I co-organized a local writing group that became quite successful. I'll outline how we addressed the issues you have raised:

1. Finding Participants/Keeping Out Riff-Raff
We chose to focus primarily on the college writing scene, networking with a local college to draw in English majors and even a few of the professors. We also recruited some of the older students participating in creative writing classes open to the community, creating a good balance of participants age 20-60. By focusing on the college demographic, we have avoided problems with riff-raffy louses who aren't really dedicated to writing progression and development.

For me, charging a fee would dissolve some of the creative vibe necessary for a good writing group. But if you decide to go that route, you should spend it on something that benefits the writing process, such as speakers.

2. Organization
Meetings are generally informal, giving way to creative flow, but we do have a basic structure:

- Meetings are 1.5-2 hours long
- First 10 minutes dedicated to getting settled/passing out copies of work to review
- Review writing pieces, beginning with the shortest/closest to final draft: author reads out loud while group follows along, 2-5 minutes for group to skim silently and make notes, 10-15 minutes discussion. Typically 3-4 pieces per meeting.
- If there's time, we bring out a quick writing activity

3. Location
We meet twice a week at a local cafe that has cozy couches and eclectic decor. Every now and then, we rent out the location for an open mic night.

4. Genre/Style
We don't limit the type of writing presented, but we do require that pieces/samples be no longer than 6 pages (A4, 1" margins, 12pt Times New Roman, double spaced). Also, if a piece is potentially offensive, we ask that the author provide a summary of what can be expected.

AssociatedContent has a couple good pages on the subject:
- http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/18835/how_and_why_to_start_a_writing_group.html?cat=7
- http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/137857/how_to_start_a_writers_group.html?cat=7

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