The truly inspirational venue for the Maynooth Writers' Group
For anyone with aspirations to write I recommend you find where your nearest writers' group is and join it now. If one doesn't exist, then try and set one up yourself. There is nothing more useful to a fledging writer than to discuss your work with other writers. Friends and family might enjoy reading your works-in-progress, and may indeed give you some good feedback and praise. However, they will probably not be as critical and thorough in their feedback as someone else who has been spending all their own free time slaving away over a hot laptop.
And because a writers' group will be made up of people that you don't know very well, they will be less concerned about the impact of their comments on your feelings. To really improve your writing skills, and to create something that is commercially viable, you need criticism that is open and brutally honest. At first, this might be slightly painful, but believe me, before too long you will develop the perfectly formed thick skin, which is the essential requirement for this job.
It is also brilliant to find out what other people are writing about in your area. You never know who you might meet at the group. You could be sitting next to a future Man Booker prize winner. I am fortunate to have joined the Maynooth Writers' Group that meets once a month at the fabulous Carton House Hotel. For the price of a pot of tea (or a pint of Guinness in my case) we get to sit in one of the lovely bars or sitting rooms and discuss our current projects. There is a great mix of novelists, poets and historical researchers, so it is always a great night out. I have received so much helpful critiquing on my novel. I am almost ready for round two of submitting it to agents/publishers again.
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