If you have

ever thought of writing the great American novel or if you simply believe

the pen is mightier than the sword, you may want to drop by a meeting

of the Fayette Writers Group.

The Fayette

County Public Library has been hosting the Fayette Writers Group on most

every Saturday morning for just over a year. The group started meeting

in Februrary of 2002 and has given local writers a venue to share their

material with others, get constructive criticism and also learn valuable

skills and information from a variety of special guests. There were close

to 20 members at last Saturday's meeting, ranging in ages from teenagers

to seniors.

Some members

are working on non-fiction books, while others are interested in writing

screenplays and others share their poetry. The group is hoping to publish

an anthology of its work soon. A number of the members of the group are

published authors and can offer excellent advice to authors seeking their

first published work.

Throughout

the year, each member will most likely give a presentation or two about

something they feel is important to share with their colleagues. Published

authors may give a presentation on the pitfalls to avoid when seeking

publication, while poets may give a presentation on dramatic reading and

presentation. The topic at last week's meeting was writing dialogue and

the group discussed finding and analyzing different styles in some of

their favorite works.

After each

week's presentation, the group members share their material and their

thoughts on how to help each work become greater. The group has also had

the benefit of meeting a panel of published authors in a seminar entitled

"Why and How I Write," and will meet several more established

and well-known authors in the coming year.

One woman,

who was attending the meeting for the first time, summed up the need for

a group like Fayette Writers Group by saying that "there are a lot

of good writers out there, but not all good writers write readable copy."

If you are interested in writing and would like to improve and help others

improve, visit the Fayette Writers Group every Saturday from 10 a.m.-noon

at the Fayette County Public Library.

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