I am coming up on a weekend with my Scribes writing group. We have a great time learning and laughing together. This is an amazing group of writers: Cy Adams, Diana Hurwitz (check out Di's website and blog), Rita W., and Sharon P. I learn from both editing their work and having them edit mine.
Writing groups can enhance your writing and make you a better writer or they can be a frustrating experience and time waste. It is critical to find the right group for you. It may take time. Try a group out and if it doesn't feel right, don't stay with it. Look for a different group until you find the right one. I think the most important thing in finding the right group is to pick a group with writers at or slightly above your skill level. The best type of group is made up of writers that bring different viewpoints and experiences. It is useful to have different perspectives on your writing during the critiquing period. In the Scribes, different writers emphasize different things in their critiques (such as visceral responses, character motivations, technical accuracy, story structure and plot, legal and historical details, emotional understanding of the characters, dialogue, etc.) which is extremely helpful. When everyone agrees on a problem in the writing, it is a red flag to me that I need to go back and fix it. When no one agrees, it is fascinating to listen to the discussion between the other writers and I often find new ideas coming to me by simply listening to the discussion. Ultimately, when you get feedback, you have to decide what is best to incorporate for your story. You must be true to it, using comments and ideas that resonate.
Writing can be an isolating profession and being in a writing group can help you avoid writing in a void. My wonderful Scribes have not only helped me to improve my writing but have enriched my life by being a part of it.