The Dynamics of Writers Groups

There's no doubt that writers groups are one of the most helpful tools in polishing your manuscripts. A good writers group will give you advice on what works in your piece and what doesn't, as well as share their tips on editing and publishing.

Obviously, every writers group is different. Each member brings his or her own style, personality and background to the table. Every group is run differently, with a different set of guidelines and critique styles. Writers groups can even vary in the way they prefer to format their manuscripts, as I have recently learned.

I belong to two critique groups, one online and one in person. Often, what one group doesn't catch the other will. The online group tends to look in depth at things like "Where does the plot not make sense?" and "Is this part believable?" The face-to-face group usually catches my typos and inconsistencies. A lot of times, what comes up in one group doesn't come up in the other. I can't imagine not attending one or the other at this point. Together, they make a great combination.

Spaces after periods

I never thought I would have to talk about the number of spaces after periods in a workshop setting. I've just had it ingrained in my brain for so many years now (since I first started learning MLA) that you put one space after periods, not two. It's also what we teach people in typing and word procesessing classes. It's the new way. Putting two spaces after a period is very old school. (I will admit, until sometime mid-college, I was also convinced that you should put two spaces after a period, until I found out that rule was archaic.)

Here is an explanation from http://www.writing911.com/writing/good-writing-tips/punctuation/one-space-after-a-period-or-two-weve-got-the-answer.html :

Today, using just one space is correct. In BC times (Before Computers), printing presses and typewriters used letters that were all the same width. To help readers see that a new sentence was starting, we inserted two spaces. Today, computers compensate for the varying widths of letters. An "m" no longer takes up the same amount of space as an "i" does. Thanks to these proportional fonts, we no longer need that extra space.

Even the Chicago Manual of Style says that one space is correct. But it seems like everyone still has their own opinion about this topic. I'd like to hear what you think.

Duck Soup has a Website!

And a potential new member! Things are moving over here at Duck Soup!

Are you in the Pittsburgh Area? Check out http://ducksouppitt.wordpress.com/

Duck Soup!

We're fixing some Duck Soup!

What does it mean?

Where does it come from?

Duck Soup is a new writing group for children's books in the Pittsburgh area.

I like to think of "Duck Soup" as a fun mantra meaning "We can do it!" Writing great books is going to be our Duck Soup.

Besides, it's just fun running around saying "Duck Soup"!