Why are you called the Word Pirates? Pirates are fierce and independent renegades. We are like that. Also, if writers were teams, we would rather be Pirates than Lumberjacks or Gophers.

Who are you guys exactly? Check out the About Us page.

I want to be a Word Pirate. Can I join? Since we are a professional group, we prefer published writers or people who have studied writing. That said, if you would like to join, e-mail us about yourself.

When do you meet? We meet the second and third Tuesday of every month from 7:00-9-p.m.-ish.

How is the group structured? Structure varies, but generally, we socialize, read new work, then have a writing prompt 15-20 minutes. In the future, we will incorporate critique into this process. We also have delicious snacks and drinks at our meeting.

What kind of writing do you do? We focus on creative writing, primarily short stories and essays. Our goal is to get all Word Pirates producing short, publishable pieces that can be placed in everything from major magazines to small literary journals. However, we also have craft-oriented exercises designed to increase writing skills. We generally do not do poetry, sci-fi, romance, or other genre fiction.