As I wrote in the post WHY GROUPS CAN HELP WRITERS (October 9, 2007), a writing group is an evolving and powerful organism. There are many types of writing groups, of course, ranging from those where members read their work to each other for comment, to those where members gain the courage to start working in the first place, to those joined because members are having difficulty carrying out and finishing what they started. I work primarily with the last two groups, which can overlap. I should also add that I work primarily over the telephone on a bridgeline, so members can live literally anywhere .
Writers in the groups I'm writing about tend to have two major problems: with anxiety and/or with time management--general organization. The anxiety can stem from perfectionism or insecurities that have been reinforced by outside criticism. Problematic time management and organizational practices can be part of one's personality or come from a lack of knowledge of possibly better ways of doing things.
So how can a group help with such personal issues?
