Welcome to the Canandaigua Writers Group!
Our group was founded in 2005, by some writers who had attended a Wood Library writing workshop. Their interest in continuing to meet and explore their common love of writing formed the Canandaigua Writers Group (CWG.)
We meet usually on the first Friday of each month, for about two (2) hours. The schedule may change to the second week of a month in the event that a holiday interferes with the original schedule. Before Covid, we met in person at the library, at a different time. Since then, we meet via Zoom, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Diane Jones is the group’s leader/facilitator. Writers sign up to read during the month preceding the meeting, and are allotted about five (5) to seven (7) minutes to read something they have written; then the group gives gentle feedback. Often, this process results in a different perspective for the writer, who may choose to accept suggestions to change a word or a phrase, or to add something to their piece which may help to clarify something, or to inspire the writer to develop a new chapter or storyline.
Our writers create poetry, essays, memoirs, novels, technical pieces, romances, sci-fi, travel, children’s stories, and just about anything that you can imagine to be written. Some include artwork which they have created to accompany the written piece. CWG established a blog around 2013, which includes a collection of our work. The blog may be viewed at www.canandaiguawriters.blogspot.com .
We have about 40 members on our current membership list, with an average monthly attendance of 16. Some members do not enjoy meeting via Zoom, but Zoom does have some advantages: it allows distant members to participate, and it’s also convenient for multi-taskers, or for those who enjoy the coziness of their home, or just don’t like getting dressed to drive to a meeting. The library’s adult services librarian sends the Zoom link and hosts the meeting. Prospective members contact the library for the link for their first meeting; (alawrence@pls-net.org.) If they decide to join our group for future meetings, they will be included in the monthly reminder email that is sent to all members. There is no membership fee. The only contributions required are your passion for writing, your interest in meeting other writers, and your thoughtful participation in our meetings.
Periodically, we devote about thirty minutes during a meeting to Focus on Craft: a time where we learn about specific areas to help us improve our writing. These subjects may include such things as grammar, point of view, writer’s block, character and story development, and publishing. We have also held annual workshops, off-site, with speakers and writing prompts, to stimulate our imaginations. Several novels have emerged as a result of a simple writing prompt at these workshops.
So, welcome to the Canandaigua Writers Group! Join us when you are able. Be inspired by the interactions and encouragement of our members. Have fun. But, most of all, keep writing!
Diane S. Jones
CWG Leader/Facilitator
Canandaigua, New York
September 2021
