A Different Writer’s Group

My current quixotic search for an eventual home finds me thinking seriously about a small town two hours south of me: Yellow Springs, Ohio. Although less than 4,000 residents, YS behaves like a much bigger community. Liberal, infused with heavy dose of arts, free thinkers, yoga studios and even it’s own Zen center, plus nestled in woods, hills, and state parks, YS seems idyllic. And I do know there are several published writers in residence (YS hosts the famed annual Antioch Writer’s Workshop), yet I’ve not able to surface any signs of writers connecting. May simply be that as an outsider, I’m not seeing the local scene…yet.
Writing is a solitary art, and most writers I know would be slow to warm to my vision of a writer’s group. Maybe finding or starting such a group is like growing vegetables: plant cucumber seeds (typical writers group) and in no time you’re begging people to take them off your hands, but try to grow asparagus, which takes years before their exquisite flavor can be enjoyed (writer’s guild approach) and one learns the meaning of the word “wait.” Time, patience, and networking (although I dislike that word and think it’s overrated, or at least, abused in practice) may be what I need to find the writer’s group I envision.