Willesden Green Writers’ Group aims to
foster a welcoming environment in which to support and nurture writing talent. Each
member shall comply with The Willesden Green Writers’ Group Code of Conduct.
Purpose of Code
The
Writers’ Group is a friendly place, with high quality of work and criticism
that is marked by frankness and its constructive nature. The basic rule is: be
honest, open, respectful, friendly and participate.
Group
meetings are harmonious events, but on rare occasions a member attends whose behavior
becomes disruptive and undermines the ethos of the group. The rules below are
designed to tackle these circumstances.
Membership
& Attendance
Membership is assumed through regular
attendance and by the payment of fees per session.
Any member who does not attend for more
than three months without informing the secretary of a planned absence will be
deemed to have left the group. They will not be automatically considered for
inclusion in events and publications undertaken by the group
Members should arrive at sessions on time.
Behaviour
At all times, members should treat members
and work shared in a meeting with respect.
We have a zero tolerance policy towards
bullying, harassment, sexism, racism, any other prejudice and physical violence.
Any member who acts in this manner will be asked to leave immediately. The
decision of the facilitator of the group is final.
An appeal against the facilitator’s
decision can be made but the majority decision of the Chair, Treasurer and
Secretary (the committee) is final and no further appeal can be made.
Participation
Members are expected to be active
participants who equally seek criticism and feedback on their work and offer constructive
criticism to others.
We look at the craft of writing and members
should criticise the piece as a stand-alone piece of art. Unwarranted personal opinions
that are overly negative without offering constructive practical criticism are not
acceptable.
Members who do not use the critical process
to develop their work further and/or are deemed to be continually disruptive to
the critical environment may be asked to leave. If you are unfamiliar with criticism,
here is a very short but good guide. And another.
Content
We encourage to writers to write whatever
they feel, let creative juices flow. However we will not give audience to:
-Religious sermons or works that seek to
proselytise.
-Racist
or otherwise bigoted pieces, where the intention is not to create art but to offend.
-Pieces that have already been published or
that the author is not interested in improving.
Enforcing the Code
It is the duty of all members to abide by
and uphold the code.
Any concerns that a member is not abiding
by the code should be made in writing to the facilitator during the session or to
the committee at willesdengreenwriters@gmail.com.
If the committee finds validity in those concerns, they will enter a good faith
conversation in the hopes the member will improve their conduct.
If the complaint is particularly serious
and/or is a behavior that falls under our zero tolerance policy, the member will
be asked to leave the group.
All decisions by the committee to exclude a
member are final.
Willesden Green Writers Group
2014
Posts
Post a Comment