Linda Studley

Our Little Group

Rebekah and I reading at the January Coffee House

I belong to a group that meets, approximately, every two weeks to talk writing. There’s only 4 of us (and a member who can occasionally attend), but we generally fill a very enjoyable hour and a half to two hours on a Saturday morning.
We meet in a local tea house, drink tea and usually avail ourselves of their delicious tea biscuits, and take turns reading our original writing (generally poems, but sometimes short stories) and offering input to each other. We all have copies of each other’s work prior to the meeting so we can take our time and make comments and mark up the pages. We take our writing seriously however we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s a fun morning spent with friends, including some social chit chat, good food, and a wonderful sense of commradery.
I have learned many, many things from these writing friends. I believe my writing has improved because of their influence. I think having that regular meeting to look forward to has pushed me to write more often and more thoughtfully. Most of these people I rarely see except at meetings of “Our Little Group”, but when we do meet, we have a special bond that only comes from creative kinship and the knowledge that we share something special – this love of the language – this desire to write.

The next poem – Goddess in the Garden – was written a few days ago and will be the next piece of my writing to be critiqued by the group. I thought I’d put it here today and then, if it turns out that I make any changes, I’d post it again and talk about why and how the changes were made. Feel free to jump in any time with your feedback or comments on any of my writing, I’d love to hear them!