John Green, author of beloved YA novels such as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, once described writing as “a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”
While amusing, the quote points to an overwhelming belief that writing is something you do alone, without anyone else. In some ways this is true, and it’s part of the beauty of writing: you get to create your own world and your own characters, and then make them into real, live ink-filled things. But writing is far from a solitary pursuit. Of course you have editors and agents and publishers as the process gets farther along, but even before that, it’s important to have a community built up around you.
A writing and editing group
Okay, this is probably the most obvious one. It’s important to have a group of other writers you can meet with regularly, preferably in person. I found one through the website Meet Up, and spend every other Saturday morning writing with them and discussing our writing. The other writers vary widely in genre, stage of the process, writing style, and just about every other aspect of writing, but all are welcome, and we all learn from each other. I suggest using Meet Up to find a group, or checking at your local library to see if they host a group. If you can’t find one that exists, then make one! You can create a group on Meet Up, or talk to people at school, church, work—wherever you think there might be other people interested in meeting regularly, and just go for it.
Critique partner and confidant
This may grow out of the writing group, but you need somebody who is your trusted “writing person.” If you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, you know that your “person” is who you’d call if you murdered somebody and needed help hiding the body. Your “writing person” is who you call when you might as well have murdered your story with the terrible draft you just wrote, or you want to murder your story because nothing seems to be working…you get the idea. They won’t let you get away with bad writing, but they’ll be gentle about it. They’re a writer also, and you help each other by swapping drafts and editing, by bouncing ideas off each other, and by encouraging each other when the going gets tough. It can take a while to build up to this, but it’s worth it.
Online community
This is wide ranging, and depends on your level of internet interaction. For some people this means Twitter and other social media, and I definitely use that. It’s encouraging to follow other authors who are farther along in the process than me, and know that it can be done. I also pay to be a part of the Young Writers’ Workshop, for writers under 30. In addition to lessons, workshops, and interviews with published authors, there’s a community website that’s a little like Facebook, but only for members. We ask questions, get edits, share quotes, and make friends. It’s honestly one of the best things that’s happened for my writing life in a long time. The internet means you’re no longer limited to your geographical area in terms of finding a group, and that’s a wonderful thing. Reach out to people, discover new perspectives, and get inspired.
Your mentor
Having a mentor is incredibly important, but also a little scary. They should be someone who is farther along in the writing process than you, and can help you when you have questions, whether it’s about crafting your story or the publishing process. For this reason, they should also ideally be writing in a genre similar to what you write. Again, the internet is a wonderful thing, so they don’t necessarily need to live near you. They just have to be willing to communicate regularly, maybe via email, phone, or Skype, so you can ask questions and get their feedback.
Your circle of friends and family
Finally, the non-writers in your community: friends and family. Bless these people, who are willing to put up with you stopping mid-sentence to write down a thought for a new story and staying up at weird hours because you got into the groove of writing and you can’t stop or it’ll never come back. They put up with a lot from you, so never ever think they’re not a crucial part of your community. If your spouse, parents, or other significant person in your life doesn’t support your writing career, that needs to change. It’s important to sit down with them and discuss why you are truly passionate about writing, and why you want to make a career out of it. If you’re new to it, it may take some time to show you are actually dedicated to sticking with it, but it will happen. We need these people around to encourage us when we’re convinced we’re the worst, keep us grounded when we’re full of ourselves, and eventually to pop the champagne when we sign our first book contract! Never underestimate those people, and when you can manage to take your head out of the clouds long enough, be sure to thank them a million times for supporting you.
Building a community takes time, so don’t expect it to happen overnight. Take advantage of the resources around you to find people you work well with. You could write a book just by locking yourself away until it’s finished, but I promise you it’s a lot harder, and a lot less fun. As writers, your book feels like your baby, and so it follows that it takes a village to raise it.
Where did you find your community? How has it affected your writing life? Let me know in the comments!
