Why join a fiction writing workshop? Why not just organize a writer’s group or attend one of the many existing groups? For that matter, what’s the difference? In both, a group of writers read and critique each other’s work. Essentially, aren’t they the same?

Sometimes they are. You might join a vigorous group that has a dramatic positive impact on your writing. But you could end up in a group obsessed with your spelling and grammar, a group with no emerging leader, inconsistent attendance, overbearing and negative input, and critiques that steer you down a rabbit hole. When you finally emerge, you have hole phobia.

The same can be said about writing workshops, but there is one key difference. While an effective leader might emerge in a critique group, it is usually left to chance. In a workshop, however, you are paying for the leader, the instructor, the hotshot, the published author, the accomplished teacher and professional (the incomprehensible self-described literary god who charges exorbitant fees and may or may not be able to teach).

If workshop leaders do a lousy job, the participants feel gypped. A bad workshop is like a bad book. Word gets around and suddenly copies are available for less than the shipping charge. Skilled authors write good books and qualified, effective leaders conduct productive workshops.

How do you make sure you find the right workshop with the right leader? We’ve all bought useless and sometimes dangerous products. A faulty negative ion energizer. A slicer and dicer that sent us to the hospital. A pyramid hat channeling the universe into our small brains. So how do you avoid that? You kick the tires. You kick the workshop leader in the shins.

1. Read the leader’s bio. If the bio is too "big" (not just long), the leader might want to recreate you into the writer they wished they could be. If the leader is well-versed in Jane Austin, James Joyce, and Herman Melville, but you couldn’t get past "Call me Ishmael" then you might want to consider a different workshop. If the bio lists publications only in erotica magazines and you equate erotica with pornography, and by chance are not particularly interested in porn, then perhaps you should consider a different workshop.

2. View the leader’s website. Is it professional and informative? If you see red text against a black background and bloody vampire teeth sinking into Nemo and you loved "Finding Nemo," then reconsider. Also check for testimonials. Even the worst workshop leaders won’t fake testimonials (but you never know).

3. Read excerpts from the leader’s published works. If the writing impresses you, then you might have a good match.

4. Ask other writers. See if anyone knows the leader. Does her personality match your learning style?

5. Email or call the leader. Ask how the class is structured. See if the planned activities sound interesting. Is the instructor positive, enthusiastic, and honest? Does she have a sense of humor? Or at least one you can understand.

6. Try a workshop in another genre. If you want to experience the polar opposite of who you are, try a workshop lead by someone who writes in wildly different genre. That can result in eye-popping benefits (or just pop your eyes out).

Conducting a little research on the workshop leader will help you find the right workshop so you can grow as a writer. And you’ll avoid a trip down the rabbit hole. Then again, you can just jump in and see if you find wonderland.