The Importance of Fostering Community for Writers

Writing is a largely solitary endeavor. As such, it’s crucial for us writer types to develop a sense of community with our fellow writers. Years ago, when I wrote full time from home, with only my dog and cat for company, I’d gleefully answer telemarketers’ calls, just to have another human to talk to.

These days, I connect with others whenever possible. I joined a service organization (and immediately got onto one committee and offered to chair another [what was I thinking?!]), host a master gardener intern class and regularly attend water-aerobics classes at the local pool. Add in my other social interactions – coffee or lunch with friends, dinner with other friends while our husbands are at their monthly Knights of Columbus meetings, and weekly choir rehearsals – and it’s a wonder I have time to write or edit at all.

One thing I insist on making time for is connection with other writers. I belong to a group that meets monthly, catering to writers at all levels. Members range from absolute beginners who aren’t confident enough in their skills to submit something for the others to read all the way to multi-published authors seeking feedback on excerpts from their works in progress. I’ve been a member about five years.

Recently I’ve begun attending another monthly meeting. It’s open by invitation, with some overlap of members from the other group. This one focuses more on deep dives into topics of interest to already-published authors looking to grow their platforms or expand their publishing horizons.

In addition to learning about new aspects of the publishing world, we share thoughts and ideas in a way that wouldn’t be practical within the structure of the other group. We’re all published (or at least serious) authors looking to hone our craft and broaden our knowledge base. And who among us couldn’t afford to learn a thing or two?

Yesterday we discussed researching market niches and publishing medium-content books through KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing. Lots of meaty information there – including an extensive discussion of coloring books. Oddly enough, my illustrator and I had just two days earlier discussed turning The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home into a coloring book for kids. This well-timed session opened my eyes with regard to doing just that – and set me straight about some naïve misconceptions I’d had.

If you aren’t currently a member of a writers group or critique group, look into joining (or forming) one in your area. Choose one that’s well suited to your type of writing, one that has writers of different skill levels and at varying stages in the writing process. Often, more veteran writers can be a tremendous source of inspiration and reassurance for newbies.

A word of caution: While some writers can provide valuable advice on improving your work, you’ll also encounter folks whose negative attitudes make an otherwise congenial group feel like you’ve fallen into a deep pit lined with barbed wire. Basically, these Negative Nellies are so insecure about their own writing they need to bash others to make themselves feel superior.

If you’re fortunate, the group leader will quash the hostility or invite the antagonistic members to seek another venue. In the preliminary stages of a writers group I belonged to, we were a largely amiable band of seven, but one bitter woman perpetually assailed everyone’s work, yet grew defensive and verbally abusive if anyone dared change a single adjective in her writing.

One evening, about five weeks into Lila’s hostility, I fell victim to her acid tongue when she ripped apart my submission, concluding her rant with, “How are you ever going to learn to write like James Joyce unless you… [insert unforgivable literary failing here]?”

“But I don’t want to write like James Joyce,” I replied. “I want to write like Rita Reali.”

At that, she tossed her head, gave an indignant sniff and blurted, “I don’t even know who that is!”

As the youngest in my family, I’m used to hostility, name calling and belittling. And by then, I’d amassed my share of rejection letters from literary agents. But I drove home that evening in tears. Two group members called to make sure I was okay. They’d already conferred with each other and agreed Lila’s behavior was unacceptable. That same night, the leader called her to suggest perhaps this wasn’t the environment for her, then politely invited her to drop out. It was the last any of us ever saw of Lila. Meanwhile, the rest of the group continued meeting regularly for another 13 years, with respectful discourse and supportive feedback as its standing hallmarks.

If you join a writers group (and, again, I seriously recommend that), have clear parameters for how critiques are delivered. Will members focus strictly on what’s positive, leaving negative or corrective comments in the margins? May authors respond to comments, or is it strictly the others who offer feedback and the author listens silently? If rules are breached, how does the situation get addressed – and by whom?

I’m not suggesting not to offer negative comments so no one’s feeeeeelings get hurt. I’m saying there’s a polite, even diplomatic, way to do everything – including making suggestions for improvement. In my own reviews of other writers’ work, I strive to provide largely positive comments and then offer corrective comments only when I have a recommendation for how to remedy the piece.

Writers are notoriously thin skinned. This can be a problem, especially when you’re just starting out and making lots of rookie mistakes. But if you’re fortunate enough to find yourself among a group of encouraging writers willing to guide you in your literary journey, keep an open mind and learn all you can from them. If, however, you find yourself amid the barbed-wire crowd, decide whether the good folks’ input is valuable enough to keep you coming back despite the naysayers. Or invite some of the positive writers to join a spinoff group – or perhaps you could approach one member of the group whose opinion you value and ask that person to mentor you.

Whatever you do, don’t take on this writing journey alone. You deserve better than that.

Where can you look to find potential writers group members? Leave suggestions in the comments.

 About the Author:
Rita M. Reali is a two-time international award-winning author and longtime editor who most enjoys editing memoir, general fiction and romance, along with inspirational writing. She’s self-published five novels: Glimpse of Emerald, Diagnosis: Love, The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Tender Mercies – the first five in the seven-volume Sheldon Family Saga. The sixth novel in the series, Brothers by Betrayal, is scheduled for an early 2024 release. Her first children’s book, The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home, was released at the end of February. As a former disc jockey in her native Connecticut, Rita used to spend her days “talking to people who weren’t there” – a skill which transferred perfectly to her being an author. Now she talks to characters who aren’t there on “a little chunk of heaven in rural Tennessee.” Contact Rita. To purchase your own personally inscribed copy of any of Rita’s books, download this order form at her website.