Should I be part of a writing group?

So, you went on Facebook and joined a writers' group! Yippee! You think to yourself this is going to be great, an open resource to assist you when you are stuck on something. Other people who have the same passion you do. Nothing couldn't be better, this group is going to be magical.

Then you have to swallow your disappointment when it is nothing like that. Most writers' groups drown under a flood of silly and pointless posts. Write X story in X number of words. If you can get past that then you can realize that most groups are ticking time-bombs that repeatedly explode in a rash of internet violence (I'd love to give these people a sarcastic slow clap for being such wastes of space that devote time and energy to fighting each other in such an ineffectual manner) where two main groups antagonize one another: The Social Justice Warrior and the Asshat Trolls. This struggle of two divergent groups waging war against one another will rage on long after we are dust in the wind. Now if you can't tell who is who, that is pretty normal. They are virtually indistinguishable.

Well, if you haven't been chased away or are lucky enough to find a group that is devoid of such antics, sadly, you aren't in the clear. You scroll down your group's wall and find posts like what music do you listen to? What author influenced you to write? Where is everyone from? I call these distraction posts. Time wasters. You might say, well, I can ignore these. True, you can. Truly, that is great if you ignore their lure but they aren't just spiderwebs of wasted time waiting for unexpecting attention to ensnare. They are more insidious. These posts end up garnering attention and because of the way Facebook's analytics work, these posts actually bury other posts. Sadly, most people that join a writers' group are not, in fact, writers. They are just time-wasters. And they love posts like this. Not just posting them, they love commenting. So, these posts make it to everyone's walls and the post by Little Mary Author doesn't make it to anyone's wall.

There are hundreds of other little things that detract from the integrity of a writers' group. People posting random works with no desire to have anyone do anything but congratulate them. Posting of social media links, like for like or follow for follow. Etcetera.

Okay, so you shopped around and found a group that has a tight stricture against time-wasting posts, they only have a small population of SJW and asshats (you'll never get rid of all of them), and seem generally nice people. There can't be anything wrong, can there?

No, not if what you want is to be in a community of writers and use them as a resource to ask questions. Then you, my friend, are golden. If you'd like to better your craft and expand your experience in writing, then you are barking up the wrong tree. In my experience, these groups are great if you'd like to talk to like-minded people and maybe get a few questions answered. Beyond that, writing groups start to fall apart. You are most likely not going to get a rousing conversation about the pros and cons of the anti-hero.

That's what you are looking for? Well, then you are going to have to go searching. Like you will have to parse through many groups to get to a golden egg. Or you can start your own group. That does require a lot of time and energy. Here will be the problems you face going forward trying to find or create said group:

1. Writers have real lives. Writers are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. Means life gets in the way. Most will not post as much as you want them to...
2. Writers are flaky. Writers come from all walks of life and my experience, many are flaky. Comes from being a dreamer.
3. Being active in social media is time-consuming. We've all been on Facebook. Enough said.
4. (If you create your own group) You will have to become a combination of warden, teacher, student, and writer. That's a lot of hats to wear. You will find much more in your tenure as a group admin.
5. Being a group admin is a thankless existence. Don't expect anyone to appreciate your efforts.

Does all this mean that you shouldn't even try to be part of a writers' group? Shrug. I can't answer that for you, you will have to make up your mind for yourself. Bear in mind that I've mainly listed the cons of joining writer groups. There are good points, too. Author's Tale puts on a yearly anthology. Scribblers Writing Organization puts together a magazine called Blood Puddles. Those are just to name a couple. In the end, you will have to weigh the pros and cons and see if being part of a writing group is worth your time.