I have belonged to a writing group for about 4 years, the Brandywine Valley Writers Group (http://www.bvwg.org). At first, as I was finally concluding my first novel and looking for help in getting published, the group offered some benefit. As time passed and my first novel was completed, and a second and a third novel began to develop, either the group changed or I did. I know the group dynamics changed as people came and left, and my reasons for being a part of the group also changed. Not that I still didn't need some of the benefits a writing group can offer, but it is almost as though I have outgrown what this group can offer. What a group like this has to do is to evolve along with its members or the members, who evolve, will eventually look elsewhere for whatever new challenges and/or offerings they need at that time in their development. I guess groups such as this are very much like people -- people develop and grow and need more sophisticated knowledge than what they previously needed, much like a child grows and needs new and better knowledge in order to continue growing as a person. If the groups don't change and offer more challenging thought, then they stagnate and can only provide the same information to a new group of people who are passing through that part of their life -- a novice writer needs different information than a writer with experience so if the group remains a group for novices, then those that have moved beyond that will find another group. So, as one looks for a writing group, and I believe they can help writers evolve, look for one that is growing and where the people are ahead of you on the leaning curve.

I ran across an old friend yesterday, or more accurately, she ran across me. It had been 10 years since we last saw each other but it was like it had only been a few days - a very busy few days for her since she is now married and has a 6 year-old daughter. Be that as it may (whatever that means), its interesting how there are always some people with whom you never seem to lose the connection; people with whom you can just pick up where you left off. It is the people that make our world -- the events are just the backdrop. So much has changed in the world since we last saw each other, and yet, in many ways, not much has changed within each of us.