Find Your Community

Writing can often feel like you are drifting listlessly alone in a void. Just you, a blank page, and a blinking cursor. This loneliness can really be the bane on a writer’s existence. It can be soul sucking to face countless rejections on your own, have no one to share ideas with, or be on your own when it comes to critiquing and revising.

It does not have to be this way. Today, I am going to talk about a few of the numerous types of writing communities you could join. Know that there are many options out there and they might not all be right for you. You can try them out and find the kind of community that works best for you. You can even be an active member in multiple communities.

1. In person groups

The first type of writing community I am going to talk about is the in-person group. This is a group of writers who meet regularly, maybe once a week or a few times a month. They might meet at a library, a church, or other community space. These groups can take a few different formats depending on how the group is organized. Writers might get together to use the time to sit in and work on their projects or each writer might bring a short excerpt or piece to share with the group and ask for feedback on, round robin style. However the format, getting involved with a group like this can help you be accountable to your writing goals. If you can’t find a group like this in your local community, consider starting one of your own.

2. Online groups

For this category, I am talking about a similar group to the in-person group, only this one is virtual. It can take the form of a Discord server where members get together virtually at predetermined times for writing sprints or to ask for a critique partner. These groups tend to be less structured than an in-person group as members may be located all over the place. On a platform like Discord, the group can create various channels to better organize topics of conversation. Another place you could find a writing group to engage with is a social media site. This could be Facebook or LinkedIn. Simply search “writing” and find a group that aligns with your needs.

3. Writing Forums

Writing forums are also an online way to connect with other writers. Websites like Goodreads and SavvyAuthors host a number of them. Writing forums are a good place to ask quick questions about writing in general and to garner advice from likeminded individuals. However, writing forums are not the best option for requesting critiques or feedback on your work. You may be able to find a critique partner via writing forums but posting your work in a space like this could leave your intellectual property vulnerable in a way closed groups won’t. The website X, formerly Twitter, also has a vibrant writing community that uses various hashtags that you can engage with in a similar fashion as other forums.

4. Critique Partners

Speaking of asking for critiques, a critique partner is a great option for engaging with the writing community. Oftentimes, critique partners will write similar pieces (such as science fiction novels or poetry) and will therefore trade an equivalent amount of writing with each other to peer critique. You might go chapter by chapter in each other’s novel or trade ten poems at a time. You can find critique partners through any of the other community types available or friends you might have who are also writers.

Those are just four ways you can connect yourself with other writers. Personally, I have been involved with all of the types we’ve discussed here. I have found that I have the best results with the in-person group as it has helped me to regain my momentum for writing after having been stalled for about two years. I would love to hear about your experience with writing communities. Feel free to leave a comment below.