Guidelines for Members

The EGWG provides education, ideas, support, encouragement, and networking opportunities to fellow writers. Guild members regularly publish their work. Others are working toward publishing, and members gain fresh and valuable insights at the monthly meeting or by contacting other members via email. A Gmail account will facilitate getting critiques as the guild members use Google Docs to share their work in progress. Gmail is easy to get, and it’s free.

The Elk Grove Writers Guild is an inclusive organization. Everyone is welcome no matter the color of your skin, where you come from, or who you love. No matter what you write, no matter who you are, if you’re a writer, or want to write but haven’t yet, we welcome you. The Guild’s goal is to support and encourage you from the initial book or story idea to a finished draft and beyond.

The Guild meets on the first Friday of each month at the Round Table Pizza Restaurant, 10054 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove, from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM.  All are welcome to come, chat with us, and then decide if they want to become a member. 

At the meeting, a facilitator guides the discussion and keeps it on track as members share what they’re working on, ask questions about writing, or reveal something they’ve learned that will benefit other members.

 Meeting Etiquette

  1. The Elk Grove Writers Guild meets the 1st Friday of each month at  the Round Table Pizza Restaurant, 10054 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove from 12:30 PM to 2:30  PM.  
  2. Members are encouraged to come a few minutes early to the meeting, so members can get their lunch before the meeting starts.
  3. Leave your prejudices at the door. We are there to support each other and to provide safety from rejection. Please refrain from talking about religion, politics, or other belief systems that don’t pertain to writing or the works being discussed.
  4. Membership is a privilege. Any member who is disruptive, ignores this information, or verbally attacks another person’s writing will be asked to leave the guild and have their membership revoked.

Sharing Works in Progress(WIP) for Critiques

To have your work critiqued, you will need a Gmail Account. You will be sharing your work on Google Docs, sometimes referred to by other members as “the wall.”

To Submit

  1. First, copy what you want to put on the wall. (Highlight and Control C.)
  2. Enter Google Docs in your browser. If you have trouble, you may have to set up a Gmail account.
  3. Choose Free Online Documents. It might have a different title but will list it as free.
  4.  Choose Personal.
  5.  Hit Start a new document.
  6. Change Untitled Document to the title of your work-in-progress.
  7. Drop down to the empty page and copy your work. (Control V)
  8. When you’re finished, go to FILE, and choose SHARE.
  9. Under PEOPLE is a box asking for names or emails. Below that is a line that starts with SHARED WITH. The first time you do this, you might have to enter the information. When you use it again, the names should pop up in ADD MORE PEOPLE. You might enter your email address too. That way, you know it was sent and you can easily access it when needed.
    1. On the right-hand side of the share page there is a pencil icon. Click on the down arrow. This drop-down box gives you a choice of how to share. Choose COMMENT OR SUGGEST. This allows people to make suggestions and comments but doesn’t allow them to edit or change your work.
    2. If you want to tell people something about your WIP, use NOTES.
    3. Click DONE and it’s sent.

When you leave the site, your work is automatically saved.

When Critiquing 

  1. After you access the site, you’ll highlight or mark the text you want to make a comment on.
  2. A PLUS SIGN will pop up on the right. Click on it, and a comment box appears. Make your comment or suggestion in the allowed space and choose the comment button to move on.
  3. When you leave the site, the author receives a notification that you’ve gone over their WIP. If you wish to leave a note, use a comment box as above or share, as in #9 above. Again, your comments are saved.

Critique as You Wish to be Critiqued.

  • What stopped you reading, sounded wrong, or wasn’t clear?
  • Make any suggestions for the writer’s consideration: word choice, sentence structure, typos, and more.

 

 

  • ♦ Do the scenes move the plot forward, or take you out of the story? Should they be removed? Do they need more detail? Is there an action and reaction?
  • ♦ Are there plot holes or inconsistencies?
  • Characters – Are they believable; does the protagonist have a purpose; Are they critical to the story;
  • Point of view – Is there head-hopping – two points of view in one paragraph or scene?
  • Dialog – is there unnecessary chit-chat? Would the character really say that? Is the dialog an unnecessary info-dump?
  • How’s the pacing? Is it too slow or too fast?
  • Do the transitions create anticipation, suspense, or interest?
  • Finally, be sure to tell the writer about the good things in their story too; what did they do right? And meet your promised review deadline to show respect for your writer’s time.