Have you ever thought about writing a story? Or perhaps you have written a book and would like help with your next project? Whether you are dabbling with fiction for the first time or a seasoned author, Teesside Writers Group welcomes you.

What is Teesside Writers Group (TWG)?

Teesside Writers Group is a friendly writing online group for all abilities. It is a place to share your writing with like-minded people, where members give and receive helpful feedback on their work. 
 

What type of writing is accepted?

You can submit any type of writing of any genre to Teesside Writers Group. Perhaps you are working on a novel and would like to submit a chapter or two each month. Instead, you may be working on a play, short story, autobiography, poem, character profile or even a plan of a potential story. As this is a creative writing group, we do not accept non-fiction except creative non-fiction such as memoirs/autobiographies.

How do I participate?

Potenital members should contact teessidewritersgroup@gmail.com or send a message via Facebook or Instagram to be included on the upcoming month's e-mail. This will confirm the key dates for the month. Members submit their writing to teessidewritersgroup@gmail.com every 2nd or 3rd Thursday of the month – ‘submission day’. The maximum word count is 4,000 words. Please use trigger warnings if you feel they might affect some readers. Each member then has two weeks to review their allocated submissions (no more than 4 submissions/max 16,000 words). The ‘critique deadline’ is the 4th or 5th Thursday of the month. On this day, members will exchange e-mail/written feedback. 

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How should I critique?

The most useful way to critique submissions is to use the track changes and comments functions on Microsoft Word and amend the original document itself. Most members will provide general feedback at the end of the document but will also add comments along the way, noting what they like/dislike or provide suggestions/thoughts.
As mentioned above, it is helpful if members can send the annotated writing back to the original writer. This is so they can refer to the comments when they edit their work.
If you do not know how to use track changes/comments on Word, it is fine to give an overview of thoughts - areas of improvement, things liked or disliked etc. You can also take a picture of any handwritten notes (but make sure they are legible!).

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How much commitment is involved?

All we ask is that for you to receive up to four constructive critiques, you also provide four constructive critiques. You will never read more than 16,000 words (4 submissions) during the two weeks between submission day and the critique deadline.

Do I have to attend every month?

No, you can pick and choose when you would like to submit. There is no pressure to submit every month. 

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Are there any rules?

Yes, there are rules or rather, guidelines to follow. Firstly, you must not submit plagiarised or highly offensive work. If you do, your submission will not be considered for discussion and you may be asked to leave the group. Secondly, we ask that all members provide honest and constructive feedback and conduct themselves in a helpful manner. There are no requirements on how much feedback members should provide. However, members who continually provide limited feedback (one or two general sentences) may find that other members will only provide them with limited feedback in turn. 

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Does it cost anything?

No. TWG is completely free.

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Need more information?

Contact: teessidewritersgroup@gmail.com or like us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/TeessideWritersGroup