Calling All Phoenixville Area Writers

Come on in and give them your worst. 

Meeting the first Monday of every month, the Phoenix Writers are a group of men and women who have a keen interest in writing fiction and poetry. The group, which started in June, meets on a monthly basis at the to read specific pieces that members need critiqued.

Then, as unofficial spokesman Raymond Rose humorously puts it, they “try not to cry as the group eviscerates the piece.”

At the root of it, the club’s purpose is to criticize each other’s work. “I know that sounds a little tongue-in-cheek,” Rose says. “However … it's the truth."

Patch: As you see it, why is criticism the purpose of your group?

Rose: A writers' group, at its core, is about writers giving feedback to other writers. Mostly, this comes in the form of criticism. 

When I say criticism, I don't mean commenting, "That sucks." That has no information in it whatsoever. But if you were reading a short story about a man grieving for his wife's death and someone said, "I didn’t believe that he was truly upset that his wife had died," now we're getting somewhere. 

Part of being a storyteller is that you have to "sell" the reader on ideas, feelings and plot devices to make them "buy" the story. Criticism can be a very powerful tool that allows us to see a piece of work through others eyes and see how we weren't selling the reader on the idea. It can point out faults that we were, perhaps, too close to see. Criticism can make a better writer.

Don't get me wrong, praise is wonderful. Praise can have great information in it also. But, I feel, the best praise is when you read a piece, the group tears it apart, you rebuild it, and they love it! To have the esteem of your peers and the satisfaction that you learned something as a writer ... that's the best kind!

Patch: What people can expect if they go?

Rose: People can expect a group of men and women who are passionate about writing, who have a keen eye for detail and mechanics, and who can be very tactful (when need be) with their observations. This is a group for someone who wants to become a writer or a better writer.

Patch: Are there any success stories along the way from your group's members?

Rose: For the most part, we are all works in progress. Some see publication as their goal while others just want to write for the sake of writing. Our group is not about getting someone published, but about making someone a better writer.

Patch: Do you hope to get more people involved, and how do you go about attracting new members?

Rose: We would love to get a little bigger—not too big that we become unruly. The library's room that we use is rather small. However, there's nothing that says we couldn't subdivide into smaller groups that wish to focus on one particular medium, say novels, poetry, screenplays, and that sort of thing. I feel that a core group of participants is always going to be stronger than a large group of viewers.

If You Go: 

When: First Monday of the month; the group’s next meeting will be Nov. 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Where: Phoenixville Public Library, 183 Second Ave., Phoenixville 

More Information: To submit writing samples or for more information, e-mail Raymond Rose at theraymondmrose@gmail.com.