We are a group of character animation professionals and students who gather regularly to share our work and critique it, discuss animation workflow and technique, and just have an excuse to get away from our computers for a while. If you are working professionally, studying animation, freelancing and between jobs, creating new work and want feedback (and are tired of receiving it through the internet), or just want to join the discussion and improve your animation, you should join us! If you've …

This group is for working artists who live in Long Beach and want to build a community and support group with other working artists. We critique one another's work and discuss how we can put Long Beach on the map as a vibrant Artists Community. We also support the Arts in Long Beach by visiting Museums, Galleries and non traditional art openings.

A group of motivated, advanced writers who have completed at least one novel or collection of short stories and who have and continue to study the craft and art of writing fiction. Membership is limited because of the focused attention that we desire to share through honest but positive critique. If you have never read or heard of Joseph Campbell's, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, then his group may not be a good fit.

Literary fiction writers group seeks additional members. Seeks serious short story and novel writers. The small writers group meets every two weeks at rotating locations in and around Downtown LB. The group format is patterned after UCLA Extension Writers' Program. Writers submit up to 15 pages of fiction one week in advance, read and make written critiques on manuscripts, and provide verbal feedback at meetings. The aim is to prepare written material for publication.

"The dreamers of the day are dangerous people. For they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.” ~D.H. Lawrence Poets and Dreamers Between our three related groups, Poets and Dreamers thrives as a multi-faceted circle of over one thousand professional and creative writers who gather throughout Southern California. Our vibrant, active circle represents established and aspiring authors of commercial fiction, non-fiction, memoir, romance, crime and legal fiction, short fiction …

"The dreamers of the day are dangerous people. For they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.” ~D.H. Lawrence Poets and Dreamers Between our three related groups, Poets and Dreamers thrives as a multi-faceted circle of over one thousand professional and creative writers who gather throughout Southern California. Our vibrant, active circle represents established and aspiring authors of commercial fiction, non-fiction, memoir, romance, crime and legal fiction, short fiction …

The idea of this group is to establish a community of writers that can learn from eachother on many different levels.  Whether this is through critique groups, free writing, reading, talking, etc. I hope that this group has something for everyone. This group welcomes writers of all levels.  This is based on the philosophy that we never really stop learning.  No matter your walk of life, we all have some knowledge to barter. Or pilfer, as book bandits do (no stealing or plagerism is insinuated wi …

This group has grown beyond my capacity to manage, so we are currently closed to new members.  In order to re-open the group, I need 2 people to join the leadership team.  If you're interested in becoming an assistant organizer, please contact me directly. "A blessing for the writers among us: May all your dead ends be beautiful" - Linford Detweiler We currently have two meetups--one dedicated to script review and feedback and one dedicated to producing short films. Both meetups are open to writ …

Whether you are published or simply enjoy writing, come join other local writers in a relaxed atmosphere where we can share our writing, offer critique and industry tips, and have fun honoring our creativity with the written word (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenplays etc. - all genres welcome!). This group meets in downtown Long Beach and requires attendance in order to access the site where we post our work and other writing-related information.

"The dreamers of the day are dangerous people. For they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.” ~D.H. Lawrence Poets and Dreamers Between our three related groups, Poets and Dreamers thrives as a multi-faceted circle of over one thousand professional and creative writers who gather throughout Southern California. Our vibrant, active circle represents established and aspiring authors of commercial fiction, non-fiction, memoir, romance, crime and legal fiction, short fiction …

Looking for a safe haven where you can submit work, get a critique that won't crush your soul? And, of course, have fun? We formed in 2008 as a place where writers could share work without fear. People who want to compete or tear others down for the sake of tearing others down need not apply. Granted, you will get constructive criticism. There's no point in sharing work if we can't grow from it. Rules of Engagment Work should be submitted by 9:00 p.m. the Saturday prior to the meet up. Submissio …

This group exists to provide local artists, hobbyists and art students with a variety of professional level opportunities to draw and paint from live models. We also offer professional classes in drawing, painting and color theory, taught by professional instructors.

The purpose of this group is to bring together active professional alternative wellness practitioners (reiki, hypnotherapy, EFT, NLP, etc.) who seek and are willing to provide peer support for others on similar paths. (This group does not provide instruction or certification, and is only open to people who are actively practicing or beginning a professional practice right now.) The underlying concept of the group is that each of us can enjoy greater success by working together - by sharing busin …

The advent of such photography critique sites such as You Are Not A Photographer means that many of the "pro" photographers these days don't even know the bare minimum and have probably never set foot in a real darkroom. I formed this group because I believe film photography will never truly die, and instant gratification from Instagram doesn't always satisfy! If you're tired of seeing Photoshopped photos ALL the time and you miss the graininess that comes with film and the gratification of maki …

The mission of the Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn fosters self-confidence and personal growth. http://www.octoasters.com/ Each week members are asked to take a role in conducting the meeting. Roles include speaker, evaluator, aah counter, grammarian, Table Topics Master, General Evaluator and Toastmaster to name a few. Speakers prepare, …

A 2-hour long class once a week on Wednesdays In the first hour, the moderator brings in a topic related to poetry or prose (e.g., Metaphors Galore, Writing from the Deep Voice, Dialetic poems, Structuring your work, Subtext, etc), explains it and shows examples of it. The group tries using that concept in a short writing activity. In the second hour, people share work they have brought in. Feedback will always be dependent on what the writer feels comfortable with. The whole atmosphere is one o …

Have an Etsy shop? Want an Etsy shop? Like to craft or bake or design or create? Need some help taking your hobby or business to the next level?  Me too! So much about marketing, SEO, legalities of owning a business, and other skills for selling on Etsy are much better learned when we can chat over martinis...or brownies....or chips and salsa...right? This is NOT a promotional group to be used to advertise your shop. This group is intended to get some 'groupthink', critique, best practices, and …

Join with other digital & film photographers, beginner, advanced, and professional. Share your photographs & techniques. We meet the 1st and 3rd wed of each month. 1st Wed - We share our photos and have them critiqued by various experts in the field. 3rd Wed - We have a variety of workshops, speakers, photo shoots, and other special events. We also arrange  field trips and photo shoots for our members.

Welcome to The Long Beach Screenwriters Workshop! This is a screenwriting critique group designed for people looking for constructive peer feedback on spec and independent scripts. Our feedback is focused on 5 primary areas: Plot, Character, Narrative, Dialogue and Format. Writers submit pages one week in advance, and everyone is asked to print out those pages and write their comments on them prior to the meeting. I do have a few guidelines that I ask everyone to follow: 1. Only pages in correct …

What is the #1 dilemma for every business? How to get more customers and leads. Thanks to the internet, it is now possible to spread your reach to cover your whole city or scale it up nationwide. What does that mean? There are more opportunities than ever before for businesses to reach their customers through the internet. San Diego Online Marketing for Entrepreneurs offers free tips and advice on growing your business online. If you have a business and want to get more visitors and customers to …

This group is intended for new and intermediate writers.