November 2026 …
I have been a member of the Fernhill Writers’ Group for nearly five years and am grateful for the way it has helped me develop my writing craft. At the time I joined, I was unsure what membership would provide. Now I have no hesitation about its power to help me grow as a writer.
Many eminent writing authorities and authors promote the idea of building a writing community, where ideas can be shared and skills developed. It’s quite natural for new members to approach a writers’ group with trepidation, sometimes stemming from uncertainty about whether their writing skills are ‘good enough’. Occasionally, new members wonder whether their precious idea for a long novel might be stolen by someone in the group! Usually neither fear eventuates. A writers’ group is a crucible of inspiration and encouragement; a space to learn that becoming a writer of note is an achievable goal.
I have been fortunate enough to participate in a group that embraces writers of any skill level. Members are always ready to point out the strengths of any story presented at our fortnightly meetings. The level of encouragement also includes gentle suggestions as to where a story may be unclear, or where basic writing skills have lapsed in the haste to generate a complete story.
It becomes a testing ground for members aiming to enter their stories into writing competitions, and a place where a sense of play or experimentation emerges, when new techniques are trialled. Each story or poem presented usually triggers much broader conversation, often revolving around writing techniques, the experience of readers, or simply soaking up the moving interpretations of something unique and well-written.
The greatest value, however, comes from the exposure to other styles and genres. Our group is very eclectic in demographics, spanning young mothers to elderly retirees. We all have our preferred styles and genres, yet the group willingly embraces everything tabled. Whether the characters are profoundly surreal, darkly gothic, or ordinary suburban folk, we celebrate those aspects of the stories that resonate.
But the benefit goes deeper. Exposure and considered discussion of these styles enrich our own writing. We get to experience what is possible; unique turns of phrase become the norm, and clever plot structures are discovered. Incrementally, the character voices from stories read and discussed in the writing group add distinctiveness to our own characters and narrators. Lyrical styles are adopted, by choice, for some characters, while others become uniquely laconic and sarcastic. Simple phrases and hidden meanings become our natural building blocks.
On many occasions, members have made the observation that the writing standard of the group has risen. This year marks the first time we have generated our first anthology of short stories and poems, entitled Fernhill Shorts 2026. Contributors were given the opportunity to provide anything that they enjoyed writing, which gave them a sense of achievement. As the editor of this anthology, I was amazed at the diversity of stories collected. It demonstrated confidence in the writers’ skills and their preferred styles and genres. We haven’t all just merged into one dominant writing style or genre. Rather, we have found a diverse literary voice and the confidence to share it with a wider readership.
A recent case demonstrates the value of the group. Our group has grown to the point where we now have a third meeting night each month, dedicated to members who are writing novels. The evening is spent providing feedback on one or two chapters. One evening, one of the members, Shari, tabled a couple of pages of dialogue. This wasn’t a story or an outline, just a record of an imagined conversation between two characters in a dystopian/speculative fiction genre. She was ambivalent about what to do with the concept but wanted feedback about the dialogue. It triggered a brainstorming session for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. While speculative fiction was not the preferred genre for most of us, the session gave us free rein to imagine many wild and crazy ideas. Perhaps, not regularly reading speculative fiction even allowed us more freedom to imagine scenarios. At the end of that time, Shari was glowing with the pool of ideas she had accumulated. Rather than being a scrap of dialogue, she could now envision a much longer story, to the extent of a novella or even a complete novel.
The sense of imaginative play is the power of the group. It is our safe place and we are not constrained by perceived norms. We can have thought-provoking conversations on the widest imaginable topics with no sense of agenda, bias or seeking to influence others. We are all there to help others become the best writers they can be. In doing so, we become better writers too.
That is the power of the writing group.