Writer's Groups

The most prolific time of my life was when I was in 8-10th grade. My best friend Charity and I both loved to write, so we would go home each night and write and then bring our new pages to school the next day and switch. Whenever we got a chance (when the teacher wasn't paying attention, when we were finished early with a test, during study hall, etc) we'd read what the other had written and when we were done, we'd offer each other constructive criticism and encouragement. The other two best friends in our group, Mindy and Julie, didn't write stories (though they did dabble in poetry) but they would also eagerly look over our work and ask the tough questions that every writer needs ("I didn't understand this part," or "I'm not sure what you meant by that.") and it was so encouraging. Having someone else to write for, was like knowing your target audience. It was so valuable in keeping me focused and ensuring that the readability level stayed consistant.

I think part of why I can't seem to get farther than page 2 anymore is because I don't know my target audience. I don't have anyone to focus me and keep me going. To ask those hard questions, and offer encouragement. Perhaps not all writers need this, but I think that I am one who does.

For this reason, I think I would benefit greatly from being part of a Writer's Group. The problem is that I don't know where to find one! If I knew just one other person who might be interested, I'd try to start one myself, but I don't know anyone who writes anymore. I've tried to google it online (didn't help), search the newspaper (couldn't find anything) and even thought of putting up a flier somewhere, but I can't find anyplace that allows you to do that anymore.

Does anybody have any tips on how to find or form a Writer's Group?