The Scrawl

The Scrawl, founded in May 2021, meets every Sunday at 6:30 PM until 8 PM ET. Four of us focus on creative non-fiction, one on fiction. The group began as a no-reading writers group (where no work was discussed, just craft) but quickly found its rhythm with a beta readers / workshop format.

We have room for 8 writers, where 3 must attend and at least 2 to post work to have a feedback call. We also have a writer who focuses on craft and offers topics if we don't have enough requests for feedback on the call, and we have done writing prompts at other times. We've also hosted published writers.

We begin with a touchbase of 15 minutes and we end with a wrap up that allows for questions and feedback about what is working administratively and what isn't, and events planned for the group. The middle hour is feedback on the work, split among the writers who posted.

Work is submitted by Friday at 1AM ET, first come, first served. If the work is late, the submitter has the option to push it to the next week, and we have a folder open for that purpose. Members are asked to read and provide feedback on each piece before the Sunday call. Feedback can be written and sent to the poster, after the call.

Each writer submits between 3 and 15 pages, which members will review before the call. A number of writers are working on a zero draft for a novel our memoir so feedback is less about grammar, and more on craft.

Feedback is typical of, say, a workshop:

1. An initial and positive overview.

2. A preamble at the top of the piece should help the reader know what kind of insight the writer is looking for. A note on opportunities, questions the reader has, and potentially, points where the reader fell out of the narrative might be welcome, depending on what they've asked for. All remarks should help the writer hone their craft.

3. There is the time-honored "cone of silence" while the feedback is given and a simple "thanks" is all that is needed in reply.

4. Civility is key and the leader of the group manages that, as we have no tolerance for abusive language.

5. The writer takes a note of what's been said. Feedback can also be emailed. We leave that up to the individuals. Not all suggestions should be expected to be used.

6. We ask that writers attend every week, on time with a grace period of five minutes after, and to post at least once a month. If writers don't post over a period of weeks, the leader will reach out to discuss.