vancouverWriting is lonely work. That's partly the appeal. But at some point most writers want a room of people doing the same strange thing, even if nobody talks for an hour.
Vancouver has a good handful of these rooms. Some are silent. Some are social. Some care a lot about dragons. Here's how to find the one that fits, sorted by the kind of writer you are. Every group below comes from the directory's writing page.
If you need to actually get words down
Plenty of us don't need feedback. We need a time, a place and other people quietly typing so we feel too guilty to scroll.
Shut Up & Write! Vancouver is exactly that. You meet on the 8th floor of VPL Central, write from 10am to 1pm, then chat. The group describes itself as "accepting, supportive, judgment-free," and the format does a lot of the work. You show up, you write, you leave with pages.
If you can't get downtown on a weekday, Power of the Pen Friday Writing Group runs the same idea online. Sessions go from 12:30 to 3:30pm in 45-minute writing blocks, with chat breaks in between. It's a good fit if you write from home and miss having colleagues.
If you want people to read your work
Sharing work is scarier than writing it. It's also how you get better.
Vancouver Writers Group is the broad option. Members share fiction, non-fiction, comedy, scripts and poetry. It's supportive, and some nights move to a bar. If you want feedback and a social life out of the same evening, start here.
The Grind Writers' Group is open to writers of all levels and genres. It's listed through the library's writing resources, which is also a good place to find out how to join.
If you write a specific genre
Vancouver Genre Writers is for sci-fi, fantasy and horror writers. Their own line is "let our geek flags fly," which tells you most of what you need. Nobody in this group will ask why your book needs a map.
If you want a long-running community
Some writers want more than a weekly session. They want an organisation that will still be there in five years.
North Shore Writers' Association is a non-profit fellowship of writers at all stages. It mixes teaching with community, so it suits you if you want to learn the craft and know the people learning it with you.
Historic Joy Kogawa House Writing Sessions happen in a beautiful heritage house, and also on Zoom. Writing somewhere that pretty is a quiet kind of motivation. The community is a supportive one.
Thursdays Writing Collective / DTES Writers Collective runs creative writing in the Downtown Eastside. It's a writing community rooted in its own neighbourhood.
If you're a poet
Writing groups and poetry nights overlap more than people think. A lot of poets write alone and then read out loud.
Vancouver Writers Group welcomes poetry. For the reading side, go to the poetry and spoken word page. ROLL (Read Out Loud Love) is a monthly open mic "rooted in tenderness, community, and shared language," which makes it a gentle first stage. Enabling Arts Poetry Open Mic in Gastown is another supportive room. If you like competition, Vancouver Poetry Slam is the competitive spoken word community. Death Rides a Unicorn runs literary and spoken word nights, including The 17 Syllable Slam.
If none of these fit
Two resources are worth a bookmark. VPL Writing Resources keeps a free list of writing groups and tools from the library. Federation of BC Writers has a directory of writing groups across the province. Between them, you'll find smaller circles that don't have much of a web presence.
And if you love fountain pens as much as the words, Vancouver Pen Club shares the hobby with modern and vintage pen fans alike.
How to stick with one
The advice here is the same as for any group. Go three times before you decide. The first session you'll feel like a stranger with a laptop. By the third, someone will ask how the chapter is going. That question is half the reason to go.
You don't need to be "a real writer" to join any of these. Writing is the qualification.
Know a group I've missed? Browse the full writing list, or add one you know about.
Part of the Vancouver Community Directory, a free, community-built list of 250+ groups, clubs, and meetups across the city.