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.