House Rules for Reading Circles

General

  1. We are open to anyone with an interest in creative writing, irrespective of faith and background.
  2. The working language of the group is English.
  3. The sessions will be conducted in a safe and supportive environment.
  4. During a session, each member will have an opportunity to read work aloud.
  5. Members do not have to bring a piece to read and do not have to provide feedback unless they wish to do so.
  6. Members must be respectful and considerate at all times.
  7. Members wishing to provide feedback must do so in a constructive and considered way.

Submitting Work

  1. Act as though you are submitting for publication.
  2. Take time to proofread and spell-check your submission. If there are many errors you will receive feedback on spelling and grammar and not on the content.
  3. To allow time for everyone there will be a limit of 1 item per member before moving to the next member.
  4. If there is time, we shall repeat the circle and a member will then have the opportunity to submit another item.
  5. Bring at least 5 copies of your piece to hand out for reading – all copies must be returned to the submitter at the end unless the submitter chooses otherwise.
  6. Format: 12 point font (Courier New/Arial/Times New Roman), double spaced paragraph.
  7. Irrespetive of type of writing (poetry, short-story, novel, screenply, blog, article etc.) the maximum number of pages a submitter can bring is 3 pages.
    • If you have a longer piece and feel it would be detrimental to shorten it, ask the group for permission and accept the consensus.
  8. Do not submit revised pieces without permission. Many prefer not to give feedback on revisions, particularly if amendments are minor.
  9. Thank people for providing feedback even if you disagree with it.