This is my first official attempt at blogging my literary adventures, both as a writer and as a writers’ support group leader of the real-time Writers Asylum.
I’ve been writing off and on for over 1o years now, and while published, I have yet to truly make a living from writing alone. Regardless, I started up a support group for writers, particularly screenwriters, in hopes to provide a positive forum for dissenting thought and a haven from the insanity that is Hollywood. From time to time, we’ve had other types of writers be a part of the group, to mixed results.
The following is the original mission statement of the real-time group:
Founded in 1999, Writers Asylum started as a group protest over the firing of a brilliant professor at our alma mater, CalArts. Without a teacher to guide us, we met regularly to discuss our writings. Facilitated by former students, we wanted to keep the same level of enthusiasm that was present during our halcyon college days. From humble beginnings, we’ve kept true to our original intent.
Made up of artists from various backgrounds, Writers Asylum has established simple guidelines in order to set a tone for the group as a whole. We maintain a strict code of confidentiality and adhere to treating each and every member with respect and positive feedback. Although we mainly focus on screenplays, we welcome those who write in other formats and genres.
Our mission is to help writers develop their ideas, give support, swap industry stories and give constructive feedback for their work. We are also interested in providing a forum to talk about our goals and find overall support for them.
This mission statement was written at a time I was disillusioned by costly writing seminars, which seemed, like roadside psychics, to charge more and more for better information. I wanted to provide a free forum for writers to share and critique their work, while improving on my own skills. For most of the last eight years, the Writers Asylum has done just that.
Please post comments here. Otherwise, questions should be directed to me at writersasylum@yahoo.com.
Enjoy.
Joe
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I look forward to this blog taking off here; sounds great. Thanks for offering your ’services’.
Thank you. I just don’t want to say I’m offering ’services.’ I simply want to empower and nurture other writers to keep doing what they’re doing. But thank you just the same!
Nice!