Writing Circle Feedback: Creating a Vibrant Community of Scholars

Abstract

An article previously published in this journal described Gray's twelve steps to help scholars write and publish (1999). One of the elements of Gray's process is to share writing drafts and receive feedback from peers. Writing circles provide writers with peer support and reactions to their writing throughout the writing process. Participation in a writing circle can assist junior library faculty in overcoming such factors as fear, lack of confidence, and procrastination. This paper describes the establishment and workings of a writing circle at the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) at BYU that attempted to assist junior faculty librarians to begin and to continue publishing scholarly papers. It reports their feelings about overcoming fear, lack of confidence and procrastination; reports their productivity both before and after participation in a writing circle; and describes how their participation in a writing circle has informed their work with faculty colleagues. Receiving feedback in writing circles, when it's given and received positively, helps create the conditions for a vibrant and sustainable community of scholars