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My initial assumption, and hope, for the Guilds when I first discovered Story Embers, was that they were for serious learning and writing practice. I expected the Guildmaster to be a sort of mentor to the guild members, and that each guild was carefully built around the needs of the members – for example, genre & writing level.

The General boards were (I assumed) for more basic/ general writing (lower level/ non-genre specific) and for general camaraderie amongst writers. The Guilds were for people who were more committed to actual learning and growth, and would be guided along the levels by the Guildmaster. Sort of like a classroom of self-paced students, with a teacher ready and willing to guide/direct, assist, encourage, correct and provide some accountability. Because the guilds would be based on genre/ interests as well as skill level/ goals, what one student discussed would more than likely be of interest and aid to another. It would cut down on someone having a question, and not being able to get a truly useful answer because those around them weren’t knowledgeable or interested in that genre, for example, and couldn’t give anything more experienced or creative than generic ideas of what *might* help. Generic is everywhere for learning to write. I don’t need to join a group to learn what general principles.

I join writing groups in hopes of learning how to do specifics, or to improve my skills to the point of being publishable. And I don’t want to wait around, hoping my particular question is answered from a pile of questions. Those tend to be more generalized answers, anyway, and I’m not interested in general writing how-to. I have lots of sources for that. When I need help (from actual writers), it is rarely because I don’t know a general aspect of writing.

Obviously, I was rather off in my expectations. And I can’t speak for others, but I cannot help but think that keeping things so generic (not tailored to the group) might be why there is a lack of regular participation. Maybe needs aren’t being met enough to warrant a more dedicated interaction from more members, who are busy elsewhere because they are getting their needs met elsewhere (or attempting to; or have decided to accept not having needs met and don’t see purpose in giving more to a place that isn’t giving them more). Just some thoughts. I know, honestly, for me, one or more of those are reasons I am not more involved. Another is just that I forget to visit the forum unless I get an email of my name being mentioned. I tend to prefer emails to forums, unless in an online class.