Writing about writing

So I joined a writing group recently, or more accurately I helped start a writing group recently.  It's going well and there are four members, we have known each other for a long time but not through our writing so we are comfortable enough to critique each other honestly but not familiar enough with each other's work that we get caught up in the author's voice.

I had forgotten how nice it is to be critiqued by people who's opinions you respect while in a supportive environment.  I enjoy having my beliefs and assumptions challenged, after all if I don't allow other people to challenge my ideas how can I know how strong they really are?  This includes the ideas and application of those ideas that I put into my writing.

The problem, of course, is the supportive environment.  It is ridiculously easy to be abused for thinking something by someone with a different view, the problem is that so many people seem to be less interested in having a discussion that challenges the beliefs of both parties than in having a discussion to prove the other wrong and convert their thinking.

Having different opinions is what makes life interesting, and I hope this writing group allows me to have these wonderfully challenging conversations and, as part of this, improve my writing and hopefully churn out something that may even be worthy of publishing someday.