great success! One week before Halloween, we decided to write a ghost story collectively by opening a Google Doc and making a list of who would start the story, who would go second, third, etc. We each could write as much or as little as we wanted, but we had to make sure we all got it done by Halloween.

First Line Prompts . Basically, someone generates the first line for a story, like “It was a dark and stormy night.”, and everybody in the group writes a story including that first line.

Last Line Prompts . Like the first line prompt activity, someone generates a possible last line of a story, such as “She never went into that house ever again.”, and everybody in the group includes that line at the end of their story.

Weekly Draw: Poetry, Short Story, or Screenplay? Each person randomly selects (virtually) which type of writing they will pursue that week. Will they try their hand at a poem, a short story, or the first few pages of a screenplay?

Picture Prompts . Each person selects a picture from a random collection provided by the initiator and writes a story, movie, or a poem using the picture as their topic.

Collective submission for recent calls for stories . Each person writes and submits something to the same publisher’s call for writing. This activity gives members of the group practice submitting their work for publication.

Story-sharing . The initiator can set aside some time at the beginning or conclusion of the meeting where members can each share something they are writing or books they are currently reading. This is a good opportunity for people to get feedback for their writing as well as receive book recommendations to help inspire future writing. Reading is, after all, one of the best ways to become better writers (and vice versa).

Poetry Workshop : each person reads some poetry and then writes a free verse, haiku, sonnet, limerick, or a villanelle. This could be a good opportunity for those who are not very familiar with different forms/structures of poetry to learn different ways of writing it.

NaNoWriMo Workshop . This month a few members of my group are trying to write a certain amount a day so that their stories can be finished by the end of November. So far, we are communicating by giving feedback on their work via Google Doc comments and messaging. While this is a good opportunity for members to write, set deadlines, and strive to meet them, it’s also nice for those who are not necessarily in the mood to write to read others’ work and practice their editing skills.

Storyboarding . While this is ideal for helping screenwriters, who may use sticky notes with different scenes scribbled on them, find out where to put certain scenes in their film, this can work for stories as well. What comes first? Should the story start at the end? Or should it be told linearly?

A-Z Story . I did this once in a creative writing undergrad class. We were invited to tell a story starting each sentence with the next word in the alphabet. It was pretty instrumental in helping me to find different words to tell a story and it actually helped me to do what I was not very good at: finishing a story.

POV Activity . Tell a well-known tale from the point of view of a character other than the protagonist. For example: the view of the Prince in Sleeping Beauty, through the eyes of Voldemort from Harry Potter, the inner monologue of Jane from Pride and Prejudice, etc.

Tense & Narration Switch Up . Give everybody the same prompt, but they each need to write it in a different tense (past, present, or future). This would also be fun if each person writes it from a different type of narration (such as first person, second person, or third person).

Write a version of a popular story/fairytale in a different genre . For example, what if Snow White was a princess in a dystopian society? What if the tale of Dracula was a historical fiction story set during WWII?

For more ideas, visit the teacher resources page for Purdue’s website here .

One thought on “ 14 Fun Virtual Creative Writing Group Activities ”

Collaborative writing sounds like a lot of fun, though I haven’t found someone I’d wanna do it with yet. First I’ll need to find a group lol. Thanks for this list, Ashley!

THE WRITERS' LOFT

43 Broad Street, Suite B404B, Hudson, MA 01749

[email protected]

A respectful and supportive community that believes we can be stronger writers together, dedicated to helping writers achieve greatness.

Come write with us—because writing doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit!

Teen Groups

Membership in the Teen group is free–you just have to bee a teen, sign up, show up, love writing, and support other writing teens.

As a member of this group, you can attend any programming at the Writers’ Loft FOR FREE , as long as that program isn’t sold out. Classes, workshops, critique groups, you name it!

If you are interested, please email Heather at [email protected]

During the school year, we meet once a month on the weekend. We do not meet in the summe r.

Teen Writers Think Tank FAQ

1. Do I have to be currently writing something in order to join?

No. But you do have to love to write and love to read, and enjoy learning and talking about writing and reading. Everyone’s busy with homework and school. But this is a great place to connect with other peers who are passionate about books and writing.

2. Do I have to write novels to join?

No. We kick off our season during NaNo because it’s so much fun, but you don’t need to be a novelist to come. You could be a poet, a picture book writer, a writer/illustrator, or just love stringing words together.

3. What’s the most important thing I should know before coming?

The most important thing to know is that this is a supportive, affirming group of teens who love to write and talk about books.

4. I’m an adult, but this content looks great. Can I sit in?

Occasionally, we’ll let an adult sit in on a workshop for TWTT. But most of the time, the group is a private, safe place for the teens to talk writing (and more). We limit adult involvement to the one adult co-leader of the group, normally. But, feel free to email the Loft and see if you can sit in on a specific workshop.

Black Writers Collective

FIND YOUR TRIBE

Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be.

Welcome to the Black Writers Collective, the online community for writers of all levels and genres. We are a passionate group of writers who come together to support each other, share resources, and hone our craft.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, the Network is the perfect place to connect with other writers and take your writing to the next level. We believe that every writer has a story to tell, and we’re here to help you tell it. Join our community today and start exploring all that we have to offer!

#BLACKWRITERSMATTER

What we offer.

Our private critique and accountability groups for writers of fiction and nonfiction are the heart of our online community. We also host monthly meet-and-greets, support groups, and live weekly writing sessions for all members.

In our network, you can develop your writing habit, gain constructive feedback, and get advice on writing and publishing your books, plus referrals to vetted freelance editors and publishing consultants to help you avoid wasting time and money.

Books on writing and publishing by Black authors

Our resources include digital downloads on the craft and business of writing, free beta reader queries, links to vetted editors and literary services to help make it easier for you to reach your publishing goals.

WRITING JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES

We share job openings, writing gigs, calls for submissions, grants, and fellowships from organizations and individuals seeking applicants of color to our members-only announcement list, offering employers the option of sharing to our 21K organic following on Twitter.

Post a Call for Submissions

Get the word out about your contest, award, or publishing opportunity via our free announcement distribution service.

Publicize your free event

Hosting a free event for writers or editors? Share the details with us, and we’ll spread the word through our social networks.

Learn more about our benefits of membership and join us today!

In the digital age, writing tools have become indispensable for writers looking to enhance their productivity and refine their skills. With a plethora of options...

5 Tools to Boost Your Writing Productivity

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Beta Readers Are not Editors

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Are you new to writers groups and unsure how to begin? Looking for advice on being a supportive member or leader of a group? Look no further. We’ve curated a small collection of articles that offer guidance on starting a group of your own, insight into the many different kinds of writers groups, and inspiration for finding creativity, community, and play in a writers group.

Review Board is now open! Submit your Short Prose, Poetry, and Book today!

Deadline: thursday, april 18th.

Writing groups can be useful tools for writers looking to gain constructive feedback on their work and improve their craft. At Writer’s Relief, we’ve taken the time to curate a list of writers groups so you don’t have to! Scroll down or click one of the links below to view the writing groups in your state or region.

For Online Writers Groups, click here!

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Regional writing groups:.

Horror Writers Association (Horror, Dark Fantasy)

The Fellowship of Southern Writers (All Genres)

Midwest Travel Writers Association (Travel)

New England Science Writers (Science, Technology, and Journalism)

Northwest Science Writers Association (Science)

Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains (Science, Photography)

Society of Southwestern Authors (All Genres)

Southeastern Writers Association (All Genres)

Women Writing the West (All Genres)

Alabama Writing Groups:

Birmingham, AL — Alabama Media Professionals (All Genres)

Cullman, AL — Alabama Writer’s Conclave (All Genres)

Homewood, AL — Heart of Dixie (Romance)

Huntsville, AL — Southern Magic (Romance)

Mobile, AL — Gulf Coast Chapter of the Romance Writers of America (Romance)

Mobile, AL — Mobile Writer’s Guild (All Genres)

Mobile, AL — Huntsville Literary Association (All Genres)

Mobile, AL — Alabama Writer’s Forum (All Genres)

Montgomery, AL — Write Club (All Genres)

Alaska Writing Groups:

Anchorage, AK — Alaska Writers Guild (All Genres)

Anchorage, AK — Northern Speculative Fiction (Fiction)

Anchorage, AK — Alaska Wilderness Writers (All Genres)

Anchorage, AK — Alaska Professional Communicators (Journalism)

Anchorage, AK — The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (Children’s Literature)

Anchorage, AK — 49 Writers (All Genres)

Arizona Writing Groups:

Chandler, AZ — Chandler Romance Writing (Romance)

Glendale, AZ — Writer’s Round Table (All Genres)

Litchfield Park, AZ — West Valley Writer’s Workshop (All Genres)

Mesa, AZ — East Valley Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in AZ — Arizona Authors Association (All Genres)

Peoria, AZ — Peoria Fiction Writing Critique Group (Fiction)

Phoenix, AZ — Central Phoenix Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ — The Phoenix Writers Club (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ — Nonfiction Authors Association (Nonfiction)

Phoenix, AZ — Gang of Fearless Freewriters (All Genres)

Phoenix, AZ — Arcadia Memoir Writers (Memoir)

Scottsdale, AZ — Writing Without Workshops (All Genres)

Scottsdale, AZ — Scottsdale Society of Women Writers (All Genres)

Arkansas Writing Groups:

Fayetteville, AR — Arkansas Writers (All Genres)

Hot Springs Village, AR — Village Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Little Rock, AR — American Christian Fiction Writers (Christian Fiction)

Little Rock, AR — Little Rock Literary Writing Workshop (All Genres)

Little Rock, AR— Central Arkansas Speculative Fiction Writers’ Group (Fiction)

Searcy, AR — White County Creative Writers (All Genres)

Springdale, AR — Fiction Forge (Fiction)

California Writing Groups:

Bakersfield, CA — Writers of Kern (All Genres)

Berkley, CA — California Writers Club (All Genres)

Burbank, CA — Write It Up (All Genres)

Davis, CA — The Davis Writers Saloon (All Genres)

Fountain Valley, CA — Southern California Writers Association (All Genres)

Huntington Beach, CA — Southern California Writers Association (All Genres)

Lake Forest, CA — Sit Down, Shut Up, and Write (All Genres)

Long Beach, CA — Coffee House Writers Group (All Genres)

Long Beach, CA — The Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles (Children’s Literature)

Los Angeles, CA — Independent Writers of Southern California (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles Writers Group (Fiction)

Los Angeles, CA — Writers With Drinks (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles Poets & Writers Collective (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Organization of Black Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

Los Angeles, CA — The Southwest Manuscripters (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Writers Guild of America, West (All Genres)

Los Angeles, CA — Deus ex Machina Advanced Writers Collective (All Genres)

Murrieta, CA — International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association (Journalism)

Multiple Locations in CA — Sierra Writers (Fiction, Nonfiction)

Oakland, CA — California Writers Club (All Genres)

Redondo Beach, CA — Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (All Genres)

San Clemente, CA — Poets and Dreamers: Authors and Writers Literary Network (All Genres)

San Bernadino, CA — San Bernardino Writers’ Group (All Genres)

San Diego, CA — San Diego Writers/Editor Guild (All Genres)

San Francisco, CA — Central Coast Writers (All Genres)

San Francisco, CA — San Francisco Writers Grotto (All Genres)

Sonora, CA — Sonora Writers Group (All Genres)

Simi Valley, CA — Write Here, Write Now (All Genres)

West Hollywood, CA — Creative Express for Writers, Screenwriters & Filmmakers (All Genres)

Colorado Writing Groups:

Boulder, CO — Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Colorado Springs, CO — Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group (All Genres)

Colorado Springs, CO — Pikes Peak Writers (All Genres)

Denver, CO — Denver Woman’s Press Club (All Genres, Journalism)

Denver, CO — Colorado Authors League (All Genres)

Eastlake, CO — Colorado Romance Writers (Romance)

Fort Collins, CO — Northern Colorado Writers (All Genres)

Greenwood Village, CO — Women Writing the West (All Genres)

Montrose, CO — Lighthouse Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Pueblo West, CO — Pueblo West Writers Group (All Genres)

Connecticut Writing Groups:

Multiple Locations in CT — Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association (All Genres)

Somers, CT — Northern Connecticut Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Westport, CT — Westport Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Westport, CT — Just For Writers (All Genres)

Westport, CT — Fairfield County Writers Group (All Genres)

West Hartford, CT — West Hartford Fiction Writers (Fiction)

West Hartford, CT — Faxon Poets (Poetry)

West Hartford, CT — Connecticut Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

West Redding, CT — Long Ridge Writers Group (All Genres)

Delaware Writing Groups:

Georgetown, DE — Delmarva Christian Writers’ Fellowship (Spiritual)

Rehoboth Beach, DE — Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Florida Writing Groups:

Avon Park, FL — Avon Park Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Boca Raton, FL — Indie Writers & Artists (All Genres)

Boynton Beach, FL — Boynton Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Bradenton, FL — Bradenton Writers Group (All Genres)

Brandon, FL— Brandon Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Celebration, FL — Celebration Writers Group (All Genres)

Cocoa, FL — Space Coast Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Daytona Beach, FL — Daytona Beach Writers (All Genres)

Deerfield Beach, FL — Mystery Writers of America, Florida Chapter (Crime, Fiction)

Deland, FL — Café Writers (All Genres)

Englewood, FL — Suncoast Writers Guild, Inc . (All Genres)

Fernandina, FL — Writers by the Sea (All Genres)

Ft. Myers, FL — Gulf Coast Writers Association, Inc. (All Genres)

Ft. Pierce, FL — Treasure Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Gainesville, FL — Writers Alliance of Gainesville (All Genres)

Hallandale Beach, FL — Gulfstream Writers (All Genres)

Havana, FL — Havana Writers (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL — Serivilous Panerians (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL — River City Writers (All Genres)

Jacksonville, FL — First Coast Christian Writers Group (Spiritual)

Jacksonville, FL — Northeast Florida Sisters in Crime (Crime, Mystery)

Lady Lake, FL — Lady Lake Writers (All Genres)

Lakeland, FL — Lakeland Writers (All Genres)

Maitland, FL — Maitland Writers (All Genres)

Miami, FL— South Florida Writers Association (All Genres)

Mount Dora, FL — Authors Roundtable of Mount Dora (All Genres)

Mount Dora, FL — Poets Critique Group (Poetry)

Ocala, FL — Freedom Writers Group (All Genres)

Oldsmar, FL — Oldsmar Critique Group (All Genres)

Orange Park, FL — Clay County Writers (All Genres)

Orange Park, FL — Clay County Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Orlando/Winter Park, FL — Orlando Area Writers (All Genres)

Oxford, FL — Oxford Writers (All Genres)

Palm Bay, FL — Palm Bay Writers (All Genres)

Palm City, FL — Palm City Word Weavers (All Genres)

Panama City, FL — Panama City Chapter (All Genres)

Pembroke Pines, FL — Quills in the Glades (All Genres)

Ponte Vedra, FL — Ponte Vedra Writers (All Genres)

Port Orange, FL — Port Orange Scribes (All Genres)

Port St. Lucie, FL — Treasure Coast Writers Group (All Genres)

Punta Gorda, FL — Peace River Writers (All Genres)

Sarasota, FL — Sarasota Writers Group (All Genres)

Sebring, FL — Sebring Scribblers & Scribes (All Genres)

Sebring, FL — The Hearland Author Mix (All Genres)

St. Augustine, FL — Ancient City Writers (All Genres)

St. Lucie County, FL — Morningside Writers Group (Fiction)

St. Petersburg, FL — St. Petersburg Writers (All Genres)

St. Petersburg, FL — St. Petersburg Writer Critique Group (All Genres)

Sunrise, FL — Dan Pearl Sunrise Writers (All Genres)

Tallahassee, FL — Tallahassee Writers Association (All Genres)

Tampa, FL — New Tampa/Wesley Chapel Writers (All Genres)

Tampa, FL — Tampa Writers (All Genres)

Tampa, FL — Tampa Writers Alliance (All Genres)

Tarpon Springs, FL — Tarpon Springs Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Treasure Coast, FL — Treasure Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL — Porch Poets (Poetry)

Vero Beach, FL — Tuesday Writers (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL — Writers Window Pane (All Genres)

Vero Beach, FL — Vero Beach Writers Circle (All Genres)

Wellington, FL — Wellington Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

West Melbourne, FL — Space Coast Writers Guild (All Genres)

Yankeetown, FL — Yankeetown Critique Group (All Genres)

Georgia Writing Groups:

Athens, GA — Athens Writers Association (All Genres)

Atlanta, GA — Atlanta Writers Club (All Genres)

Calhoun, GA — Calhoun Area Writers (All Genres)

Decatur, GA — Village Writers Group (All Genres)

Gainesville, GA — Northeast Georgia Writers (All Genres)

Kennesaw, GA — Georgia Writers Association (All Genres)

Hawaii Writing Groups:

Honolulu, HI — Pacific Writers’ Connection (All Genres)

Keauhou, HI — Hawaii Island Writers Association (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in HI— Hawaii Island Writers Group (All Genres)

Idaho Writing Groups:

Boise, ID — Idaho Writers Guild (All Genres)

Boise, ID — Idaho Writers Rendezvous (All Genres)

Coeur d’Alene, ID — Idaho Writer’s League (All Genres)

Idaho Falls, ID — Blue Sage Writers (All Genres)

Meridian, ID — Idahope Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Post Falls, ID — Inland Empire Chapter of Romance Writers of America (All Genres)

Priest River, ID — River Writers (All Genres)

Twin Falls — Twin Falls Writers (All Genres)

Illinois Writing Groups:

Aurora, IL — A-Town Poetics (Poetry)

Batavia, IL — Batavia Writers Group (All Genres)

Bloomington-Normal, IL — Bloomington-Normal Writers Group (All Genres)

Carol Stream, IL — DuPage Writers Group (All Genres)

Carterville, IL — Southern Illinois Writers Guild (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — Chicago Dramatists (Playwrights)

Chicago, IL — Chicago Women in Publishing (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — Chicago Writers Association (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — Poets and Patrons of Chicago (All Genres)

Chicago, IL — The Writers WorkSpace (All Genres)

Elgin, IL — Wordplay (All Genres)

Elgin, IL — Writers on the Fox (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Day Jammers (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Inklings and Speculations (Fiction)

Geneva, IL — Night Writers (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Writers Anonymous (All Genres)

Geneva, IL — Write Time Writers Group (All Genres)

North Aurora, IL — Fox Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in IL — Central Illinois Writers Group (Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction)

Multiple Locations in IL — Fox Valley Writers & Poets (All Genres)

Naperville, IL — Naperville Writers Group (All Genres)

Park Ridge, IL — Prairie Avenue Writers (All Genres)

St. Charles, IL — Lit Lab 51 (Poetry, Sci-Fi, Improv)

St. Charles, IL — St. Charles Writing Group (All Genres)

Indiana Writing Groups:

Hammond, IN — First Friday Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Hammond, IN — Indiana Writers’ Consortium (All Genres)

Indianapolis, IN — Indiana Writers Center (All Genres)

Merrillville, IN — Write-On Hoosiers, Inc. (All Genres)

Schererville, IN — Magic Hour Writers (All Genres)

Iowa Writing Groups:

Ames, IA — Inkspots (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Beaverdale Writers Group (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Central Library Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Des Moines Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Iowa Romance Writers (Romance)

Des Moines, IA — Sisters in Crime (All Genres)

Des Moines, IA — Southside Library Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Waukee, IA — Waukee Public Library Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Kansas Writing Groups:

Lawrence, KS — Great Plains Writers Group (All Genres)

Olathe, KS — Kansas City Writers Group (All Genres)

Wichita, KS — Wichita Area Romance Writers (Romance)

Wichita, KS — Kansas Writers Association (All Genres)

Kentucky Writing Groups:

Elizabethtown, KY — Bard’s Corner Writers Group (All Genres)

Frankfort, KY — Capitol City Writers Roundtable (All Genres)

Harrodsburg, KY — Writers Bloc 40330 (All Genres)

Horehead, KY — Kentucky State Poetry Society (Poetry)

Lexington, KY — Dreambuilding (All Genres)

Lexington, KY — Eagle Creek Writers Group (All Genres)

Lexington, KY — Lexington Fiction Writers Group (Fiction)

Lexington, KY — Poezia Poetry/Prose Group (Poetry/Prose)

Louisville, KY — Green River Writers (All Genres)

Louisville, KY — Louisville Romance Writers (Romance)

Louisville, KY — Women Who Write (All Genres)

Louisville, KY — The Writers Workshop Project (WWP) (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in KY — Kentucky Indie Writers (All Genres)

Owensboro, KY — Owensboro Writers Group (All Genres)

Louisiana Writing Groups:

Baton Rouge, LA — Baton Rouge Writers (All Genres)

Bossier City, LA — North Louisiana Storytellers & Authors of Romance (All Genres)

Covington, LA — Northshore Literary Society (All Genres)

Lafayette, LA — Writers Guild of Acadiana (All Genres)

Lake Charles, LA — Bayou Writers Group (All Genres)

Maine Writing Groups:

Bangor, ME — Southern Penobscot Area Writers Network

Blue Hill, ME — Down East Writers (All Genres)

Portland, ME — Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (All Genres)

Dover-Foxcroft, ME — Central Maine Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in ME — Maine Poets Societ y (Poetry)

Maryland Writing Groups:

Annapolis, MD — Annapolis Writers Critique Group (All Genres)

Annapolis, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Annapolis Chapter (All Genres)

Annapolis, MD — Women Poets Workshop (Poetry)

Arnold, MD — Waterfront Writers (Fiction)

Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Area Writers (Creative/Literary Nonfiction)

Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Writing Hour (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD — Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD — Charm City Writers (All Genres)

Baltimore, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Baltimore Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, MD — Fiction and Screenwriting Critique Group (Fiction)

Columbia, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Howard County Chapter (All Genres)

Easton, MD — Eastern Shore Writers Association (All Genres)

Finksburg, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Carroll County Chapter (All Genres)

Frederick, MD — Frederick Writers Group (Fiction)

Frederick, MD — Frederick Writers Salon (All Genres)

Hampden, MD — Hampden Writers’ Group (Fiction)

La Plata, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Charles County Chapter (All Genres)

Leonardtown, MD — Maryland Writers Association, St. Mary’s County Chapter (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, MD — BayHill Writers (All Genres)

Saverna Park, MD — Saverna Park YA/NA Writers Group (Fiction)

Silver Spring, MD — Maryland Writers Association, Montgomery County Chapter (All Genres)

Massachusetts Writing Groups:

Boston, MA — The Writers’ Room of Boston (All Genres)

Dennis, MA — Scargo Hill Poets (Poetry)

Hyannis, MA — Writers in Common (Fiction, Memoir, Creative Nonfiction)

Lancaster, MA — Seven Bridge Writers’ Collaborative (All Genres)

Mashpee, MA — Mid-Cape Nonfiction Writers Group (Nonfiction)

Mid-Cape, MA — Sands of Time Memoir Group (Memoir, Nonfiction)

Orleans, MA — Dune Hollow Writers (All Genres)

Osterville, MA — Advanced Writers Group (All Genres)

Sandwich, MA — Upper Cape Writers Group (All Genres)

Worcester, MA — The Worcester Writers Group (All Genres)

Michigan Writing Groups:

Ann Arbor, MI — Mid-Michigan Prose and Writing Group (All Genres)

Ann Arbor, MI — Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America (All Genres)

Detroit, MI — Detroit Working Writers (All Genres)

Detroit, MI — Detroit Writer’s Guild (All Genres)

Detroit, MI — Motown Writers Network (All Genres)

Grand Rapids, MI — Grand Rapids Writer’s Exchange (All Genres)

Grand Rapids, MI — Peninsula Writers (All Genres)

Howell and Livingston County, MI — Howell Area Writers’ Circle (All Genres)

Ludington, MI — The WestSide Gang Writers Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in MI— Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Michigan Chapter (Children’s Literature)

Novi, MI — Southeast Michigan Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Rochester, MI — Rochester Writers (All Genres)

Standish, MI — Mid-Michigan Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Minnesota Writing Groups:

Alexandria, MN — Alexandria Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Alexandria, MN — Alexandria Word Weavers (All Genres)

Brainerd, MN — Brainerd Heartland Poets (Poetry)

Brainerd, MN — Brainerd Writers Alliance (All Genres)

Duluth, MN — Lake Superior Writers (All Genres)

Elbow Lake, MN — Elbow Lake Grant County Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Fergus Falls, MN — Fergus Falls Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Hackensack, MN — Hackensack Bards of a Feather (All Genres)

Little Falls, MN — Great River Writers (All Genres)

Maple Grove, MN — Minnesota Christian Writers Guild (Spiritual)

Minneapolis, MN — Loft Literary Center (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN — Midwest Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Minneapolis, MN — Minnesota Science Fiction Society (Science Fiction)

Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN — Open Book (All Genres)

Minneapolis, MN — MinnSpec (Speculative Fiction)

Ottertail, MN — Ottertail Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Park Rapids, MN — Park Rapids Jackpine Writers’ Bloc (All Genres)

Perham, MN — Perham Thousand Lakes Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Rochester, MN — Rochester MN Writing Group (All Genres)

Sauk Centre, MN — Sauk Centre Gopher Prairie Writers’ Group (All Genres)

St. Paul, MN — Write, Create, Communicate (All Genres)

Twin Cities, MN — Twin Cities Writers Group (All Genres)

Mississippi Writing Groups:

Biloxi, MS — Gulf Coast Writers Association (All Genres)

Hattiesburg, MS — Hub City Writers (All Genres)

Natchez, MS — Mississippi Writers Guild (All Genres)

Ridgeland, MS — Mississippi Poetry Society (Poetry)

Starkville, MS — Mississippi Writers and Musicians (All Genres)

University, MS — University of Mississippi Writers Project (All Genres)

Missouri Writing Groups:

Branson, MO — Ozarks Writers League (All Genres)

Cape Girardeau, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Southeast Missouri Chapter (All Genres)

Cassville, MO — Mid-South Writers Group of Missouri (All Genres)

Columbia, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Columbia Chapter (All Genres)

Joplin, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Joplin Chapter (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Kansas City Writers Group (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Midwest Children’s Authors Guild (Children’s Literature)

Kansas City, MO — The Writers Place (All Genres)

Kansas City, MO — Heartland Romance Authors (Fiction, Romance, Novel)

Kennett, MO — Heartland Writers Guild (All Genres)

Marshall, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Marshall Chapter (All Genres)

O’Fallon, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Coffee and Critique Chapter (All Genres)

St. Louis, MO — Missouri Romance Writers of America (Romance)

St. Louis, MO — Sisters in Crime, Greater St. Louis Chapter (All Genres)

St. Louis, MO — St. Louis Writers Guild (All Genres)

St. Joseph, MO — St. Joseph Writers Guild (All Genres)

St. Peters, MO — Missouri Writers’ Guild, Saturday Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Montana Writing Groups:

Kalispell, MT — Authors of the Flathead (All Genres)

Missoula, MT — 406 Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Missoula, MT — Montana Romance Writers (Romance)

Nebraska Writing Groups:

Omaha, NE — Omaha Writers Group (All Genres)

Omaha, NE — The Nebraska Writers Guild (All Genres)

Omaha, NE — Romance Authors of the Heartland (Romance)

Ralston, NE — The Nebraska Writers Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Nevada Writing Groups:

Carson City, NV — Ash Canyon Poets (Poetry)

Carson City, NV — Lone Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Henderson, NV — Henderson Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Pahrump, NV — Oasis Writers Guild (All Genres)

New Hampshire Writing Groups:

Concord, NH — Granite State Writers Group (All Genres)

Hooksett, NH — New Hampshire Writers Project (All Genres)

Ossippe, NH — Poetry Society of New Hampshire (Poetry)

Peterborough, NH — Monadnock Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Beat Night Poetry (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Creative Writing Group (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Hoot Night at Cafe Espresso (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Memoir Writing Group (Memoir)

Portsmouth — Nonfiction Writing Group (Nonfiction)

Portsmouth, NH — Pen Central Writers (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Poetry and Short Fiction Writers Group (Poetry, Fiction)

Portsmouth, NH — Portsmouth Writing Salon (All Genres)

Portsmouth, NH — Pisquataqua Poets (Poetry)

Portsmouth. NH — Writers Night Out (All Genres)

New Jersey Writing Groups:

Atco, NJ — Garden State Writers (All Genres)

Asbury Park, NJ — Writers Group (All Genres)

Bayville, NJ — Berkeley Adult Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Bellmar, NJ — South Jersey Writers Group (All Genres)

Bergen County, NJ — The Writers of the Weird (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror)

Edison, NJ — Liberty States Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Fanwood, NJ — Serendipitous Scribes (All Genres)

Iselin, NJ — New Jersey Romantic Writers (Romance)

Mahwah, NJ — Mahwah Writer’s Collective (All Genres)

Mahwah, NJ — The Science Fiction Society of Northern NJ (Sci-Fi)

Manalapan, NJ — Monmouth Creative Writing Group (All Genres)

Manchester, NJ — The Manchester (NJ) Writers’ Circle (All Genres)

Middletown, NJ — The Noble Writers (All Genres)

Milltown, NJ – Milltown Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Moorestown, NJ — Juliette Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NJ — Women Who Write, Inc. (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NJ — The NJ Authors’ Network (All Genres)

Ridgewood, NJ — Ridgewood Memoir Writing Workshop (Memoir)

Plainsboro, NJ — Princeton Writing Group (All Genres)

Somerset, NJ — New Jersey Writers’ Society (All Genres)

South Hackensack, NJ — Bergen County Poets & Fictionaires (All Genres)

Summit, NJ — New Providence Writers (All Genres)

Woodbridge, NJ — Woodbridge Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers (Sci-Fi, Fantasy)

New Mexico Writing Groups:

Alamogordo, NM — The Writers Corner (All Genres)

Albuquerque, NM — SouthWest Writers (All Genres)

Albuquerque, NM — The Wordwrights (All Genres)

Ruidoso, NM — Lincoln County Writers Association (All Genres)

Santa Fe, NM — Santa Fe Writers Group (All Genres)

New York Writing Groups:

Albany, NY — Poetry Chat (Poetry)

Astoria, NY — Astoria Writers Group (All Genres)

Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers (Fiction)

Brooklyn, N7Y — NY Writers Coalition (All Genres)

Brooklyn, NY — The Brooklyn Writing and Creative Group (All Genres)

Bronx, NY — Poetry On Demand (Poetry)

Forest Hills, NY — Forest Hills Poetry Writing (Poetry)

Long Island, NY — Amateur Writers of Long Island (All Genres)

Manhattan, NY — NYC Writers Circle (All Genres)

Manhattan, NY — Science Writers in New York (Science and Medicine)

Manhattan, NY — WF Writing (All Genres)

New York City, NY — NYC Laid-Back Writing Group (All Genres)

New York City, NY — New York Writing Club (All Genres)

New York City, NY — Poets House (Poetry)

New York City, NY — Shut Up & Write! (All Genres)

New York City, NY — Storytellers of NY (Fiction)

New York City, NY — The Poetry Table (Poetry)

Nyack, NY — River Writers Circle (All Genres)

Staten Island, NY — The Staten Island Writers (All Genres)

Syracuse, NY — The Syracuse Veterans’ Writing Group (Nonfiction)

Multiple Locations in NY — Morningside Writers Group (Fiction, Screenwriting, Teen Writing, Memoir)

Tarrytown, NY — Hudson Writers Group (All Genres)

Troy, NY — Hudson Valley Writers Guild (All Genres)

Troy, NY — Capital District Screenwriters (Screenwriting)

North Carolina Writing Groups:

Boone, NC — High County Writers (All Genres)

Charlotte, NC — Charlotte Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Charlotte, NC — Queen City Writers Group (All Genres)

Graham, NC — Burlington Writers Club (All Genres)

Greensboro, NC — Writers’ Group of the Triad (All Genres)

Monroe, NC — Union County Writers Club (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in NC— North Carolina Writers’ Network-West’s Mountain Writers & Poets (All Genres)

Raleigh, NC — Screenline (Screenwriting)

Raleigh, NC — Triangle Association of Freelancers

Pittsboro, NC — Bynum Comedy Writers Workshop (Humor)

Southern Pines, NC — North Carolina Poetry Society (Poetry)

Wadesboro, NC — Anson County Writers Club (All Genres)

Washington, NC — Pamlico Writers Group (All Genres)

Winston-Salem, NC — Winston-Salem Writers (All Genres)

North Dakota Writing Groups:

Devils Lake, ND — Lake Region Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Grand Forks, ND — University of North Dakota Writing Center (All Genres)

Minot, ND — North Dakota Nonfiction Writers (Creative Nonfiction, Journalistic Nonfiction)

Moorhead, ND— Fargo Writers (All Genres)

Ohio Writing Groups:

Akron, OH — Akron Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Beavercreek, OH — Antioch Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Canton, OH — Greater Canton Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Cincinnati, OH— Greater Cincinnati Writers League (All Genres)

Cleveland, OH — Skyline Writers (All Genres)

Columbus, OH — Downtown Writers Network (All Genres)

Columbus, OH — The InkStone (Novel)

Columbus, OH — Ohio Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Columbus, OH — Wild Goose Creative (All Genres)

Dayton, OH — Western Ohio Writers Association (All Genres)

Dayton, OH — Dayton Christian Writers Guild, Inc. (Spiritual)

Delaware, OH — Poetry at the Delaware Library (Poetry)

Greater Cleveland and North Eastern, OH — Cleveland Writer Group (All Genres)

Hamilton, OH — Hamilton Writers Guild (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in OH — Romance Writers of America, Central Ohio Fiction Writers Chapter (Fiction)

Multiple Locations in OH — The Ohio Poetry Association (Poetry)

Sylvania, OH — Toledo Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Zanesville, OH — Y-City Writers’ Forum (All Genres)

Oklahoma Writing Groups:

Ada, OK — Ada Writers (All Genres)

Bartesville, OK — Wordweavers Writing Group (All Genres)

Bixby, OK — The South Tulsa Writers Meetup (All Genres)

Enid, OK — Enid Writers Club (All Genres)

Edmond, OK — Pen and Keyboard Writers (All Genres)

Edmond, OK — The Inklings (All Genres)

Green Country, OK — Green Country Ruff Riters (All Genres)

Guthrie, OK — Red Dirt Writers Society (All Genres)

McAlester, OK — McAlester’s McSherry Writers (All Genres)

Midwest City, OK — Mid-Oklahoma Writers (All Genres)

Norman, OK — Norman Galaxy of Writers (All Genres)

Oklahome City, OK — Creative Quills (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma City Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Horror Writers’ League (Horror)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Write Now (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Romance Inc. (Romance)

Stillwater, OK — Stillwater Writers Group (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Critical Ink (Fiction)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa NightWriters (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Area Children’s Book Writers (Children’s Literature)

Tulsa, OK — Nevermore Edits (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Unbreakable Spines (All Genres)

Woodward, OK — Writers of the Purple Sage (All Genres)

Oregon Writing Groups:

Baker City, OR — The Writers Guild of Eastern Oregon (All Genres)

Eugene, OR — The Lane Literary Guild (All Genres)

Jefferson, OR — Women’s Fiction Writers Association (Women in Fiction)

Portland, OR — 9 Bridges Writers Guild (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Attic Institute (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Friends of Mystery (Mystery)

Portland, OR — The Moonlit Poetry Caravan (Poetry)

Portland, OR — Mountain Writers Series (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Oregon State Poetry Association, Portland Unit (Poetry)

Portland, OR — Oregon Writers Colony (Novel)

Portland, OR — Willamette Writers (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Write Around Portland (All Genres)

Portland,, OR — Writers Mill (All Genres)

Redmond, OR — Central Oregon Writers Guild (All Genres)

Roseburg, OR — An Association of Writers (All Genres)

Pennsylvania Writing Groups:

Bethel, PA — First Monday Discussion Group (All Genres)

Danville, PA — Danville Writers Group (All Genres)

Dillsburg, PA — Central PA Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Easton, PA — Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Millcreek Mall Area Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Fellowship of the Quill (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Presque Isle Meeting (All Genres)

Hawley, PA — Pencils NEPA (All Genres)

Lancaster, PA — Lancaster Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Meadville, PA — Meadville Vicinity Pennwriters (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA — Pittsburgh East Scribes (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA — Pittsburgh East Writers Group (All Genres)

Mount Lebanon, PA — South Hills Critique Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA— Pennwriters (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA — Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (Children’s Literature)

New Cumberland, PA — Harrisburg Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia Writers (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA — Pittsburgh Writers (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA — Second Tuesday of the Month Group (All Genres)

Shenango Valley, PA — Shenango Valley Pennwriters (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network: The Early Risers (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network: Social Gatherings (All Genres)

Wexford, PA — Critique Group North (All Genres)

Wexford, PA — The Mindful Writers Group (All Genres)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA — A Writing Hand (All Genres)

Windber, PA — Southern Alleghenies Writers Guild (All Genres)

York, PA — York Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Rhode Island Writing Groups:

Cumberland, RI — Rhode Island Romance Writers (Fiction)

Providence, RI — Frequency Writers (All Genres)

Providence, RI — Goat Hill Writers (Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoir, & Flash Fiction)

Warwick, RI — Rhody Writing Group (All Genres)

South Carolina Writing Groups:

Aiken, SC— SCWW, Aiken Chapter (All Genres)

Anderson, SC — SCWW, Anderson Chapter (All Genres)

Beaufort, SC — SCWW, Beaufort Chapter (All Genres)

Bluffton, SC — SCWW, Bluffton Chapter (All Genres)

Camden, SC — SCWW, Camden Chapter (All Genres)

Chapin, SC — SCWW, Chapin/Irmo Chapter (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — LILA (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — SCWW, Charleston East Cooper Chapter (All Genres)

Charleston, SC — SCWW, Charleston North Area Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — Columbia Writers Alliance (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia I Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia II Chapter (All Genres)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia III Chapter (All Genres)

Daniel Island, SC — SCWW, Daniel Island: Guilty Prose Chapter (Fiction)

Florence, SC — SCWW, Florence Chapter (All Genres)

Greenville, SC — Sisters in Crime of Upstate SC (Crime, Fiction)

Greenville, SC — SCWW, Greenville Chapter (All Genres)

Lexington, SC — SCWW, Lexington Chapter (All Genres)

North Charleston, SC — Lowcountry Romance Writers (Romance)

Rapid City, SC — Black Hills Writers Group (All Genres)

Seneca, SC — SCWW, Seneca Chapter (All Genres)

Sumter, SC — SCWW, Sumter Chapter (All Genres)

Surfside, SC — SCWW, Surfside Chapter (All Genres)

South Dakota Writing Groups:

Brookings, SD — South Dakota State Poetry Society (Poetry)

Multiple Locations in SD — South Dakota Authors Association (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD— Black Hills Writers Group (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD — High Plains Writers (All Genres)

Tennessee Writing Groups:

Bartlett, TN — Bartlett Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Bartlett, TN — River City Romance Writers (Romance)

Chattanooga, TN — Chattanooga Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Collierville, TN — Collierville Christian Writers (All Genres)

Franklin, TN — Music City Romance Writers (Romance)

Hillsboro Villiage, TN — Sisters In Crime, Middle Tennessee Chapter (Crime, Fiction)

Knoxville, TN — Knoxville Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Knoxville, TN — Smoky Mountain Romance Writers (Romance)

Nashville, TN — Bellevue Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Nashville, TN — Nashville Writers Circle (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in TN — Lost State Writers Guild (All Genres)

Murfreesboro, TN — Murfreesboro Writers Group (All Genres)

Oak Ridge, TN — Tennessee Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Texas Writing Groups:

Abilene, TX — Abilene Writers Group (All Genres)

Alpine, TX — Texas Mountain Trail Writers (All Genres)

Amarillo, TX — Panhandle Professional Writers (All Genres)

Austin, TX — Writers’ League of Texas (All Genres)

Cedar Hill, TX — Dallas Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Clarksville, TX — Red River Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

College Station, TX — Brazos Writers (All Genres)

Dallas, TX — Dallas Screen Writers Association (Screenwriting)

Dallas, TX — Poetry Society of Texas (Poetry)

Denton, TX — Denton Poets’ Assembly (Poetry)

Denton, TX — Denton Writers’ Critique Group (Fiction)

El Paso, TX — El Paso Writers’ League (All Genres)

Euless, TX — DFW Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Fort Worth, TX — Fort Worth Writers (All Genres)

Houston, TX — Houston Writers Guild (All Genres)

Houston, TX — Nuestra Palabra (All Genres)

Houston, TX — White Oak Writers (All Genres)

Hurst, TX — North Texas Speculative Fiction Network (Fiction)

Katy, TX — West Houston/Texas Writers Group (All Genres)

Mt. Pleasant, TX — Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (All Genres)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Romance Authors (Romance)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Shenandoah, TX — Writers on the Storm (Spiritual)

Tyler, TX — East Texas Writers Guild (All Genres)

The Woodlands, TX — Woodlands Writers Guild (All Genres)

Utah Writing Groups:

Bountiful, UT — League of Utah Writers: Bountiful Chapter (All Genres)

Bountiful, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Rhyme & Reason (Poetry)

Cedar City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Color Country Nightwriters (All Genres)

Cedar City, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Cedar City Chapter (Poetry)

Holladay, UT — League of Utah Writers: Wordcraft (All Genres)

Layton, UT — League of Utah Writers: Wasatch Writers (All Genres)

Lehi, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Write On (Poetry)

Lindon, UT — League of Utah Writers: Utah Valley Legends (All Genres)

Logan City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Cache Valley Chapter (All Genres)

Moab, UT — Moab Poets & Writers (All Genres)

Midway, UT — League of Utah Writers: Heber Valley Writers (All Genres)

Murray, UT — Utah Book Writers Club (Novel)

Ogden, UT — League of Utah Writers: Blue Quill Chapter (All Genres)

Ogden, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Ben Lomond Chapter (Poetry)

Orem, UT — Utah Valley Writers (All Genres)

Provo, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Word Weavers (Poetry)

Richfield, UT — League of Utah Writers: Sevier Valley Writers (All Genres)

Salt Lake City, UT — League of Utah Writers: Salt City Scribes (All Genres)

Salt Lake City, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Valley Winds (Poetry)

St. George, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Dixie Chapter (Poetry)

St. George, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Red Rock (Poetry)

Taylorsville, UT — League of Utah Writers: Oquirrh Writers (All Genres)

Tooele, UT — League of Utah Writers: Tooele Writers (All Genres)

Tooele, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Oquirrh Chapter (Poetry)

Vermont Writing Groups:

Brattleboro, VT — Write Action (All Genres)

Burlington, VT — Leage of Vermont Writers (All Genres)

Burlington, VT — The Burlington Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Wilmington, VT — Southern Vermont SCBWI Critique Group (All Genres)

Virginia Writing Groups:

Abington, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Appalachian Authors Guild (All Genres)

Fredericksburg, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Riverside Chapter (All Genres)

Virginia Beach, VA — Hampton Roads Writers (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Hanover Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Write by the Rails Chapter (All Genres)

Richmond, VA — Agile Writers (All Genres)

Richmond, VA — James Rivers Writers (All Genres)

Roanoke, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Valley Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Williamsburg, VA — The Poetry Society of Virginia (Poetry)

Williamsburg, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Chesapeake Bay Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Washington, D.C. Writing Groups:

Washington, DC — The Black Women Playwrights’ Group (Screenwriting)

Washington, DC — D.C. Area Literary Translators Network (Literary Translation)

Washington, DC — D.C. Comedy Writers (Humor)

Washington, DC — Split This Rock (Poetry)

Washington, DC — The Washington Biography Group (Memoir)

Washington, DC — Washington Romance Writers (Romantic Fiction)

Washington Writing Groups:

Bothell, WA — Northwest Christian Writers Association (Spiritual)

Buckley, WA — Plateau Area Writers Association (All Genres)

Issaquah, WA — The Cottage (All Genres)

Langley, WA — Whidbey Island Writers Association (All Genres)

Lewis County, WA — The Lewis County Writers Guild (All Genres)

Mount Vernon, WA — Skagit Valley Writers League (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in WA — Tri-City Writers (Novel, Prose)

Seattle, WA — Writer’s Cramp (Science Fiction, Fantasy)

Spokane, WA — Inland Northwest Writers Guild (All Genres)

Spokane, WA — Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (All Genres)

Spokane, WA — Spokane Fiction Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Wenatchee, WA — Write on the River (All Genres)

West Virginia Writing Groups:

Beckley, WV — Raleigh County Library Writers Group (All Genres)

Braxton, WV — Braxton Writers Group (All Genres)

Charleston, WV — Pens Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Fairmont, WV — The Crow’s Quill (All Genres)

Hinton, WV — Summers County Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — Black Dog Writers Group (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — The Guyandotte Poets (Poetry)

Huntington, WV — The Patchwork Writers (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — Society of the Lark (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — Wicked Wordsmiths of the West (All Genres)

Jefferson County, WV — The Mountain Scribes (All Genres)

Martinsburg, WV — Athens on the Opequon (Poetry)

Martinsburg, WV — Martinsburg Writers Group (All Genres)

Morgantown, WV — Morgantown Writers Group (All Genres)

Parkersburg, WV — Sacred Way Poets (Poetry)

Philippi, WV — Barbour County Writers Workshop (All Genres)

Point Pleasant, WV — The Point Pleasant Writers Guild (All Genres)

Princeton, WV — Appalachian Pen Works (All Genres)

Ripley, WV — The Appalachian Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Romney, WV — Ice Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Shepherdstown, WV — The Bookend Poets (Poetry)

Spencer, WV — Women’s Writing Circle (All Genres)

St. Albans, WV — St. Albans Writers Group (All Genres)

Triadelphia, WV — Ohio Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Wisconsin Writing Groups:

Armery, WI — Northern Lakes Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Balsam Lake, WI — Poco Penners (All Genres)

Black River Falls, WI — BRF Writers Group (All Genres)

Door County, WI — Door Pens (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI — Writers’ Group at the Library (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI — Western Wisconsin Christian Writers Guild (Spiritual)

Frederic, WI — Northwest Regional Writers (All Genres)

Hayward, WI — Yarnspinners (All Genres)

Janesville, WI — Janesville Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Kenosha, WI — Kenosha Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Kewaskum, WI — Moraine Writers Guild (All Genres)

Madison, WI — Tuesdays with Story (All Genres)

Manitowoc, WI — The Lakeshore Writers (All Genres)

Menomonee, WI — Chippewa Valley Writers (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI — Red Oak Writers (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI — Wisconsin Romance Writers of America (Romance)

Multiple Locations in WI — Wisconsin Writers Association (All Genres)

Nekoosa, WI — Home Town Players/Writers Group (All Genres)

Oshkosh, WI — Oshkosh Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Pinney, WI — Pinney Writing Group (All Genres)

Portage, WI — Pauquette Wordcrafters (All Genres)

Portage, WI — The Writers at the Portage (All Genres)

Sheboygan, WI — Mead Public Library Poetry Circle (Poetry)

Solon Springs, WI — St. Croix Writers of Solon Springs (All Genres)

Stevens Point, WI — Aspiring Authors of Stevens Point (All Genres)

Two Rivers, WI — The Cool City Writers Group (All Genres)

Wausau, WI — Writers of Wausau (All Genres)

Wauwatosu, WI — Writer’s Voice (All Genres)

West Bend, WI — Washington County Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Wyoming Writing Groups:

Green River, WY — Wyoming Writers, Inc. (All Genres)

Riverton, WY — WyoPoets (Poetry)

Sundance, WY — Bearlodge Writers (All Genres)

Canada Writing Groups:

Alberta — Writers’ Guild of Alberta (All Genres)

Burnaby — Burnaby Writers’ Society (All Genres)

Kamloops — Interior Authors Group (All Genres)

Nanaimo — Writing Life Women’s Writing Circle (All Genres)

New Westminster — New West Writers (All Genres)

New Westminster — Waves Writers (All Genres)

Nova Scotia — Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada (Romance)

Ontario — Canadian Authors Niagara Branch (All Genres)

Ottowa — Ottowa Independent Writers (All Genres)

Quebec — Quebec Writers’ Federation (All Genres)

Salmon Arm — Shuswap Writers Group (All Genres)

Sooke — Sooke Writers’ Collective (All Genres)

Terrace — Terrace Writers Group (All Genres)

Toronto — Canadian Authors Toronto Branch (All Genres)

Toronto — Writers’ Union of Canada (All Genres)

Vancouver — Grind Café Writers Group (All Genres)

Vancouver — Thursday Writing Collective (All Genres)

Vancouver — West End Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Online Writing Groups:

Critique Circle (All Genres)

Inked Voices (All Genres)

Pen Parentis (All Genres)

Scribophile (All Genres)

Writer’s Café (All Genres)

Ada, OK — Ada Writers (All Genres)

Bartesville, OK — Wordweavers Writing Group (All Genres)

Enid, OK — Enid Writers Club (All Genres)

Edmond, OK — Pen and Keyboard Writers (All Genres)

Edmond, OK — The Inklings (All Genres)

Green Country, OK — Green Country Ruff Riters (All Genres)

Guthrie, OK — Red Dirt Writers Society (All Genres)

McAlester, OK — McAlester’s McSherry Writers (All Genres)

Midwest City, OK — Mid-Oklahoma Writers (All Genres)

Norman, OK — Norman Galaxy of Writers (All Genres)

Oklahome City, OK — Creative Quills (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Horror Writers’ League (Horror)

Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Write Now (All Genres)

Oklahoma City, OK — Romance Inc. (Romance)

Stillwater, OK — Stillwater Writers Group (All Genres)

Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Area Children’s Book Writers (Children’s Literature)

Woodward, OK — Writers of the Purple Sage (All Genres)

Jefferson, OR — Women’s Fiction Writers Association (Women in Fiction)

Portland, OR — Attic Institute (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Mountain Writers Series (All Genres)

Portland, OR — Oregon State Poetry Association, Portland Unit (Poetry)

Portland, OR — Oregon Writers Colony (Novel)

Portland,, OR — Writers Mill (All Genres)

Roseburg, OR — An Association of Writers (All Genres)

Bethel, PA — First Monday Discussion Group (All Genres)

Danville, PA — Danville Writers Group (All Genres)

Dillsburg, PA — Central PA Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Easton, PA — Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Millcreek Mall Area Group (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Fellowship of the Quill (All Genres)

Erie, PA — Presque Isle Meeting (All Genres)

Hawley, PA — Pencils NEPA (All Genres)

Lancaster, PA — Lancaster Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Meadville, PA — Meadville Vicinity Pennwriters (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA — Pittsburgh East Scribes (All Genres)

Monroeville, PA — Pittsburgh East Writers Group (All Genres)

Mount Lebanon, PA — South Hills Critique Group (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA— Pennwriters (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in PA — Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (Children’s Literature)

New Cumberland, PA — Harrisburg Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia Writers (All Genres)

Pittsburgh, PA — Second Tuesday of the Month Group (All Genres)

Shenango Valley, PA — Shenango Valley Pennwriters (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network: The Early Risers (All Genres)

State College, PA — Nittany Valley Writers Network: Social Gatherings (All Genres)

Wexford, PA — Critique Group North (All Genres)

Wexford, PA — The Mindful Writers Group (All Genres)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA — A Writing Hand (All Genres)

Windber, PA — Southern Alleghenies Writers Guild (All Genres)

York, PA — York Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Cumberland, RI — Rhode Island Romance Writers (Fiction)

Providence, RI — Frequency Writers (All Genres)

Providence, RI — Goat Hill Writers (Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoir, & Flash Fiction)

Columbia, SC — SCWW, Columbia II Chapter (All Genres)

Greenville, SC — Sisters in Crime of Upstate SC (Crime, Fiction)

Brookings, SD — South Dakota State Poetry Society (Poetry)

Multiple Locations in SD — South Dakota Authors Association (All Genres)

Rapid City, SD — High Plains Writers (All Genres)

Bartlett, TN — Bartlett Christian Writers (Spiritual)

Chattanooga, TN — Chattanooga Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Franklin, TN — Music City Romance Writers (Romance)

Knoxville, TN — Knoxville Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Knoxville, TN — Smoky Mountain Romance Writers (Romance)

Nashville, TN — Bellevue Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Nashville, TN — Nashville Writers Circle (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in TN — Lost State Writers Guild (All Genres)

Oak Ridge, TN — Tennessee Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Abilene, TX — Abilene Writers Group (All Genres)

Austin, TX — Writers’ League of Texas (All Genres)

Cedar Hill, TX — Dallas Area Writers Group (All Genres)

Clarksville, TX — Red River Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

College Station, TX — Brazos Writers (All Genres)

Dallas, TX — Dallas Screen Writers Association (Screenwriting)

Denton, TX — Denton Poets’ Assembly (Poetry)

Denton, TX — Denton Writers’ Critique Group (Fiction)

El Paso, TX — El Paso Writers’ League (All Genres)

Euless, TX — DFW Writers’ Workshop (All Genres)

Fort Worth, TX — Fort Worth Writers (All Genres)

Houston, TX — Houston Writers Guild (All Genres)

Houston, TX — White Oak Writers (All Genres)

Hurst, TX — North Texas Speculative Fiction Network (Fiction)

Mt. Pleasant, TX — Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization (All Genres)

San Antonio, TX — San Antonio Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Shenandoah, TX — Writers on the Storm (Spiritual)

Tyler, TX — East Texas Writers Guild (All Genres)

St. George, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Dixie Chapter (Poetry)

St. George, UT — Utah State Poetry Society: Red Rock (Poetry)

Tooele, UT — League of Utah Writers: Tooele Writers (All Genres)

Burlington, VT — Leage of Vermont Writers (All Genres)

Abington, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Appalachian Authors Guild (All Genres)

Virginia Beach, VA — Hampton Roads Writers (All Genres)

Multiple Locations, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Hanover Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Richmond, VA — James Rivers Writers (All Genres)

Williamsburg, VA — The Virginia Writers Club, Chesapeake Bay Writers Chapter (All Genres)

Washington, DC — The Black Women Playwrights’ Group (Screenwriting)

Washington, DC — D.C. Comedy Writers (Humor)

Washington, DC — Split This Rock (Poetry)

Washington, DC — The Washington Biography Group (Memoir)

Washington, DC — Washington Romance Writers (Romantic Fiction)

Bothell, WA — Northwest Christian Writers Association (Spiritual)

Mount Vernon, WA — Skagit Valley Writers League (All Genres)

Seattle, WA — Writer’s Cramp (Science Fiction, Fantasy)

Spokane, WA — Spokane Fiction Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Beckley, WV — Raleigh County Library Writers Group (All Genres)

Braxton, WV — Braxton Writers Group (All Genres)

Charleston, WV — Pens Writer’s Group (All Genres)

Fairmont, WV — The Crow’s Quill (All Genres)

Hinton, WV — Summers County Writers’ Group (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — The Guyandotte Poets (Poetry)

Huntington, WV — The Patchwork Writers (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — Society of the Lark (All Genres)

Huntington, WV — Wicked Wordsmiths of the West (All Genres)

Jefferson County, WV — The Mountain Scribes (All Genres)

Martinsburg, WV — Athens on the Opequon (Poetry)

Martinsburg, WV — Martinsburg Writers Group (All Genres)

Morgantown, WV — Morgantown Writers Group (All Genres)

Parkersburg, WV — Sacred Way Poets (Poetry)

Point Pleasant, WV — The Point Pleasant Writers Guild (All Genres)

Princeton, WV — Appalachian Pen Works (All Genres)

Ripley, WV — The Appalachian Wordsmiths (All Genres)

Romney, WV — Ice Mountain Writers (All Genres)

Shepherdstown, WV — The Bookend Poets (Poetry)

Spencer, WV — Women’s Writing Circle (All Genres)

St. Albans, WV — St. Albans Writers Group (All Genres)

Triadelphia, WV — Ohio Valley Writers Group (All Genres)

Armery, WI — Northern Lakes Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Balsam Lake, WI — Poco Penners (All Genres)

Black River Falls, WI — BRF Writers Group (All Genres)

Door County, WI — Door Pens (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI — Writers’ Group at the Library (All Genres)

Eau Clair, WI — Western Wisconsin Christian Writers Guild (Spiritual)

Frederic, WI — Northwest Regional Writers (All Genres)

Hayward, WI — Yarnspinners (All Genres)

Janesville, WI — Janesville Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Kenosha, WI — Kenosha Writers’ Guild (All Genres)

Kewaskum, WI — Moraine Writers Guild (All Genres)

Madison, WI — Tuesdays with Story (All Genres)

Manitowoc, WI — The Lakeshore Writers (All Genres)

Menomonee, WI — Chippewa Valley Writers (All Genres)

Milwaukee, WI — Red Oak Writers (All Genres)

Multiple Locations in WI — Wisconsin Writers Association (All Genres)

Nekoosa, WI — Home Town Players/Writers Group (All Genres)

Oshkosh, WI — Oshkosh Area Writers Club (All Genres)

Pinney, WI — Pinney Writing Group (All Genres)

Portage, WI — Pauquette Wordcrafters (All Genres)

Portage, WI — The Writers at the Portage (All Genres)

Solon Springs, WI — St. Croix Writers of Solon Springs (All Genres)

Stevens Point, WI — Aspiring Authors of Stevens Point (All Genres)

Wausau, WI — Writers of Wausau (All Genres)

Wauwatosu, WI — Writer’s Voice (All Genres)

West Bend, WI — Washington County Writers’ Club (All Genres)

Riverton, WY — WyoPoets (Poetry)

Sundance, WY — Bearlodge Writers (All Genres)

Critique Circle (All Genres)

Inked Voices (All Genres)

Pen Parentis (All Genres)

Writer’s Café (All Genres)

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50 fun group writing exercises

Group writing exercises you can do with your writing circle or critique group are a fun ice-breaker and a way to get creative ideas flowing. Read 50 ‘fill in the blank’ creative writing prompts.

Post author By Jordan
6 Comments on 50 fun group writing exercises

50 fun group writing exercises | Now Novel

‘Fill in the blank’ writing exercises are fun to do in a group. Writing exercises with some set parameters highlight the diverse, interesting ways different writers interpret and respond to the same prompts. Try one of 50 ‘fill in the blank’ creative writing prompts below, and share your creativity in the comments or tag @NowNovel if sharing your version on social media.

The group writing exercises

The first prompt was a prompt for a contest to win a place on our Group Coaching writing course .

Contest prompt

Fill in the blanks Now Novel group coaching contest

Every year, I’d made a resolution not to ever __ again. Yet by January 20th I’d already __ and __.

Entries were voted on blind by a panel of four from the Now Novel team, and the winner was Ethan Myers with this entry:

Writing contest winner - Ethan Myers entry

Here are 49 more prompts to enjoy and stimulate creative ideas:

Writing exercises featuring scene-setting

On leaving As soon as I turned 18, I left__. It was a town of__and__ .

On arrival I walked through the arched entryway and my jaw dropped. Everywhere you looked there were__. Marco Polo himself could never have imagined__.

The first time It was my first ever flight. I was__. Then a__ sat down next to me, turning to me and asking, “__?”

Compare and contrast My hometown was__. When I got to__, a college town, the first thing I noticed was__.

Use the senses The minute you entered, you could smell __. Paired with the sound of __, it was unmistakably home.

Be specific The home we’d rented for the holidays was neither__ nor__, contrary to the listing. Yet my younger brother was delighted when we found__.

Build a bucket list I’d always wanted to go to__. I’d read so much about its__, though nothing had prepared me for__.

Create a world In the books I had read as a kid, portals were gateways to worlds where __. Yet here, I was surprised to find a__.

Outside/inside Outside, the sounds of__ filled the air__. Yet inside, the 19th Century __was like another world, full of strange __.

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Group writing exercises featuring conflict

Lovers’ quarrel We thought it would be a romantic getaway to Rome. Then__. By the end of the day, hot and fed up, we__.

A troubling lookout He climbed the watchtower, yet when he turned to the window, what he saw made him tremble.__.

The duel Many had said that if they were ever to duel, no two could be more equally matched. But what his opponent didn’t know was__.

Alien invasion In alien movies, they always blew up The White House or__. So he hadn’t expected to be toe to toe with an extraterrestrial having a screamed debate about__.

An assassin As the most skilled contract killer in the kingdom, she knew how to__. Yet nobody knew that she__.

Warring nations It started with a trade embargo. Then the president said that our neighbors’ president was a __ with a __. Next thing we knew, __.

Difficult decisions I couldn’t decide whether to__ or to__, but it was 4:45 pm and the last train was leaving in five minutes.

Writing exercises using dialogue

Secrets and lies “I never__,” he said. Yet I knew he was lying because__.

Surprises “Guess what I have behind my back?” she said. “__?” I guessed. “No!” She held out__.

Confessions “I didn’t know how to tell you this … I__.” “I’m glad you told me, now we can__.”

Embarrassing family “Your son is very talented, Mr Jones,” the__ said. “You say that now. You should have seen when he was 9. He__ and we were told that__.”

Thinking aloud “You should__.” “What did you just say?” “Did I just say that out loud? I was thinking about__.”

Know-it-all “Bet you didn’t know__,” he gloated. “Bet you didn’t know__,” I clapped back, full sass.

Bad bard “Shall I compare thee-“ I married a thespian. “Shall I compare you to __?” I rolled my eyes.

Writing exercises using simile and metaphor

Wild reactions His face was as __ as a__ after the bug bite and we were all a bit worried.

Comparing the moon The moon is a__ tonight, its thin crescent glowing like a__.

Making abstraction specific My anxiety is like a__ on the first day of school. A__ with a __.

Sound and simile The first minutes the orchestra was like a __, the music shimmering like __. But in the allegro the principal violinist’s string broke and the conductor__.

Describing emotions Fear is a__ with a__.

Describing the human voice He had a voice like__, like a__ echoing in a __.

Degrees of comparison The mysterious drink they prepared was sweeter than__. But sweeter still was__.

Fill in the blanks writing exercise - use the senses | Now Novel

Writing exercises using different POVs

Fugitive I had run all night, adrenaline keeping fatigue at bay. When I saw__ as dawn broke, I knew__.

Collective They had ways of dealing with dissent. If you dared to go against the clan, you would be__, God help you.

The reader as reader You decide to go to the library. You want to read a book about__. The librarian raises an eyebrow as they run the barcode scanner. “__?” They ask, as you blush.

The group as one That summer, we__ until we couldn’t__. We were all in our twenties, and the days were__.

Writing exercise using different moods of the verb

Future perfect tense, indicative mood In several years’ time, she will have changed, our__ changing like__.

Present tense, potential mood “They may change their minds,” the King says, scowling, “or else we may have to__ and__.”

Future tense, subjunctive mood If I should__, then tell everyone I never__.

[See a helpful explanation of verb moods and tenses in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft . ]

Writing exercises from creating blanks in books

Colum McCann – Let the Great World Spin We had a short driveway full of__. If we crossed the road, we could stand on__ and__.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Love in the Time of Cholera He had returned from a long stay in Paris, where he__, and from the time he set foot on solid ground he__.

Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake Jimmy’s earliest complete memory was of a huge__. He must have been five, maybe six. He was wearing__.

Virginia Woolf – Mrs Dalloway Her only gift was__. If you put her in a room with some one, up went her back like a cat’s; or she__.

Italo Calvino – The Complete Cosmicomics I thought only of the Earth. It was the Earth that caused each of us to__.

David Sedaris – Me Talk Pretty One Day When painting proved too difficult, I turned to__, telling myself__.

Eva Hoffman – Lost in Translation The library is located in a__ street, in an ancient building, which one enters through a__. It is Plato’s cave, Egyptian temple, the space of__.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Half of a Yellow Sun Richard said little at the parties Susan took him to. When she introduced him, she always added__. But they were pleasant to him; they would be to__.

Ursula K. Le Guin – The Left Hand of Darkness I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught__.

Colson Whitehead – The Zone The reunions were terrific and rote, early tutelage in the recursive nature of human experience. “__?” the girlfriends asked as they padded in bearing__, and he’d say “__”.

Barbara Kingsolver – The Poisonwood Bible Once every few years, even now, I catch the scent of__. It makes me want to keen, sing,__.

Jorge Luis Borges – Labyrinths He opened a drawer of the black and gold desk. He faced me and in his hands he held__.

Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights While enjoying a month of fine weather at the sea-coast, I was thrown into the company of a__, a real__.

Find daily writing prompts plus literary device definitions and terms.

Build focus and a steady writing routine, and get help from experienced coaches and editors while connecting with other writers on our 6-month Group Coaching course. Learn more and see what alumni loved.

How to find a writing group plus 7 pros of workshops
Writing exercises: 10 fun tense workouts
6 creative writing exercises for rich character
Tags writing groups , writing inspiration , writing prompts

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

6 replies on “50 fun group writing exercises”

These exercises look like fun!

Sometimes there comes a point when you can’t think of anything worth writing. I guess every writer will know what I mean. But with these templates, I can get some inspiration and share whole stories with my friends.

Thank you, Jordan.

Hi Daisy, I’m glad that you found these ideas inspiring, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

I love these! They’re inspiring (although I want to cheat and use them as-is). Lots of material for future fun 😉

Hi Margriet, thank you! I’m glad you find these writing exercises fun. We can share fill-in-the-blank exercises in the challenge group, that’s another idea.

Thankyou Jordan for these great points.

It’s a pleasure, Dave. Thank you for reading our blog.

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43 Creative writing exercises

A selection of fun creative writing exercises that can be completed solo, or with a group. Some are prompts to help inspire you to come up with story ideas, others focus on learning specific writing skills.

I run a Creative Writing Meetup for adults and teens in Montpellier or online every week. We start with a 5 to 20 minute exercise, followed by an hour and a half of silent writing, during which each participant focuses on their own project. Every exercise listed below has been run with the group and had any kinks ironed out. Where the exercises specify a number of people, if you have a larger group, simply split everyone up into smaller groups as appropriate.

The solo exercises are ideal to help stimulate your mind before working on a larger project, to overcome writer’s block, or as stand-alone prompts in their own right. If a solo exercise inspires you and you wish to use it with a larger group, give every member ten minutes to complete the exercise, then ask anyone who wishes to share their work to do so in groups of 3 or 4 afterwards.

Looking for something quick to fire your imagination? Check out these creative writing prompts for adults .

Writing Retreat in South France

A note on running exercises remotely

While you can enjoy the exercises solo, they are also designed for online writing groups using Zoom, WhatsApp, or Discord.

If you're running a group and follow a ' Shut Up and Write ' structure, I recommend connecting on WhatsApp (for example) first, doing the exercise together, sharing writing samples as needed. Next, write in silence for an hour and a half on your own projects, before reconnecting for a brief informal chat at the end. This works great with small remote groups and is a way to learn new techniques, gain online support, and have a productive session.

If you have a larger online group, it's worth looking into Zoom, as this has a feature called Breakout Rooms . Breakout Rooms let you split different writers into separate rooms, which is great for group activities. The free version of Zoom has a 40 minute limit, which can be restrictive, but Zoom Pro is well worth it if you're going to use it on a regular basis. In my experience, Zoom has a better connection than Facebook chat or WhatsApp.

A Letter From Your Character To You

Letter from fictional character to the author

Spend ten minutes writing a letter from a character in your novel to you , the author, explaining why you should write about them. This serves three purposes:

As you write, it helps you get into the mindset of the character. Ask yourself how they would language this letter and what they would consider important.
It's motivating to know that your character wants you to write about them.
If your goal is to publish a complete work of fiction one day, whether it be a novel, a play or a movie script, you will want to contact an agent or publisher. This helps you practice in an easy, safe way.

If you're doing this exercise with a group of teens or adults, and some of the group haven't already started working on their masterpiece, they can instead choose any fictional novel they love. Ask participants to imagine that a character within the book wrote to the author in the first place to ask them to write their story. How did they plead their case?

The Opening Sentence

The opening sentence has to grab the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Many authors achieve this by starting with an action scene. In modern literature, it's best to avoid starting with someone waking up, or a description of the weather. In this exercise the task is to write an opening sentence either to a book you're currently writing, or simply for an imaginary piece of literature. Here are some of my favourite opening sentences to get you going:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

George Orwell , 1984

The Golem's life began in the hold of a steamship.

Helene Wecker , The Golem and the Djinni

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina

It wasn't a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Diana Gabaldon , Outlander

You better not never tell nobody but God.

Alice Walker , The Color Purple

The cage was finished.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez , Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon

Imagine that you are living your life out of order: Lunch before breakfast, marriage before your first kiss.

Audrey Niffenegger , The Time Traveler's Wife

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

Douglas Adams , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are a plethora of ways you can start a book, however two ways that help engage the reader immediately are:

Set the scene in as few words as possible, so the reader immediately knows what's happening and wants to know what happens next. The scene must be original and create a vivid image in the reader's mind.
Surprise the reader with an unusual event or usual point of view.

Spend 5 minutes working on your own opening sentence, then share it with the other participants.

Make your protagonist act!

Exercise for 2 writers, or can be done solo.

According to John Gardner:

"Failure to recognise that the central character must act, not simply be acted upon, is the single most common mistake in the fiction of beginners."

Spend 5 minutes writing a scene where the protagonist is passive in a conversation with one other character. It could be that the other character says something dramatic, and the protagonist just listens, or it could be anything else of your choice!

Once the 5 minutes is up, swap papers with another writer. If you're using Zoom, or working online, send it to each other in a private chat. Now the other person spends 8 minutes rewriting the scene to make the protagonist as active as possible. This might include:

Read both scenes together. Which makes you want to keep on reading?

If you're doing this as a solo writing exercise, simply complete both parts yourself.

Showing the emotion this evokes.
Getting them to disagree with the other character.
Showing how they respond physically (whether it's as a physical manifestation of how they feel, or a dramatic gesture to make a point).

Overcoming writer's block

Are you staring at a blank page or stuck for any story ideas? This exercise will help anyone who's experiencing writer's block with a particular piece of writing. If this isn't you, that's great, others will value your input!

If anyone has a particular scene they're stuck with (a pool of blood on the floor they have no explanation for, a reason why the rich lady just walked into a particular pub, etc.) then at the start of the exercise everyone briefly describes their scenes (if working online with a large group, typing it into the chat might be best). Everyone then chooses one scene to use as a writing prompt to write a short story for 10-15 minutes.

Afterwards, split into small groups if necessary, and read out how you completed someone else's writing prompt. As everyone listens to everyone else's ideas, this can be a wonderful source of inspiration and also improves your writing. As an alternative solo exercise, try free writing. With free writing, simply write as quickly as you can on the topic without editing or censoring yourself - just let your creative juices flow. If you're not sure what happens next, brainstorm options on the page, jot down story ideas, or just put, "I don't know what happens next." Keep going and ideas will come.

Writing Character Arcs

There are several different types of character arc in a novel, the 3 most common being:

For this exercise choose either a positive or negative character arc. Spend 8 minutes writing a scene from the start of a novel, then 8 minutes writing a scene towards the end of a novel showing how the character has developed between the two points. Don't worry about including how the character has changed, you can leave that to the imagination.

The point here is to capture the essence of a character, as they will be the same, but show their development.

Positive - Where a character develops and grows during the novel. Perhaps they start unhappy or weak and end happy or powerful.
Negative - Where a character gets worse during a novel. Perhaps they become ill or give in to evil tendencies as the novel progresses.
Flat - In a flat character arc the character themself doesn't change much, however the world around them does. This could be overthrowing a great injustice, for example.

Sewing Seeds in Your Writing

In this exercise, we will look at how to sew seeds. No, not in your garden, but in your story. Seeds are the tiny hints and indicators that something is going on, which influence a reader's perceptions on an often unconscious level. They're important, as if you spring a surprise twist on your readers without any warning, it can seem unbelievable. Sew seeds that lead up to the event, so the twists and turns are still surprising, but make intuitive sense. Groups : Brainstorm major plot twists that might happen towards the end of the novel and share it in a Zoom chat, or on pieces of paper. Choose one twist each. Individuals : Choose one of the following plot twists: - Your friend is actually the secret son of the king. - Unreliable narrator - the narrator turns out to be villain. - The monster turns out to be the missing woman the narrator is seeking. - The man she is about to marry happens to already have a wife and three kids.

Write for ten minutes and give subtle hints as to what the plot twist is. This is an exercise in subtlety. Remember, when the twist occurs, it should still come as a surprise.

This is a fun writing activity for a small group. You’ve found a magic potion labelled ‘Cat Chat’ and when you drink it, you turn into whichever animal you’re thinking about; but there’s a problem, it also picks up on the brainwaves of other people near you!

Everyone writes down an animal in secret and then reveals it to the other writers. The spell will turn you into a creature that combines elements of all the animals. Each person then spends 5 minutes writing down what happens when they drink the potion.

After the 5 minutes is up, everyone shares their story with the other participants.

If you enjoy this exercise, then you may also want to check out our Fantasy and Sci-Fi writing prompts full of world building, magic, and character development prompts..

Joe Brainard wrote a novel called: I Remember It contains a collection of paragraphs all starting with “I remember”. This is the inspiration for this exercise, and if you’re stuck for what to write, is a great way to get the mental gears turning. Simply write “I remember” and continue with the first thing that pops into your head.

Spend 5 minutes writing a short collection of “I remember” stories.

Here are a couple of examples from Joe Brainard’s novel:

“I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn't fall off.”

“I remember waking up somewhere once and there was a horse staring me in the face.”

Giving feedback to authors

If you're running a workshop for more experienced adult authors and have at least an hour, this is a good one to use. This is the longest exercise on this page, but I felt it important enough to include.

Give each author the option to bring a piece of their own work. This should be double spaced and a maximum of 3 pages long. If you're running a workshop where not everyone is likely to bring a manuscript, ask everyone who wants to bring one to print two copies each. If someone forgets but has a laptop with them, the reader can always use their laptop.

Print out a few copies and hand them around to everyone in the workshop of the guide on: 'How to give constructive feedback to writers'

Each author who brought a sample with them then gives them to one other person to review. They write their name on the manuscript in a certain colour pen, then add any comments to it before passing it to a second person who does the same (commenting on the comments if they agree or disagree).

Then allow 5 minutes for everyone to discuss the feedback they've received, ensuring they are giving constructive feedback.

The Five Senses

Painting by Giovanni Battista Manerius - The Five Senses

Choose a scene and write it for 5 minutes focusing on one sense, NOT sight. Choose between:

Hearing Taste Smell Touch

This can be internal as well as external (I heard my heartbeat thudding in my ears, or I smelt my own adrenaline).

After the 5 minutes stop and everyone reads it out loud to each other. Now write for another 5 minutes and continue the other person's story, but do NOT use sight OR the sense they used.

You can use any sense to communicate the essentials, just focus on creating emotions and conveying the story with the specific sense(s).

If you need some writing prompts, here are possible scenes that involve several senses:

Climbing through an exotic jungle
Having an argument that becomes a fight
A cat's morning
Talking to someone you're attracted to

Show don't tell

2 or 3 people

A lot of writing guides will advise you to, "Show, don't tell". What does this actually mean?

If you want to evoke an emotional reaction from your reader, showing them what is happening is a great way to do so. You can approach this in several ways:

Split up into pairs and each person writes down a short scene from a story where they "tell" it. After this, pass the description of the scene to your partner and they then have 5 minutes to rewrite it to "show" what happened. If there are an odd number of participants, make one group of three, with each person passing their scene clockwise, so everyone has a new scene to show. After the 5 minutes, for small groups everyone reads their new description to everyone else, or for large groups, each person just reads their new scene to their partner.

Avoid internal dialogue (thinking), instead have your protagonist interact with other people, or have a physical reaction to something that shows how s/he feels. Does their heart beat faster? Do they notice the smell of their own adrenaline? Do they step backwards, or lean forwards?
Instead of using an adjective like creepy, e.g. "Mary entered the creepy house", show why the house is creepy through description and in the way the protagonist responds - "The light streamed through the filthy skylight, highlighting the decomposing body of a rat resting on top of it. As Mary stepped inside, she felt a gust of freezing air brush past her. She turned, but there was nothing there..."

World building

World building is the art of conveying the magic of living in a different world, whether it's a spaceship, a medieval castle, a boat, or simply someone's living room. To master world building, it's not necessary to know every intricate detail, rather to convey the experience of what it would be like to live there.

Choose one of the above images as a prompt and spend 10 minutes writing a scene from the perspective of someone who is seeing it for the first time. Now, move your character six months forward and imagine they've spent the last six months living or working there. Write another scene (perhaps with an additional character) using the image as a background, with the events of the scene as the main action.

Click the above image for a close-up.

Gossiping about a character as if they're a friend.

Easy to gossip with friends about a character

Judy Blume says that she tells her family about her characters as if they’re real people.

Chris Claremont said, "For me, writing the 'X-Men' was easy - is easy. I know these people, they're my friends."

Today’s exercise has 2 parts. First, spend 5 minutes jotting down some facts about a character you’ve invented that might come up if you were telling your friends about them. Either choose a character in something you’ve already written, or invent one from scratch now.

Answer the questions:

What are they up to? How are they? What would you say if you were gossiping about them?

Then split up into groups of 4 to 6 writers. 2 volunteers from each group then role-play talking about their character as if they were a friend (perhaps another character in the story). The other participants will role-play a group of friends gossiping about the character behind their back and ask questions. If you don’t know the answer, invent it!

Degrees of Emotion Game

This is based on an acting game, to help actors understand how to perform with different degrees of emotion.

Ask everyone to write the following 4 emotions:

For groups of 5 or less, write down numbers starting with 1 and going up until everyone has a number, then give them out in order. For groups of 6 or more, divide groups into 3's, 4's or 5's.

Each person has to write a scene where the protagonist is alone and is only allowed to say a single word, e.g. "Banana". The writer with number 1 should write the scene with a very low level of the emotion (e.g. happiness), number 2 increases the intensity a bit and the highest number writes a scene with the most intense emotion you can possibly imagine.

Once each writer has written about happiness, rotate the numbers one or two spaces, then move onto anger, then fear, then sadness.

It can help to give everyone numbers showing the intensity of the emotions to write about at the start of the exercise, in which case you may wish to print either the Word or PDF file, then use the ones corresponding to 3, 4 or 5 writers.

Everyone shares their scene with the other course participants.

Three birds, one line

The first paragraph of a surprising number of best-selling novels serves multiple purposes. These are to:

Establish a goal
Set the scene
Develop a character

Nearly every chapter in a novel also serves all three purposes. Instead of establishing a goal though, the protagonist either moves towards it, or encounters an obstacle that hinders them from achieving it.

Some books manage to meet all three purposes with their opening lines, for example:

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

J.K. Rowling , Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A little more than one hundred days into the fortieth year of her confinement, Dajeil Gelian was visited in her lonely tower overlooking the sea by an avatar of the great ship that was her home.

Iain M. Banks , Excession

"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

George R.R. Martin , A Game of Thrones

For this exercise write a sentence or short paragraph that serves all three purposes. If you're already writing a novel, then see if you can do this for the first line in a chapter. If not, choose any combination from the following table:

Blind Date on Valentine's Day (Exercise for Adults)

In pairs one writer spends a minute or two describing a character they're writing about, or alternatively they can describe a celebrity or someone from a work of fiction. The next writer then describes their character.

The story is that these 2 characters (or in my case, person and alien, as I'm writing a sci-fi) have accidentally ended up on a blind date with each other. Perhaps the waiter seated them in the wrong location, perhaps it's an actual blind date, or perhaps they met in some other fashion the writers can determine.

Now spend 10 minutes discussing what happens next!

A Success (Works best for online groups)

This exercise works best for online groups, via Zoom, for example. The instructions to give are:

"In a few words describe a success in your life and what it felt like to achieve it. It can be a small victory or a large one."

Share a personal example of your own (mine was watching my homeschooled sons sing in an opera together).

"Once you have one (small or large), write it in the chat.

The writing exercise is then to choose someone else's victory to write about for 10 minutes, as if it was the end of your own book.

If you want to write for longer, imagine how that book would start. Write the first part of the book with the ending in mind."

This is great for reminding people of a success in their lives, and also helps everyone connect and discover something about each other.

Your dream holiday

You’re going on a dream holiday together, but always disagree with each other. To avoid conflict, rather than discuss what you want to do, you’ve decided that each of you will choose a different aspect of the holiday as follows:

Choose where you’ll be going – your favourite holiday destination.
Choose what your main fun activity will be on the holiday.
Decide what mode of travel you’ll use to get there.
If there’s a 4 th person, choose what you’ll eat on the holiday and what you’ll be wearing.

Decide who gets to choose what at random. Each of you then writes down your dream holiday destination/activity/travel/food & clothes in secret. Next spend 5 minutes discussing your dream holiday and add any other details you’d like to include, particularly if you’re passionate about doing something in real life.

Finally, everyone spends another 5 minutes writing down a description of the holiday, then shares it with the others.

A haiku is a traditional Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry whose short form makes it ideal for a simple writing exercise.

They are traditionally structured in 3 lines, where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables again. Haiku tend to focus on themes of nature and deep concepts that can be expressed simply.

A couple of examples:

A summer river being crossed how pleasing with sandals in my hands! Yosa Buson , a haiku master poet from the 18 th Century.

And one of mine:

When night-time arrives Stars come out, breaking the dark You can see the most

Martin Woods

Spend up to 10 minutes writing a haiku. If you get stuck with the 5-7-5 syllable rule, then don’t worry, the overall concept is more important!

See How to write a haiku for more details and examples.

Unlike a haiku, which is profound and sombre, a limerick is a light-hearted, fun rhyming verse.

Here are a couple of examples:

A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his beli-can He can take in his beak Food enough for a week But I'm damned if I see how the heli-can.

Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.

Arthur Henry Reginald Buller in Punch, 1923

The 1 st , 2 nd and 5 th line all rhyme, as do the 3 rd and 4 th line. The overall number of syllables isn’t important, but the 3 rd and 4 th lines should be shorter than the others.

Typically, the 1 st line introduces the character, often with “There was”, or “There once was”. The rest of the verse tells their story.

Spend 10 minutes writing a limerick.

Time Travel - Child, Adult, Senior

Imagine that your future self as an old man/woman travels back in time to meet you, the adult you are today. Alternatively, you as a child travels forward in time to meet yourself as an adult. Or perhaps both happen, so the child you, adult you, and senior you are all together at the same time. In story form write down what happens next.

Participants then share their story with other writers either in small groups, or to the whole group.

Focus on faces

Solo exercise.

One challenge writers face is describing a character. A common mistake is to focus too much on the physical features, e.g. "She had brown eyes, curly brown hair and was five foot six inches tall."

The problem with this is it doesn't reveal anything about the character's personality, or the relationship between your protagonist and the character. Your reader is therefore likely to quickly forget what someone looks like. When describing characters, it's therefore best to:

Animate them - it's rare that someone's sitting for a portrait when your protagonist first meets them and whether they're talking or walking, it's likely that they're moving in some way.
Use metaphors or similes - comparing physical features to emotionally charged items conjures both an image and a sense of who someone is.
Involve your protagonist - if your protagonist is interacting with a character, make it personal. How does your protagonist view this person? Incorporate the description as part of the description.
Only give information your protagonist knows - they may know if someone is an adult, or a teenager, but they won't know that someone is 37 years old, for example.

Here are three examples of character descriptions that leave no doubt how the protagonist feels.

“If girls could spit venom, it'd be through their eyes.” S.D. Lawendowski, Snapped

"And Ronan was everything that was left: molten eyes and a smile made for war." Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling." Charles Dickens

Spend 5 minutes writing a character introduction that is animated, uses metaphors or similes and involves your protagonist.

If working with a group, then form small groups of 3 or 4 and share your description with the rest of the group.

Onomatopeai, rhyme and alliteration

Today's session is all about sound.

Several authors recommend reading your writing out loud after you've written it to be sure it sounds natural. Philip Pullman even goes as far as to say:

"When I’m writing, I’m more conscious of the sound, actually, than the meaning. I know what the rhythm of the sentence is going to be before I know what the words are going to be in it."

For today's exercise, choose the name of a song and write for 10 minutes as if that's the title for a short story. Focus on how your writing sounds and aim to include at least one onomatopoeia, rhyme or alliteration. At the end of the 10 minutes, read it out loud to yourself, or to the group.

Alliterations

An alliteration example from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea.

Onomatopoeias

Buzz, woof, quack, baa, crash, purr, beep, belch,...

The alphabet story - creating a story as a group

This is a novel way to write a story as a group, one word at a time. The first person starts the story that begins with any word starting with “A”, the next person continues the story with a word starting with “B”, and so on.

Keep going round until you have completed the alphabet. Ideally it will all be one sentence, but if you get stuck, start a new sentence. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make complete sense!

It can be tricky to remember the alphabet when under pressure, so you may wish to print it out a couple of times, so the storytellers can see it if they need to, this is particularly helpful if you have dyslexics in the group.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Here’s an example of an alphabet story:

A Band Can Dance Each Friday, Ghostly Hauntings In Jail Kill Lucky Men, Nobody Or Perhaps Quiet Rats, Still That Unifies Villains Who X-Ray Your Zebras.

As I mentioned, it doesn’t need to make sense!

A question or two

Small or large groups

The standard format in our group is a short writing exercise followed by an hour and a half of silent writing on our projects.

At one point I felt like we'd done a lot of small group exercises, and wanted to gain an insight into what everyone was working on, so we did the following exercise instead:

Go round the table and ask everyone to briefly talk about their writing. Each person then asks one or two yes/no questions.

Everyone responds either by raising their hand for 'yes' or shaking their heads for 'no'. You can also leap up and down to indicate a very strong 'yes'.

Questions can be about anything, and you can use them either to help guide your writing or to help find other people in the group who have similar interests.

Here are some random examples you might ask:

I want to write a romance novel and am considering setting it in Paris, a traditional romantic setting, or Liverpool which is a less obvious setting. Who thinks Liverpool would be best?
I need to know more about the life of a farmer. Has anyone got farming experience who I can interview in exchange for a drink?
My character gets fired and that night goes back to his office and steals 35 computers. Does that sound realistic as the premise of a story?

This works best when you give participants some advance notice, so they have time to think of a question.

Murder Mystery Game

Groups of 3 or 4

This exercise takes 20-30 minutes and allows participants to create a murder mystery outline together.

Phase 1 (3 minutes)

Split into groups of 3 or 4
Decide as a group where the murder occurs (e.g. the opera house, a bar, a casino)
Decide one person who will write the details of the victim and the murder itself. Everyone else writes the details of one suspect each.
The ‘victim author’ then invents a few extra details about the scene of the crime, who the victim was (a teenage punk, an adult opera singer, etc.) and the murder weapon and summarises this to the others.

Phase 2 (10 minutes)

Each person then writes a police report as if they are either describing the scene of the crime, or recording the notes from their interview with a single suspect:

Write the following:

1 line description of the victim.
When they were last seen by a group of witnesses (and what they were doing).
How the murder occurred in more detail based on the evidence available.

Write the following (from the perspective of the investigator):

1 line description of the suspect
What they said during the interview (including what they claim to have doing when the murder occurs).
A possible motivation (as determined by the police from other witnesses).

Phase 3 (5 minutes)

Each person reads out their police reports to the other members of their small group
As a group, decide who the murderer was and what actually happened

See more ideas on creating murder mystery party games

The obscure movie exercise

Pick a famous movie and spend 5 minutes writing a scene from it from an unusual perspective. Your aim is to achieve a balance between being too obscure and making it too obvious. Feel free to add internal dialogue.

At the end of the 5 minutes, everyone reads their movie scene to the others and all the other participants see if they can guess what the movie is.

How to hint at romantic feelings

Write a scene with two people in a group, where you hint that one is romantically interested in the other, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

The goal of this exercise is to practice subtlety. Imagine you are setting a scene for the future where the characters feelings will become more important. Choose a situation like a work conference, meeting with a group of friends, etc. How do you indicate how the characters feel without them saying it in words?

Some tips for hinting at romantic feelings:

Make the characters nervous and shy.
Your protagonist leans forward.
Asks deeper questions and listens intently.
Finds ways to be close together.
Mirrors their gestures.
Gives lots of compliments.
Makes eye contact, then looks away.
Other people seem invisible to your protagonist.

A novel idea

Take it in turns to tell everyone else about a current project you’re working on (a book, screenplay, short story, etc.)

The other writers then brainstorm ideas for related stories you could write, or directions your project could take. There are no right or wrong suggestions and the intention is to focus on big concepts, not little details.

This whole exercise takes around 15 minutes.

Creative writing prompts

Exercise for groups of 3-5

If you're in larger group, split up into groups of 3 or 4 people.

Everyone writes the first line of a story in the Zoom chat, or on paper. Other people can then choose this line as a writing prompt.

For this exercise:

Say who the protagonist is.
Reveal their motivation.
Introduce any other characters

Once everyone's written a prompt, each author chooses a prompt (preferably someone eles's, but it can be your own if you feel really inspired by it.) Then write for 10 minutes using this prompt. See if you can reveal who the protagonist is, what their motivation is (it can be a small motivation for a particular scene, it doesn't have to be a huge life goal), and introduce at least one new character.

Take turns reading out your stories to each other.

Write in the first person.
Have the protagonist interacting with an object or something in nature.
The challenge is to create intrigue that makes the reader want to know more with just a single line.

Creative story cards / dice

Cut up a piece of paper and write one word on each of the pieces of paper, as follows:

Give each participant a couple of pieces of paper at random. The first person says the first sentence of a story and they must use their first word as part of that sentence. The second person then continues the story and must include their word in it, and so on. Go round the group twice to complete the story.

You can also do this creative writing exercise with story dice, your own choice of words, or by asking participants to write random words down themselves, then shuffling all the cards together.

Alternative Christmas Story

Every Christmas adults tell kids stories about Santa Claus. In this exercise you write a Christmas story from an alternative dimension.

What if every Christmas Santa didn't fly around the world delivering presents on his sleigh pulled by reindeer? What if gnomes or aliens delivered the presents? Or perhaps it was the gnomes who are trying to emulate the humans? Or some other Christmas tradition entirely that we humans have never heard of!

Group writing exercise

If you're working with a group, give everyone a couple of minutes to write two possible themes for the new Christmas story. Each theme should be 5 words or less.

Shuffle the paper and distribute them at random. If you're working online, everyone types the themes into the Zoom or group chat. Each writer then spends 10 minutes writing a short story for children based on one of the two themes, or their own theme if they really want to.

If working alone, choose your own theme and spend 15 minutes writing a short story on it. See if you can create the magic of Christmas from another world!

Murder Mystery Mind Map

In a murder mystery story or courtroom drama, there's often conflicting information and lots of links between characters. A mind map is an ideal way to illustrate how everything ties together.

Split into groups of 3 or 4 people each and place a blank piece of A3 paper (double the size of A4) in the middle of each group. Discuss between you who the victim is and write their name in the middle of the piece of paper. Then brainstorm information about the murder, for example:

Feel free to expand out from any of these, e.g. to include more information on the different characters involved.

The idea is that everyone writes at the same time! Obviously, you can discuss ideas, but anyone can dive in and write their ideas on the mind map.

Who was the victim? (job, appearance, hobbies, etc.)
Who did the victim know?
What were their possible motivations?
What was the murder weapon?
What locations are significant to the plot?

New Year’s resolutions for a fictional character

If you’re writing a piece of fiction, ask yourself how your protagonist would react to an everyday situation. This can help you to gain a deeper insight into who they are.

One way to do this is to imagine what their New Year’s resolutions would be.

If completing this exercise with a group, limit it to 3 to 5 resolutions per person. If some participants are historical fiction or non-fiction writers, they instead pick a celebrity and either write what their resolutions will be, or what their resolutions should be, their choice.

Verb Noun Fiction Exercise (Inspired by Stephen King)

Stephen King said, "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops."

He also said, "Take any noun, put it with any verb, and you have a sentence. It never fails. Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float. These are all perfect sentences. Many such thoughts make little rational sense, but even the stranger ones (Plums deify!) have a kind of poetic weight that’s nice."

In this fiction writing exercise, start by brainstorming (either individually or collectively) seven verbs on seven different pieces of paper. Put those aside for later. Now brainstorm seven nouns. Randomly match the nouns and verbs so you have seven pairs. Choose a pair and write a piece of fiction for ten minutes. Avoid using any adverbs.

It’s the end of the world

It’s the end of the world! For 5 minutes either:

If working as a team, then after the 5 minutes is up each writer reads their description out to the other participants.

Describe how the world’s going to end, creating evocative images using similes or metaphors as you wish and tell the story from a global perspective, or
Describe how you spend your final day before the world is destroyed. Combine emotion and action to engage the reader.

7 Editing Exercises

For use after your first draft

I’ve listened to a lot of masterclasses on writing by successful authors and they all say variants of your first draft won’t be good and that’s fine. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman summarise it the best:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Terry Pratchett

“For me, it’s always been a process of trying to convince myself that what I’m doing in a first draft isn’t important. One way you get through the wall is by convincing yourself that it doesn’t matter. No one is ever going to see your first draft. Nobody cares about your first draft. And that’s the thing that you may be agonising over, but honestly, whatever you’re doing can be fixed… For now, just get the words out. Get the story down however you can get it down, then fix it.”

Neil Gaiman

Once you’ve written your first draft, it will need editing to develop the plot, enhance the characters, and improve each scene in a myriad of ways – small and large. These seven creative editing exercises are designed to help with this stage of the process.

The First Sentence

Read the first paragraph of the novel, in particular the first sentence. Does it launch the reader straight into the action? According to On Writing and Worldbuilding by Timothy Hickson, “The most persuasive opening lines are succinct, and not superfluous. To do this, it is often effective to limit it to a single central idea… This does not need to be the most important element, but it should be a central element that is interesting.” Ask yourself what element your opening sentence encapsulates and whether it’s the best one to capture your readers’ attention.

Consistency

Consistency is crucial in creative writing, whether it’s in relation to location, objects, or people.

It’s also crucial for personality, emotions and motivation.

Look at scenes where your protagonist makes an important decision. Are their motivations clear? Do any scenes force them to choose between two conflicting morals? If so, do you explore this? Do their emotions fit with what’s happened in previous scenes?

As you edit your manuscript, keep the characters’ personality, emotions and motivation in mind. If their behaviour is inconsistent, either edit it for consistency, or have someone comment on their strange behaviour or be surprised by it. Inconsistent behaviour can reveal that a character is keeping a secret, or is under stress, so characters don’t always need to be consistent. But when they’re not, there has to be a reason.

Show Don’t Tell One

This exercise is the first in The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. It’s a writing guide with a plethora of editing exercises designed to help you reenergize your writing by thinking of what your character is feeling, and giving you the tools to make your reader feel something.

Select a moment in your story when your protagonist is moved, unsettled, or disturbed… Write down all the emotions inherent in this moment, both obvious and hidden.
Next, considering what he is feeling, write down how your protagonist can act out. What is the biggest thing your protagonist can do? What would be explosive, out of bounds, or offensive? What would be symbolic? … Go sideways, underneath, or ahead. How can your protagonist show us a feeling we don’t expect to see?
Finally, go back and delete all the emotions you wrote down at the beginning of this exercise. Let actions and spoken words do the work. Do they feel too big, dangerous, or over-the-top? Use them anyway. Others will tell you if you’ve gone too far, but more likely, you haven’t gone far enough.

Show Don’t Tell Two

Search for the following words in your book:

Whenever these words occur, ask yourself if you can demonstrate how your characters feel, rather than simply stating it. For each occasion, can you use physiological descriptors (a racing heart), actions (taking a step backwards) or dialogue to express what’s just happened instead? Will this enhance the scene and engage the reader more?

After The Action

Find a scene where your characters disagree – in particular a scene where your protagonist argues with friends or allies. What happens next?

It can be tempting to wrap up the action with a quick resolution. But what if a resentment lingers and mistrust builds? This creates a more interesting story arc and means a resolution can occur later, giving the character development a real dynamic.

Review how you resolve the action and see if you can stretch out the emotions for a more satisfying read.

Eliminating the Fluff

Ensure that the words used don’t detract from the enormity of the events your character is going through. Can you delete words like, “Quite”, “Little”, or “Rather”?

Of “Very” Florence King once wrote: “ 'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen .” Delete it, or replace the word after it with a stronger word, which makes “Very” redundant.

“That,” is another common word used in creative writing which can often be deleted. Read a sentence as is, then reread it as if you deleted, “That”. If the meaning is the same, delete it.

Chapter Endings

When talking about chapter endings, James Patterson said, “At the end, something has to propel you into the next chapter.”

Read how each of your chapters finish and ask yourself does it either:

End on a cliff hanger? (R.L. Stine likes to finish every chapter in this method).
End on a natural pause (for example, you’re changing point of view or location).

Review how you wrap up each of your chapters. Do you end at the best point in your story? Can you add anticipation to cliff hangers? Will you leave your readers wanting more?

How to run the writing exercises

The editing exercises are designed to be completed individually.

With the others, I've always run them as part of a creative writing group, where there's no teacher and we're all equal participants, therefore I keep any 'teaching' aspect to a minimum, preferring them to be prompts to generate ideas before everyone settles down to do the silent writing. We've recently gone online and if you run a group yourself, whether online or in person, you're welcome to use these exercises for free!

The times given are suggestions only and I normally get a feel for how everyone's doing when time's up and if it's obvious that everyone's still in the middle of a discussion, then I give them longer. Where one group's in the middle of a discussion, but everyone else has finished, I sometimes have a 'soft start' to the silent writing, and say, "We're about to start the hour and a half of silent writing now, but if you're in the middle of a discussion, feel free to finish it first".

This way everyone gets to complete the discussion, but no-one's waiting for ages. It's also important to emphasise that there's no wrong answers when being creative.

Still looking for more? Check out these creative writing prompts or our dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy creative writing prompts

If you've enjoyed these creative writing exercises, please share them on social media, or link to them from your blog.

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Subscriber only, books | have dreams of being an author here’s how to find a local writing group, if you have a story to tell, free or low-cost local writing groups can offer inspiration and connections..

There’s a common misconception about writing.

“A lot of people think of it as a highbrow occupation,” says Cati Porter, executive director for Inlandia Institute , which serves the Inland Empire with a bounty of writing workshops and literary events. But, she adds, reading and writing are essential skills, and we all do a lot more of it than we realize.

It’s also quite possible that there’s a story in your head that needs to exist on paper. You may have dreams of it being on the bestseller list — or publishing may not be your goal, but your family and friends might cherish your stories. You might even want to re-read yourself someday.

Yet as anyone who’s tried it knows, the act of writing down what’s on your mind isn’t as easy a task as it seems. That’s where writing groups can come in handy. You can connect with more experienced writers who understand what can be a frustrating, if not rewarding process. You also work alongside a group of people who can hold you accountable to meet goals, like “this week, I will write 2,000 words.”

Within a group of writers, you can find support that can help when you’re working on your own.

“Writing is such a solitary endeavor,” says mystery author Maddie Margarita. “So much is going out onto the page that, for me, I need to look for something that fills me back up. No matter how many times I hear different writers talk on the same topic, I always hear something that I can take and use on my writing to improve my writing.”

Margarita also is president of the Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime and vice president of Southern California Writers Association. “I get a lot of satisfaction helping other writers, particularly newer writers or writers who may or may not have the confidence to publish,” she says.

If you think the bar for entry into a writing circle is that you must already be a published author or in an academic program, you’re wrong. Many organizations throughout Southern California offer programming for writers of all levels. These include creative literacy workshops for youth and adults, specialized sessions for writers looking to finish specific projects and talks led by noteworthy authors.

Depending on the organization, programs might be free or low cost. Below, we’ve highlighted five literary organizations with a range of events. If these groups don’t fit your needs, check with your local library, which may offer writing workshops as well, or with a local bookstore.

Beyond Baroque

Beyond Baroque began as an experimental literary magazine. Today, though, it is perhaps Los Angeles’ best-known hub for poets and writers. Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the now-iconic punk band X met there. Amanda Gorman , the United States’ first National Youth Poet Laureate, is an alumni of the Student Poets’ Program and now the namesake of Beyond Baroque’s Future Poetry Prize. Wanda Coleman, the late “unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles,” took part in the Wednesday night poetry workshop, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year.

And those are just a few of the many noted writers to come through the doors. For as star-studded as the history of Beyond Baroque is — the Venice venue has welcomed everyone from Allen Ginsberg to Patti Smith to Viggo Mortensen — it is remarkably accessible.

There are two weekly workshops. In addition to the famed Wednesday night poetry workshop, there’s one on Monday nights dedicated to fiction led by Raquel Baker. Facilitators for the Wednesday night workshop rotate every four months. Anyone can attend these sessions.

“You can be a seasoned, published poet or you could be very green and just learning about poetry,” says Jimmy Vega, associate director of Beyond Baroque. These “community-focused” sessions are also free.

Since the pandemic, that community has expanded geographically. Both weekly workshops are still held on Zoom. “When we were offering the workshop in ’21 and leading into ’22, we used to have folks from all over the country, really, attend,” says Vega. Not only that, he recalls seeing participants from France and the Philippines as well.

“I think keeping it online was something that we wanted to do because it allowed a wider net of folks to participate,” Vega says of keeping the workshops online even after the Venice location reopened. “We wanted to have that stability for some of the writers in those workshops to still participate online and also give them opportunities to come back to the Venice workshops to take part in master classes.”

Intensives typically take place on weekends, focus on specific subjects and range in price. Beyond Baroque has a calendar filled with special events, from book launches to performances to art exhibits in the Mike Kelly Gallery. They’re also home to a bookstore, which boasts the largest selection of poetry in the city.

Beyond Baroque, 681 N. Venice Blvd., Venice; 310-822-3006; [email protected] .

C.A.S.A. Zamora

Inside El Monte’s Zamora Park , a new hub for art, history and community is taking shape. C.A.S.A. (Culture, Archive, Solidarity, Action) Zamora is a project from the South El Monte Arts Posse and co-directed by historian Romeo Guzman and author Carribean Fragoza that highlights local history and literature while encouraging people to create.

The house itself is home to exhibit spaces, plus rooms where their resident artists and writers can work. There’s an archive that came together as Guzman and Fragoza were working on the book “East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte,” plus tools people can use to build their own archives. Additionally, C.A.S.A. Zamora has a lending library that spotlights a cross-genre selection of works by writers from El Monte. “It’s curated to highlight the knowledge and stories that we think are important to tell,” says librarian Pedro Mariano Gonzalez.

As for programming, workshops for youth and adults tap into writing in all its forms. The space opened in late 2023 with a youth filmmaking workshop. Theater and comics workshops are likely in the future. This April, Fragoza — the 2023 winner of the Whiting Literary Award and whose short story collection “Eat the Mouth That Feeds You” was a PEN Award finalist — will be leading a bilingual, all-ages writing workshop.

For events like writing workshops, they’re planning to have activities prepared for children of the participants. “Something that we’re very cognizant of is trying to create opportunities for parents, particularly mothers, to be able to do the workshops without having to worry about childcare or what their kids are going to do while they’re attending this workshop,” says Guzman.

In a twist on the usual workshop format, C.A.S.A. Zamora is planning soccer events where people can engage in talk about subjects beyond sports, including the arts. It’s a way of making the tools and support for storytelling accessible to everyone in the neighborhood.

“I think the project, at its core … comes from the fact that [Fragoza] is a fiction writer. I’m a historian,” says Guzman. “Our biggest engagement with this community has been writing a history of it.”

He adds that the C.A.S.A. approach of focusing on literature is “centering the stories of people, really centering a collective ownership to a place that’s not based on capitalism or property, that’s based on stories and attachment to place.”

C.A.S.A. Zamora, Zamora Park, 3820 Penn Mar Ave., El Monte; [email protected]; instagram.com/semartsposse

Inlandia Institute

“The Inland Empire has a lot of people who have an interesting story to tell and they just need a little guidance and that mutual support,” says Porter, executive director of the Inlandia Institute .

Back in 2006, the anthology “Inlandia: A Literary Journey Through California’s Inland Empire” sparked enough excitement to lead to the founding of Inlandia Institute the following year. Today, the organization boasts programming for writers of all ages, from Creative Literacy for Children to a variety of events for adults that includes workshops at senior centers.

“We want to nurture writers of all levels. It starts when you’re young, but it never ends,” says Porter. “Everybody has a story and we encourage everyone to write their story and think about who their audience might be, even if it’s just family.”

With workshops available for all levels of writers, you don’t need to be considering a career pivot to sign up for one of them. “Not everybody wants to write and become a published author,” says Porter. “Some people just want to write because it feels good to express ourselves. It helped a lot of people during the COVID years.”

For those who do want to publish their work, Inlandia has the annual Hillary Gravendyk Prize for poetry books and the Eliud Martínez Prize for books of fiction or creative nonfiction by Hispanic, Latino/a/x or Chicano/a/x writers. The organization also has an online literary journal and its own book publishing imprint.

“There really is a thriving literary community here and we have worked to develop that, to give people a home so that they don’t have to drive all the way to L.A. for an author talk,” says Porter. “There weren’t very many writing workshops before Inlandia came into existence in this area.”

The Inland Empire is also a physically large region, diverse in both geography and population. Inlandia also tries to address this diversity in their programming. Although headquartered in Riverside, Inlandia includes workshop leaders who are based in cities like Landers and Rancho Mirage. “Because of the nature of Zoom, we’re able to offer these workshops with these kinds of writers to anybody with an internet connection,” says Porter.

All this is to help bring forth the stories of the region. “We encourage people to share their stories because we can learn from each other, and that’s one of our main goals is to learn from each other,” says Porter.

If you want to get involved with Inlandia, follow them on your preferred social media channel or head over to their website for more information.

Inlandia Institute 951-790-2458; [email protected]

Sisters in Crime

Although it began as a group to uplift women crime writers, Sisters in Crime is open to all who love telling, or even just reading, mysteries and thrillers. Author Maddie Margarita joined the Orange County chapter of the national organization six years ago and now serves as president. The group meets on the fourth Sunday of the month at Book Carnival in Orange where they’ll hear from guest speakers on various subjects related to writing and publishing in the genre. Past guests include Naomi Hirahara, Wendall Thomas and Matt Coyle.

“Coming to the meetings is aspirational as well as inspirational,” says Margarita. “I’ve seen readers who are interested in just loving mysteries and reading them be tempted and inspired to start writing and publish their own work. That’s rewarding.”

For those who have stories they would like to release into the world, Sisters in Crime is there to support writers as they submit to publishers. They are also able to provide resources for those looking to self-publish, whether writers need info on how to format their books or are learning how to build a brand.

For members, there are more resources available through the Sisters in Crime network online, including an archive of webinars, forums, online events and book clubs.

Before you join, Margarita suggests checking out a meeting or two. “Not every group is for every person,” she notes. Plus, she adds, the meetings at Book Carnival are free to attend.

Sisters in Crime Orange County, P.O. Box 2102 Newport Beach, CA 92659; [email protected] .

Southern California Writers Association

Southern California Writers Association is open to writers of all levels; its members tend to come from Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. They meet in person in Orange County, on the third Saturday of every month from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

“People talk about their books and challenges,” says Margarita, who serves as vice president of the Southern California chapter.

Meetings also include guest speakers from across genres of writing. Past guests have included horror and fantasy author Jonathan Mayberry, crime writer Rachel Howzell Hall and screenwriter/novelist Dete Meserve. Members of Southern California Writers Association also have access to online chat groups and workshops.

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