Once upon a time there was an open C/B fic and discussion list that had a lot of non-C/B-ers on it for the discussions. And some of us started talking. We thought, "Since CowboyDreams isn't really active anymore, maybe we'd all have fun if we created a new writers' list, one that focuses on writing and critical feedback, that in fact requires the people to both write and offer critical feedback, for writers regardless of pairing or character preference. We'd get some great stories written that would offer something to fans of all sorts of persuasions."

So Dail came up with a great title: Write 'em, Cowboys. Fara and Charlotte came up with some faq material and some general rules. We "discussed". We tossed around names of writers we know who might not be put off by the requirement of offering constructive criticism, and we talked about whether or not to post an announcement to all lists out there. We started sending out some polite invitations, along the lines of, "Would you be interested in joining an all-character, all-pairing writing list where you'd have to both write and critique" and the field of potential playmates dropped fast. *g* But a field of playmates definitely still existed.

After a few days of mulling this over, we decided that maybe it would seem inflammatory on some lists, or offensive, so Charlotte suggested that DnF could take it. DnF did, and several writers from DnF (including an E/V lover, a C/B lover, a huge Vin fan who writes various pairings, and a C/V lover) all joined in the fun. To those people, we added the few folks we had discussed the idea with individually, and we opened the list for writing.

The list has writers of all character preference, some new to the fandom but having written for years, others of us quite new to writing but having been in the fandom for a while, and we're all learning new things from each other.

As we write this, we're in the middle of our first month, and our first challenge. It has, as of April 30, 2008, produced ten new stories (five of which are completed and revised and archived here), and some very helpful feedback, and we're excited that it seems to be taking off so well. At the end of the challenge period (this one ends April 30, 2008), writers will have their stories archived on this archive, and are encouraged to post, link, and archive their stories far and wide. We especially encourage our writers to post their stories to the appropriate lists, and share the love, hopefully engendering more discussion and fun.

We capped the membership at 15 people, because hey--real life, and the requirement of commenting on all stories written.

This is an "open" group, as much as any group that allows for a maximum of 15 people can be, and as such, we welcome inquiries from M7 writers who are interested in working on/improving their writing. If someone leaves (hey, it could happen!), we'll work to diligently and fairly fill that space.