Monday, February 20, 2012

Inklings ~ A Writer's Group


JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Roger, Green, Humphrey Havard, Lord David Cecil, Owen Barfield, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, Nevill Coghill, John Wain and other members attended regular sessions of the Inklings.

The Inklings met to discuss and read aloud the bits and pieces that would become some of our favorite literature. These heavy hitters met in the sitting room of the innkeeper at the Eagle & Child or the the Lamb & Flag pubs in Oxford England.

Imagine the fabulous conversations between these great authors. Mentioned by some of the other members were the sighs when Professor Tolkien brought a piece about elves again! Such was the sentiment about the crafting of his epic novels.

Comforted by the fact that productive writers encourage each other, I’m pleased to consider myself a member of such a group. Local to my area, the Coffee House Writers Group is my home base much like the Inklings were to some of my favorite authors.

Pleased I am with the banter of an honest critique. I’ve found that in spite of authors’ egos, there are some writers who thrive in the energy of other similarly creative writers. We’ve found that technology only enhances the connections between we who are 21st Century writers.

If you are a writer, or wish to be, find your nesting group of other writers who will encourage and critique your work. We need only look to the productive nature of the Inklings to see that there is value in bouncing ideas off other writers.

More information:

Inklings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklings

Coffee House Writers Group http://www.meetup.com/CoffeeHouseWritersGroup/

JRR Tolkien http://www.tolkiensociety.org/

CS Lewis http://www.cslewis.com/

4 comments:

Cynthia said...

Nice that you found a writers group you feel at home with. I haven't found a writers group yet- right now I have critique partners- but I'm constantly keeping my eye open to what's out there.

Thanks for visiting my blog! I look forward to reading more from you during the A to Z challenge.

Kate OMara said...

Thanks Cynthia :)
I found my group through meetup.com

Unknown said...

Hi Kate. I would love to be part of an Inklings - especially the way you describe it. I think it's time to set something up with some fellow writers... I enjoyed your blog, and will be back.
Gwynneth
http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.com

Kate OMara said...

Hi Gwynneth, I completely agree. Reading about the friendships and excellent literature that came from the Inklings, I decided to eek out a local writers group.
I hope you find one near you. :)