7 Reasons to Get Involved in the Writing Community
The importance of community may not be the first thing on your mind when you sit down to write.
“I’m not good in person. Perhaps this is why I am a writer. Perhaps this is why I don’t have many friends.”
― Rachel Zucker, SoundMachine
Whether you’re a tired introvert or a bubbling extrovert, there are some good reasons to get involved with the writing community. It seems daunting at first; even if the socialization part of getting involved doesn’t make you tired, the idea of making time for it is.
The battle of time management for writers is an ongoing one. We have endless backlogs of things we should be writing or could be reading. Staying up to date in your genre and keeping up with your personal writing aspirations takes up nearly all of your time.
Even if writing is typically a solitary activity, a writer’s life doesn’t need to be a solitary one.
It might feel like you’re the only writer in a hundred-mile radius. You might feel like that person in the supermarket wearing sweat pants when everyone else is clad in jeans, work pants, or trendy yoga pants.
However, there are actually quite a lot of writers out there. According to Statista, there were over 44.2 thousand writers and authors in the US in 2020. That’s a lot of people.
On top of that, if you decide to get involved with the writing community online via social media, you’ve got the global writing community at your fingertips. The global writing community is massive. The hard part is just finding the right writers and connecting with them. Yet with so many writers around, there’s a thriving writing community.
Community involvement is the best way to find critique partners.
“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”
—Ray Bradbury
Even if you aren’t looking for a new best friend, expanding the number of writers you know is a fantastic way to improve your craft. The more critique buddies you have, the better.
The best kind of critique and editing scenario is a symbiotic one. If your budget is tight, hiring editors is difficult, but we all need feedback on our writing.
Subsequently, if someone critiques your work and you critique theirs in return, you’re both learning and improving. Best of all, you do it without breaking the bank.
Meeting like-minded writers will help you prioritize your writing practice.
Meeting like-minded writers is cathartic. Even if you have the most supportive non-writer friends in your life, there’s nothing quite like discussing the craft with a fellow writer. It lets you open up about all of your writing thoughts, from the deeply technical to the more general.
You can bring up a villanelle or a limerick and the other person will know exactly what you’re talking about and the pains you’re going to.
On top of that, as you build connections by getting more involved in the writing community, you’ll have the chance to meet more people who are facing the exact same problems and challenges that you are. You’ll have a wider network of people you can talk to who are on the same page.
Plus, even if your local writing community is a little lacking, there’s always the digital sphere.
You can enrich your craft and your hobbies.
“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”
― Lisa See
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that you read. If you're serious about writing, reading your preferred genre and getting to know it well is important to your development as a writer. Reading is fun, but being able to share and discuss the books you love with others is an added bonus.
Whether you join a book club or just chat about your reading list with another writer friend, you’re getting an enjoyable opportunity to expand the ways you enjoy your hobby of reading.
You might even make a friend.
Here’s the pragmatic; finding critique partners. Here’s the feel-good; making a true friend. Forging a friendship takes time, but having a flock of writing friends is a wonderful way to keep yourself motivated.
Finding friends in the writing community won’t happen overnight, but if you do want some of those warm and fuzzy feelings they talk about in Hallmark cards, getting involved is a good first step.
You'll learn about more opportunities.
“Collaborative workshops and writers' peer groups hadn't been invented when I was young. They're a wonderful invention. They put the writer into a community of people all working at the same art, the kind of group musicians and painters and dancers have always had.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
One big benefit of being involved in the writing community is finding the right resources. You'll learn about opportunities in passing from your writer friends, you'll discover helpful resources like lists of opportunities, contests that are worth your time, and learn about newsletters with useful information.
You’ll feel a little less alone in the successes and failures that happen in a writer's life.
Even if you’re just going to a book signing or an interview with an author, events like these are still tremendously enjoyable. Hearing other writers speak about their work is a warming reminder that you’re not alone.
Writing is typically a solitary activity. Even so, knowing that you’re not alone in your joys and sorrows is warming. It’s warming to hear that a published, successful author still struggles with some things.
About the Creator
Leigh Fisher
I'm a writer, bookworm, sci-fi space cadet, and coffee+tea fanatic living in Brooklyn. I have an MS in Integrated Design & Media (go figure) and I'm working on my MFA in Fiction at NYU. I share poetry on Instagram as @SleeplessAuthoress.
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I love what you write keep going sister