Community of Writers

Hey, y'all. I'm glad I found you. See, for the longest time, I wrote all on my own. Yeah, I had a couple of college classes on creative writing. They were okay, but that was a long time ago and no one was really writing novels. Only short stories. And that's what they taught us about, as if short stories are the first step along the road to novels, which is debatable.

And yeah, there's a local writing group. They meet every other week to read and critique, and that's really good because there are vastly different people. Some write stories, some poetry, many are working on a novel or two. That group helped immensely. But the meetings were long, and at one chapter every two weeks, it's not a great way to get a novel reviewed. They helped me clean up my writing, mostly, as there were a few, ah, fearless critics in the group.

And then I started blogging. And it's fun. I enjoy it. I don't blog on a schedule, just whenever I feel like it and about whatever I feel like—which is almost always about some aspect of writing and trying to get published.

I read similar blogs, written by people like me. I've learned a lot about every aspect of the process from various blogs by writers, agents, and editors. Fantastic advice abounds on the internet—along with some not-so-great advice. C'est la vie.

What do I get from doing this? Certainly not fame or fortune. I get friends. Understanding. Support. Shared experience across continents. Many of the best things found in any community. And I get readers and critiques that are immensely valuable to me.

Cheers, friends. See ya 'round.

Comments

  1. Well, this is a happy place to be today :D

    Because I live in a small town - no writer's group. BUT, that being said, I don't do great in groups... I get impatient. One chapter every couple weeks would make me insane. If I'm going to dump my family for a long night, I better really be getting a lot out of it.

    but online? Wow. I've met some of my favorite people, gotten some amazing critiques, learned how to write queries, synopsis, and yes, novels. The writing community is a really amazing group of people.

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  2. We're only allowed up to a 10 page submission in our group that meets every other week. I'd like to find a couple people to send my stuff to for a critique b/c I'm in the stage of putting it out there for publishing.

    And, no one has offered to read my stuff but I haven't asked either ***shy***. But I've offered to read others***shrugs***.

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  3. Some internet writers are absolutely annoying. You're one of the good ones, because you don't gloss everything up.

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  4. Thanks Jaimie. You don't either, so that means a lot.

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  5. I find critique groups great for helping with a work in progress. Like you said, going through a whole finished book at five pages a week or so will take a long time. Constructive criticism is key, too. It took three groups to find the one that worked for me. Thanks for coming to my blog!

    I gave you a shout-out there today. :)

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  6. And the friends are worth it, I think think. My critique group is online, and it's a fabulous group of people. Very insightful group. Found them at David Farland's writers groups.

    Wandered over from David's blog.

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  7. I'd be interested in joining an online group. Interesting idea.
    www.rebeccabany.com

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  8. I have found so much support and help from the online blogging and writing community it's crazy how they can change your perspective on everything and help you grow as writer.

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  9. I have absolutely no back ground in writing. I'm an Engineer by profession but am drawn to creative writing, not technical (I'm not a very good engineer ;))

    Online writing groups sound very neat!
    I'm a follower now :)

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  10. I totally agree with what is gained from blogging. I waited FOREVER to start, knowing how much work it would be. I never realized how much I would love it! How much I would connect with other people who love writing as much as I do. It's definitely all worth it.

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  11. Thanks all! It's great to have new visitors and comments, especially when I disappear to go on vacation.

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