The Power of Writing Communities

Writing can feel like a pretty solitary activity. You spend hours alone with your screen or notebook, or both, in my case, and you wrestle with ideas and forming sentences and finding just the right word and putting it in exactly the right place. It’s called ‘the craft of writing’ for a reason and sometimes it feels more like grafting than crafting. But these periods of isolation do not have to be the main feature of your writing journey. Writing communities like writers groups or associations, but even just body doubling in silence with a group of other writers, offer a vital antidote, providing invaluable support, feedback, and motivation. 

Now I am not the most sociable of people. Well, I’m not anti-social but I like my own space and time and don’t readily or easily share my work and my thinking. Even sharing these lines online with all of you is a step out of my comfort zone! But over the years, I have come to really benefit from the mutual support you can find in a writing community, so here are some of the upsides that I’ve experienced, which I hope will encourage you to find your writing tribe:

Mutual Support

Through time spent at Medway Mermaids writers group, getting together with other writers for poetry nights or readings, and joining in some group sessions online - I regularly attend the Writers’ Hour with London Writers Salon - I have found that most writers experience similar feelings and situations. Everyone I know has at some stage felt inadequate to the task of finishing a particular piece of work, has agonised over whether or not to submit a piece and to whom, and has fought to control their own sense of perfectionism which paralyses progress. Not to mention imposter syndrome. I still get a flutter of this when I am asked to talk about my book, and my hand shakes slightly when I sign it. 

What being part of a writing community does, is help you realise that you are not alone, that these experiences are all part of being a writer. You learn from others, discover ways that they have overcome some of the challenges and adapt those to your particular circumstances. I have a friend whose imposter syndrome would become so overwhelming that she could not bear to read out her own poetry at an event we attended. So I did it for her, because somehow, reading someone else’s poetry when you know it’s good and you want to showcase it for the writer, is so much easier than reading your own. I know it helped her because, although the imposter syndrome hasn’t gone away, she can now do her own readings.

Encouragement and Accountability

Besides support in general, writing communities can also provide that spark of encouragement you need to take that plunge, put pen to paper, submit that piece of work to an editor and open the response regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Being with others, who you know feel the same lack of confidence and trepidation and yet get it done, helps boost your own confidence and courage. When you write, you bare a piece of your soul in your work and it is hard to expose that to the world. A writing community will stand by your side when you do it, support you whatever the outcome.

Your fellow writers also help to keep you accountable. How many of us talk about that novel and yet never get on with finishing it? The reason so many pieces of writing go unpublished is because they are never finished, let alone submitted. Turning up to your writing community, also usually means turning up for your writing, and it is that consistency, that showing up, that gets you to finish and publish.

Celebrating each other’s successes as part of a group is also a wonderful way to keep motivated.

Learning and criticism

None of us likes criticism, but a good writing group will be able to help you look at your work through the eyes of a reader, to pick it apart and then put it back together so that it is altogether stronger, helping to move it from a draft to a polished piece. You get the opportunity to expose your work to fresh perspectives and insights that you would simply miss out on when working in isolation. Plot holes are found, flat characters are picked up. It’s an ideal place to find growth and refinement for your work.

A writing community can also be a hub for learning, hosting seminars and workshops, inviting guest speakers - you don’t have to try to find all this on your own when you are part of a vibrant writing group. The networking that a writing community provides can lead to collaborations, mentorships and even professional opportunities, so those of us who tend to be shy can find ourselves working in productive and fulfilling group projects.

Building Friendships and a Sense of Belonging

Perhaps most importantly, writing communities offer a sense of belonging, a space, whether physical or online, where you can connect with others who share your passion for writing. Friendships emerge, you can share your struggles and triumphs, as well as finding support and a sense of empowerment. 

Finding the Right Community for You

We are all of us different and, luckily, writing communities come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from online forums to local writing workshops that meet in a back room at the local pub. It's helpful to find a community that aligns with your interests and personality and you might want to look out for groups that focus on your particular genre, such as a poetry circle. Some may be highly structured with strict critique guidelines and rules, while others may be more relaxed and social. The best thing is to look around and see what suits you. Don’t be afraid to go online; I find online sessions just as sociable and helpful as face to face sessions, and it’s particularly interesting to be part of an international online writing community as the diversity and different perspectives you encounter can be so illuminating and inspirational.

So my thought for the day is that writing does not always have to be a solitary activity, it can become a shared adventure. Go out there and embrace the power of community!