Mission Hill Writers Guild. Everyone welcome.

Is it free?
We meet at Tavern of Tales, and they have a $10 food/drink minimum. In exchange, we get a private room (when available) and stay until 2pm to write and chat. In terms of critiques, it is free to submit a piece for critique once you've completed a mandatory critique of someone else's writing.

What genres do you critique?
About half of us are fantasy/sci-fi writers and the other half come from other genres of fiction. We can do short stories and book chapters. We have less experience in nonfiction, but we are open to it. The word limit is 6k.

How does a critique work?
If you've never critiqued before, please read up on the general process here and here. You'll want to read the story a few days beforehand so you can properly formulate your thoughts about it. To guide your critique, you can mentally answer some of the questions included at the end of the manuscript.

If you'd like to dip your toe into critiquing without much commitment, you can show up on the day of critique and speed-read the first few pages of the story.

The general critiquing process is outlined below.

The Agenda:

1. The author is identified and asked to remain silent until after the discussion.
2. Compliments. Everyone says one thing they liked about the manuscript.
3. Discussion. We'll have a free-flowing discussion about our thoughts on the manuscript. You are free to be as reasonably complimentary or critical as you want.
4. Q & A. The author is allowed to talk for a Q & A, where the author can clarify anything they heard during the discussion and ask for ideas.
5. Hang Out. There is an optional two-hour writing and chatting session after the critique.

How do I submit a story for critique?
Because you are asking us to donate hours of our time to your manuscript, you will need to follow these steps to ensure you are ready:

• Fully participate in one critique. This means reading the entire story before the meeting and considering the questions at the end. With permission, regular attendees of our general writing group may skip this step.
• Once you've participated, you can sign up to be critiqued. To sign up:
• Get the url for our Discord from the name placard on the table.
• Join our Discord and open the sign-up sheet on the critique group channel. It is pinned at the top.
• Fill in the info for your manuscript.
• If you are not tech-savvy enough to do this or are confused, that is fine. Just ask someone at your table to help you. Please do this at an in-person meeting. Do not send us online messages.

***

Rules

1. No broad statements about the quality of a piece. Instead, figure out the exact thing(s) you are reacting to and make a comment about that. In other words, point out the precise instances of bad/good writing within the story on the sentence and paragraph level.
2. No comments directed at the author, their writing ability, their personality, or their worldview. Keep all comments focused on the story in front of you.
3. No dictating how you want others critiquing your story. It's fine to request we focus on a particular aspect. It crosses the line when you act defensive, prescribe how you want to be critiqued, ban certain kinds of critiques, or critique others on their critiquing ability, method, or style.

*I can and will ban people for violating these rules, for violating rules I didn't think I needed to say, or for making people feel uncomfortable.

Location: The Tavern of Tales in Mission Hill (it's a board game bar and cafe). Ask the servers to point you over to the writers group. We're generally in the private rooms.

*We're at a small tavern that is sometimes closed unexpectedly. If you arrive and it is closed, please wait by the door until 11:15am for the rest of us to show up. We'll go to JP Licks in Brigham Circle.

Price: The tavern requires a $10 minimum purchase of food and drink (before tax, tip, and discounts). In exchange, we often get access to a free private room and are allowed to linger until 2pm. This price also covers our critique group.

Mass Transit and Parking: We’re right on the orange line! Plus, easy access to the 66 bus and the Southwest Corridor bike trail. Parking is free on Tremont St outside. Also try Smith St by the Tobin Community Center and Pontiac St and Parker St.

RSVP: RSVP if you want to be informed of cancellations or changes. Most of our regulars don't RSVP. Generally, about 20 people show up each week. If MeetUp says you're "waitlisted", come anyway because that's a bug.

Will I fit in? In an average meeting, about half our people are new, so you shouldn’t feel left out for being new. As a group, we tend to be quiet and curious, so we're introvert-friendly. About half of us are fantasy/sci-fi writers, while the other half represent diverse genres like non-fiction, poetry, fan fiction, romance, etc, so there should be someone there you can talk shop with. Also, plenty of people only come when they can, so there's no pressure to attend every meeting.

Do you do critiques? Yes, once a month. That is listed as a separate meet-up event, though it takes place at the same time and place as this group.

***

RULES

We have people from a wealth of different backgrounds, some with different neurodivergences. These rules are not meant to single people out or make anyone feel bad, but they do need to be said so we all can have fun:

1. Be a good listener. We enjoy debates, but please be mindful that debates are about fun and learning, not about proving others wrong. Writing is so subjective; there is rarely a right answer.

2. No ulterior motives. Please don’t treat us as a captive audience for your poetry reading, book selling, or podcast pushing. It’s fine if these come up in casual conversation, but there’s a big difference between talking about something because it's an important part of your writing and trying to sell us a product.

3. Give the other customers privacy. This is a board game bar, so there will be other customers playing MtG, video games, board games, and role-playing games. It is considered rude to interrupt them or watch them play. If you are interested in learning more about something, please ask the servers for details. They have all the hot gossip.

*I can, have, and will ban people for violating the rules or engaging in behavior that I hadn't thought needed a rule. I'm sorry, but for this, I cannot take into account people's different backgrounds and neurodivergences. Making other members extremely uncomfortable is always an insta-ban.

Location: The Tavern of Tales in Mission Hill (it's a board game bar and cafe). Ask the servers to point you over to the writers group. We're generally in the private rooms.

*We're at a small tavern that is sometimes closed unexpectedly. If you arrive and it is closed, please wait by the door until 11:15am for the rest of us to show up. We'll go to JP Licks in Brigham Circle.

Price: The tavern requires a $10 minimum purchase of food and drink (before tax, tip, and discounts). In exchange, we often get access to a free private room and are allowed to linger until 2pm. This price also covers our critique group.

Mass Transit and Parking: We’re right on the orange line! Plus, easy access to the 66 bus and the Southwest Corridor bike trail. Parking is free on Tremont St outside. Also try Smith St by the Tobin Community Center and Pontiac St and Parker St.

RSVP: RSVP if you want to be informed of cancellations or changes. Most of our regulars don't RSVP. Generally, about 20 people show up each week. If MeetUp says you're "waitlisted", come anyway because that's a bug.

Will I fit in? In an average meeting, about half our people are new, so you shouldn’t feel left out for being new. As a group, we tend to be quiet and curious, so we're introvert-friendly. About half of us are fantasy/sci-fi writers, while the other half represent diverse genres like non-fiction, poetry, fan fiction, romance, etc, so there should be someone there you can talk shop with. Also, plenty of people only come when they can, so there's no pressure to attend every meeting.

Do you do critiques? Yes, once a month. That is listed as a separate meet-up event, though it takes place at the same time and place as this group.

***

RULES

We have people from a wealth of different backgrounds, some with different neurodivergences. These rules are not meant to single people out or make anyone feel bad, but they do need to be said so we all can have fun:

1. Be a good listener. We enjoy debates, but please be mindful that debates are about fun and learning, not about proving others wrong. Writing is so subjective; there is rarely a right answer.

2. No ulterior motives. Please don’t treat us as a captive audience for your poetry reading, book selling, or podcast pushing. It’s fine if these come up in casual conversation, but there’s a big difference between talking about something because it's an important part of your writing and trying to sell us a product.

3. Give the other customers privacy. This is a board game bar, so there will be other customers playing MtG, video games, board games, and role-playing games. It is considered rude to interrupt them or watch them play. If you are interested in learning more about something, please ask the servers for details. They have all the hot gossip.

*I can, have, and will ban people for violating the rules or engaging in behavior that I hadn't thought needed a rule. I'm sorry, but for this, I cannot take into account people's different backgrounds and neurodivergences. Making other members extremely uncomfortable is always an insta-ban.

Location: The Tavern of Tales in Mission Hill (it's a board game bar and cafe). Ask the servers to point you over to the writers group. We're generally in the private rooms.

*We're at a small tavern that is sometimes closed unexpectedly. If you arrive and it is closed, please wait by the door until 11:15am for the rest of us to show up. We'll go to JP Licks in Brigham Circle.

Price: The tavern requires a $10 minimum purchase of food and drink (before tax, tip, and discounts). In exchange, we often get access to a free private room and are allowed to linger until 2pm. This price also covers our critique group.

Mass Transit and Parking: We’re right on the orange line! Plus, easy access to the 66 bus and the Southwest Corridor bike trail. Parking is free on Tremont St outside. Also try Smith St by the Tobin Community Center and Pontiac St and Parker St.

RSVP: RSVP if you want to be informed of cancellations or changes. Most of our regulars don't RSVP. Generally, about 20 people show up each week. If MeetUp says you're "waitlisted", come anyway because that's a bug.

Will I fit in? In an average meeting, about half our people are new, so you shouldn’t feel left out for being new. As a group, we tend to be quiet and curious, so we're introvert-friendly. About half of us are fantasy/sci-fi writers, while the other half represent diverse genres like non-fiction, poetry, fan fiction, romance, etc, so there should be someone there you can talk shop with. Also, plenty of people only come when they can, so there's no pressure to attend every meeting.

Do you do critiques? Yes, once a month. That is listed as a separate meet-up event, though it takes place at the same time and place as this group.

***

RULES

We have people from a wealth of different backgrounds, some with different neurodivergences. These rules are not meant to single people out or make anyone feel bad, but they do need to be said so we all can have fun:

1. Be a good listener. We enjoy debates, but please be mindful that debates are about fun and learning, not about proving others wrong. Writing is so subjective; there is rarely a right answer.

2. No ulterior motives. Please don’t treat us as a captive audience for your poetry reading, book selling, or podcast pushing. It’s fine if these come up in casual conversation, but there’s a big difference between talking about something because it's an important part of your writing and trying to sell us a product.

3. Give the other customers privacy. This is a board game bar, so there will be other customers playing MtG, video games, board games, and role-playing games. It is considered rude to interrupt them or watch them play. If you are interested in learning more about something, please ask the servers for details. They have all the hot gossip.

*I can, have, and will ban people for violating the rules or engaging in behavior that I hadn't thought needed a rule. I'm sorry, but for this, I cannot take into account people's different backgrounds and neurodivergences. Making other members extremely uncomfortable is always an insta-ban.