Membership in a Writers’ Group Vital to Writing?

On Saturday, I had a conversation with my Granny that went something like this:

Her: So are you still going to the writers’ group?
Me: No.
Her: Well, why not?
Me: The one here doesn’t really offer me anything useful.
Her: Well, are you still writing?
Me: Yes, and I’m starting to make some money with it.
Her: You are??

I’m actually proud of myself that on her question about if I were still writing, I didn’t go with my first reaction, which would have  been “DUH!”

I wonder, though, why some people think it’s of the utmost importance that writers be members of an in-person writers’ group. A good group, like the one I was a member of for several years, can be a great help and a marvelous asset. A bad one can drag you down, leave you uninspired, and eventually lead to lower writing output.

That’s not what I wanted for myself.

That’s why I decided the local writers’ group didn’t work for me. Yes, it can and will be an asset to someone else and I wish every single member in that group the best of luck with their writing.

I don’t think it’s all that vital to be a member of a writers’ group, though. At least, not an in-person one. I get a lot of feedback, support, and encouragement from online groups. Yes, I’d like to be able to go to a good in-person group again, but unless I want to walk 60+ miles one way, that won’t happen unless/until I start one myself.

(For that matter, belonging to Toastmasters is also somehow encouraging/inspiring writing-wise.)

So what groups do I go to online?

The main ones are Web Writing Wonders and the AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler, but there are others I go to.

Even then, do you think Dickens belonged to a writers’ group? What about Plato?

There have been writers a lot longer than there have been writers’ groups. They may likely have had their personal support systems, but that’s not an actual group.

Therefore, to my way of thinking, they’re not absolutely necessary. Helpful, yes. Necessary, no.

You — I — can be writers without belonging to any kind of writers’ group. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.