What We’re About
Let’s get together and provide feedback on each other’s work.
We meet weekly with new work in hand* for others to review, with the hope the deadline will help keep us motivated! Weekly attendance is not required; always consult the events calendar to confirm.
*You may attend to hear the work of others and offer support and feedback, without sharing your own every time
Who and Why
Who are we? We are the courageous wordsmiths who dare to place their dreamings onto the page. We are a group of writers dedicated to helping one another grow stronger and more confident in the craft of writing. We come from all walks of life, from infinite perspectives and backgrounds, and we are united in the goal to keep writing alive as an art form.
Why are we? This group was founded on the idea that great writing depends very little on whether or not it gets sold, or even published, and even LESS on whether or not that phrase or that comma are grammatically correct. We are GLOBAL ISSUE thinkers. Could the topic be more engaging? Does the dialogue flow naturally? Is the character developing, for the audience, the way the author intended? THESE are the questions we concern ourselves with.
Our History
In 2007, Michele joined a meetup for writers. She actually joined three, having set a goal to delve into more full-time writing that year. The first meeting of the Seattle Writers Meetup was held at the home of Rebecca, the woman that started the group. Eight of is decided how we would function and how often we’d meet. But, before the second meetup happened, Rebecca dropped out due to work changes. Two members joined forces to take it over- Thomas and Michele. After two years, Thomas also had work take precedence, so Michele and Laura ran the group for a few years, until Laura moved on, as well. We met first and third Mondays until Stephen and Justin asked if they could host the alternate weeks for a more frequent feedback group, until each of them moved on.
Michele continued to host the now weekly critique sessions. In the beginning we tried several locations – Columbia City Alehouse, Fremont Starbucks, and others, until settling on Standing Stone Healing & Arts Center in Greenwood, where Michele also had her massage therapy office. The large hall was perfect for our Monday night group, which consisted regularly of eight to twenty members at a time.
When Standing Stone closed, we spent a season at Canterbury Ale House on Capitol Hill before landing in the snug room at the College Inn Pub in the University District.
COVID-19 threw us onto Zoom, for virtual meetings. For five years, we continued on Monday nights, now able to accommodate members who lived farther away or were otherwise mobility restricted. It did leave tech-challenged and over-screened members out, but we can’t be all things to all people.
The pros of being virtual meant we could use Google Docs to read along and make editing suggestions for members, instead of printing out multiple copies of our work each week.
The cons of being virtual meant we were sometimes vulnerable to trolls and had to change tactics and connections several times.
By mid-2024, attendance was diminished, and Michele learned that some members were being asked to pay Meetup in order to see the calendar, which was never required before. Emails weren’t getting delivered, and the website was buggy, in general. The group Organizer has always paid the fee to meetup, but that fee had doubled four times in the past two years, so Michele chose not to renew the Meetup group in January 2025, after over 17 years.
Taking a break in 2025, allowed Michele to refocus and tune the group plans. We’ve always held weekly feedback sessions, free and open to anyone, for all kinds of writers and writing. A $5 donation request was collected each week and given to the property manager of Standing Stone for years, and then held by Michele for use towards the group.