As a professional writer, committed to improving my work, I meet with not one, but two weekly writing groups. The first is made up of New York Times best-selling authors and literary darlings. The other is made up of 7-year-olds. Guess which group cries more?

My grown-up group meets Monday nights in the back room of a gallery full of sharp metal sculptures. Chuck Palahniuk, author of “Fight Club” and cult superstar, likes to take off his shoes and rub his socked feet together as he reads. He prefers SmartWool socks, by the way, made from high-performance merino. Cheryl Strayed, whose memoir, “Wild,” inspired Oprah to bring back her book club, is a chatter; she will chat right up until the moment we start. Monica Drake — Kristen Wiig is adapting her indie novel hit, “Clown Girl,” for the big screen — is almost always five to seven minutes late; you can set your watch by it. Lidia Yuknavitch, author of the freak-pride novel “Dora: A Headcase,” once had a cake made for Chuck’s birthday that cannot be described in a family newspaper. There are nine of us in total. There used to be 10, but there was a fight and someone left.

I meet with the 7-year-olds on Monday mornings, and let me tell you, we drink a lot less wine. The group started out squeezed into a supply closet off the computer room, but now we meet in the school cafeteria, which is an improvement because we don’t have to sit on the floor, though I suspect I’m the only one who really appreciates that. There are six kids who take part, including my daughter. We started out as a reading group. But do you know how boring it is to listen to a bunch of first graders take turns reading “Bunnicula”? I decided to make the kids write stories instead. That way I could play with my iPad.

And so they write. This is one great thing about first graders — they will do what you tell them. Still, when I informed the children that they were going to take turns reading what they’d written out loud, and then the rest of us would give feedback, I expected some protest. After all, I had some experience with this: the first time I read at my Monday night workshop, I almost threw up on Chuck. But the first graders couldn’t wait to read their work aloud.