Promise 1
We keep group-only writing and personal disclosures within the group.
Guidelines
Protect the writer. Strengthen the work.
A writing group needs trust before it can be honest. These guidelines keep feedback useful, specific, respectful, and tied to the page.
Our group agreement
Our confidentiality promises
These promises guide our meetings, shared writing and feedback conversations.
Promise 2
We ask before forwarding, quoting, photographing, recording or posting someone else’s work.
Promise 3
Sharing a draft for feedback does not give anyone permission to publish or reuse it.
Promise 4
We respond to the writing without making assumptions about the writer’s life.
Promise 5
Writers choose what to share, what feedback to request and which suggestions to use.
Sharing a piece publicly makes it readable by anyone. The writer still owns the work, and publication does not grant permission to reuse it.
Respect ownership
The writer owns the project, the voice, the subject, and the final decision. Feedback is offered, not imposed.
Be specific
Point to a moment on the page. Name what happened to you as a reader. Offer questions before commands.
Protect privacy
Do not share another writer’s draft, personal story, contact information, or workshop comments without permission.
Separate writer from draft
Discuss choices on the page. Do not diagnose, mock, shame, or reduce the writer to the material.
Match the draft stage
Do not proofread an early exploration unless the writer asks. Do not redesign a nearly finished piece unless there is a serious structural concern.
Honor nonfiction ethics
Handle living people, trauma, community history, interviews, documents, and family stories with care.
Follow submission rules
Only submit work you own or have permission to share. Choose private, group or public when saving writing. Public writing appears immediately; workshop notes and character seeds are reviewed.
Keep the table useful
Bring curiosity, brevity, kindness, and honesty. The goal is momentum back to the page.
Feedback Language
Say what helps the writer return to the page.
What I noticed
I noticed the draft returning to... / The strongest image for me was... / I started leaning in when...
Where I got curious
I wanted to know more about... / I wondered why... / I had a question about the choice to...
Where I got lost
I lost the thread when... / I needed one more cue about... / I could not tell whether...
One possible next move
One option might be... / You could test... / The draft may not need this, but I wondered about...
Choose your audience
Private writing is visible only to you. Group writing is for approved group members. Public writing is open to everyone. Registration notes go to the group leader; your public profile is a separate choice.
Know what appears immediately
Group and public writing appear when you publish them. Workshop notes and character seeds are reviewed before appearing publicly.
Consent matters
Do not quote, photograph, forward, post, or retell another writer’s draft without permission.
Questions help
Every shared draft works better when the writer names the kind of response they want.