Writing can be lonely. You sit in front of your computer, day after day, typing away–agonizing over the words that will come together to form the story that you’ve dreamed up. It takes many solitary hours to craft and edit the perfect book, regardless of if it’s fiction or nonfiction. Yes, you might take a break to Vox or FaceTime a friend or to reconnect with your spouse or children (assuming they aren’t like mine who are always interrupting me. Love them!). But a writing job just isn’t as “social” as so many other jobs out there. It can be very lonely.
Forming a community is the antidote to the writing loneliness.
A community of writers can help you feel like you’re part of a team. You’re all working on your own projects, but when you connect with other writers, you are connecting with people who understand the process and who can encourage you appropriately on your writing journey.
I want to encourage you to find that community if you don’t have it yet. Find some other writers who can help you keep going and to help keep up your morale as you write. How do you do this? Join writing groups or attend conferences. Use online groups as a starting point and see if you hit it off with anyone as a critique partner or as a writing friend.
Remember writing friendships require give and take. You will be giving of yourself to help your friend and they should be giving back to encourage you. You don’t want to get stuck in a “friendship” where the other person is just taking advantage of you without helping and encouraging you in return. And I hope these working friendships grow into something really deep and lasting! I have seen some AMAZING writing friendships blossom over the years and I know you can have that, too.
Our upcoming online writing intensive class would be a good place to find a writing community, too. We will be having breakout session groups where writers can connect together and with one of our agents. We are going to provide a lot of instruction and we’ll have one-on-one time too, but we at Books & Such firmly believe in the power of the writing community. We run our agency in a way that encourages authors to come together, and that’s the spirit we are bringing to our upcoming writing intensive as well. If you are interested in finding out more, you can follow this link: https://www.booksandsuch.com/writing-intensive/
If you have questions that aren’t answered on that page, please reach out to us at office@booksandsuch.com.
If you are already part of an amazing author friendship or community, where did you first find your friend or community? What is the best thing about having that friend/community?
Please also be sure to check out our new Books & Such Podcast! Details here: https://www.booksandsuch.com/podcast/
Still Unpublished? Let’s Do Something About That!
I’ve been part of the same critique group for a decade. Some members left and new ones joined us, but together we are friends, prayer partners and cheerleaders. Collectively, we make each one of us a better writer. I found this group through Proverbs 31 Ministries’ COMPEL Pro Writers Training.
Shirlee, that’s awesome! I love that you found a great writing through COMPEL. I’m hopping in here to say “Hi” and I hope you check out my COMPEL Pathway on Building Platform. It was a joy working with the COMPEL team to create that module – I pray it blesses you.
Thank you for the heads up, Barb. COMPEL offers so much great content that I can’t get to it all. My platform needs help, this may just what I need.
I found my critique partner after ten years of trying when a friend of a friend saw on my nametag that I wrote YA and seized her other friend, dragged her across the bookstore, and forced us to exchange emails! I wasn’t sure we’d work out as I had experienced doing a bunch of work for someone else and having them not have time to look at my stuff. But Jenn and I have been critique partners for 13 years now! My writer community includes two critique partners, but also has the wonderful people at Cascade Christian Writers! I found them through a writing contest and a writers conference. It is so good to have other writers in my life now!!!
I reached out for friends in writing,
but my writing didn’t thrive,
and now it’s quite enlightening;
they’re keeping me alive.
It’s gotten just so very rough,
all this cancer crap,
but these friends are so very tough,
and they’re standing in the gap
with open hearts that make a home
although they’re far away.
They let me know I’m not alone,
and that they’re here to stay
to give me hope through blinding hell
with all the love they show and tell.
I just joined a new writing community and have even been praying about starting one of my own. Thank you for the encouragement.