This sounds to me like a MeFi Project. Why don't you check there and if there's not then start one! I'm sure the MeFi community is full of people who would be into this.

Brittanie, I'll be your writing buddy -- happily! I've been looking for the same sort of thing: critiques, deadlines, etc. We could e-mail back and forth, and we could even use IRC or IM to have "live" discussions.

I'm working on a novel and a piece of narrative non-fiction. What's your project? Or projects?

Mostly short stories right now.

Lunatic, there has been lost of talk on MeFi about this but it never gets off the ground.

Just an opinion, but I've never seen a writer's group outside of a larger hosting institution, that was effective in the long term in giving what you are asking to members. Perhaps this is because what you're really asking for is editorial skills in exchange for your own editorial skills. A lot of writers quickly learn, as you have, that the majority of writers are themselves lousy editors, and that writer's groups are fairly ineffective places to look for editorial feedback, for all the reasons you've listed.

If I were you, looking to start a Project, and get some real editorial input, I'd look to do something focused on putting together people with established editorial skills, and writers who can work maturely with good editors. Good editors need and respect good writers, in my experience, a lot more than writers tend to feel they need or respect editors. Yet, if you've never had the pleasure of working with a good editor, your development as a writer will probably remain stunted until you do. So, I think that a writer trying to start a matching service for mature writers and volunteer editors might be very interesting.

You'd ultimately need to develop some benchmarks to validate skills on both sides, for this to achieve being a resource for starting the kinds of deeply rewarding personal relationships that good writers and knowledgeable editors eventually develop. That might be the tricky bit, but assuming you could design and administer the process, you'd have, I believe, no shortage of applicants on either side of the skill spectrum.

I pretty much agree about the editor thing. In my past life as a journalist I had great editors and crap editors. I'm not looking to take on a Project, though, as I'd rather spend my time writing than organizing the logistics. I'm only in it for ME! ME! ME!

However, anyone else with the time and skills is more than welcome to use Paul's idea.

Hmmm. Okay, I feel a little weird about saying this (seeing that I punked out of the very same writing group nine months ago), but I'd be interested in being a writing buddy or round-robin-type member.

I left because my life got mad crazy and also because I felt that the feedback ratio, for me at least, was kind of out-of-whack at the time that I left. (This is not to badmouth the group at all, and I thought your feedback was always especially helpful.) But I would definitely be interested in a smaller group or pair.

So...um...let me know. Yeah. *scratches neck awkwardly*

I haven't posted there in a while, but Toasted Cheese is a pretty good online workshop. Multi-genre and free.

No worries, fuzz — the group didn't fold because of you alone. Several people were unable to make it work.

Toasted Cheese looks pretty good though. Maybe I'll give that a try before resorting to my own devices.

Yet, if you've never had the pleasure of working with a good editor, your development as a writer will probably remain stunted until you do.

Aargh. That's scary. I need an editor. goddammit.