Rushmoor Writers Group

Aims

Rushmoor Writers group aims to encourage, improve and promote writing and help members get their work published.

Membership

Membership of Rushmoor Writers is open to anyone aged 18 and over interested in writing. All members pay an annual subscription (to be decided at the AGM) at the start of the year.

Members who join partway through the year will be able to pay a reduced fee, pro-rated on a quarterly basis.

If you’re interested in joining Rushmoor Writers, we normally invite you along to a meeting first, so you can see what it’s like.

Paid-up members are encouraged to attend meetings, contribute to our website and social media pages, join our private Facebook group and take part in any Rushmoor Writers events.

We may limit group numbers as we want to make sure every member is able to read and get feedback on their work on a regular basis.

Meetings

The regular fortnightly meetings are currently taking place via Google Meet.

At these meetings each member feeds back on the things they’ve been working on, along with any achievements.

The main part of the evening consists of members bringing their work and the rest of the group commenting on it. Members can bring whatever they like – an extract from a novel, a short story, an article, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, even a cover letter to an agent/publisher or back cover blurb.

All feedback is highly valued and the more people who comment the better, so that the writer gets a cross-section of opinions. Remember, writing is a subjective business. Comments should be constructive and point out the positives as well as the negatives. At the same time, don’t hold back or mollycoddle the writer. Be honest, just tactful. Criticism is essential for the improvement of our work.

Through the year we run occasional workshops, invite external speakers to come and talk to us about writing and publishing, and ask individual members to share their expertise. Members’ endeavours are recognised internally with an annual awards ceremony and celebration. Some of these awards consist of cups donated by former members.

There are also opportunities to get written feedback on your work from fellow members.

And occasionally we do have face-to-face socials.

How money is held and spent

Rushmoor Writers group is funded by the annual subscriptions paid by members. These funds are held in a community bank account on members’ behalf and will be used to pay for venue hire and website fees. Other periodic expenses will likely include external speakers, competition prizes and equipment replacements. Periodic expenses are to be agreed by the Committee.

AGMs

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will happen once a year in the autumn, normally September or October. The main purpose of this meeting will be to elect members of the Committee and decide the amount of the annual subscription for the following year. All members who attend will be able to vote on who they want to fill the Committee roles. The AGM will also be a good time to discuss any changes to the group and what members would like to see on the next year’s programme.

Website, Facebook group and social media pages

We have a website that members use to promote themselves and their work and share insights about writing etc. in the form of blog articles. The website also contains information about Rushmoor Writers, including membership details and the programme for the year. With members’ consent, publishing successes are recorded and promoted on the website. Members can also record their successes in the Rushmoor Writers Success Book.

We have a private Facebook group for members only, where members interact, ask questions, get feedback and post links.

We also run public Twitter and Facebook pages.