Writing Community
I first discovered the magic of a writing community while I was living in Paris. A drop-in writers group ran every Sunday, same time and place (in Shakespeare & Company Bookshop, no less) and attracted a wide variety of writers.
After the writers group, we’d go sit by the Seine, with wine and bread, talking about writing and travels and Paris and life. I met all sorts of wonderful people and kept going back.
Lesson Learned: Some feedback is more helpful than others. Critique can be constructive or destructive. And it can sting either way. Feeling a bit bruised is a NORMAL reaction, even the most experienced writers get, after feedback.
With it being a drop-in group, the people giving feedback were really diverse. They spoke lots of different languages with varying fluency. Some knew their stuff and gave BRILLIANT ADVICE; others had no clue what they were on about.
Something interesting I noticed was that the harshest critics were often blocked writers. I would find myself talking to someone who’d been a bit brutal after the writers group and they would, without fail, confess not having written anything in weeks.
Lesson learned: If you haven’t written recently, be especially careful when giving other writers feedback. Make sure you encourage them and point out something you like, not only the weak bits.
If you don’t like ANY of it, consider whether or not you’re the intended audience. Try to imagine what the intended audience would think of the piece.
I found I would often feel really sore about the feedback I’d received the day after the writer’s group. I needed a couple of days away from the piece of writing before I could feel ready to re-draft it. By then, I would have more clarity about how to fix things. I no longer felt so hurt, and could be more objective.
Lesson learned: When you’re on the receiving end of hard critique, give it some time to stew before acting on it. If it starts to make sense and feel helpful, use it. If it confuses or angers or just misses the point, you are allowed to ignore it. No one is perfect and we all get it wrong sometimes.
At this writers group, I heard poetry and short stories, and delicious bits of writing that combined the two. I started writing more experimentally, and I definitely wrote MORE. The group motivated, challenged, and inspired me.
Lesson learned: Giving other people feedback on their writing is AT LEAST as useful for the critic as the writer. Giving others constructive criticism can teach you so much about how to write well.
When I had several novels under my belt, it became clear that a drop-in style writers group wasn’t ideal for longer works. A few other regulars were also working on novels and memoir with multiple chapters. We formed a new group: WORD BY WORD.
This group met in the apartment of one of our members, usually over wine and cheese and about 4 hours… We would email each other our chapters in advance, giving people time to read the pieces during the 2 weeks between meetings.
Lesson learned: The relationship between the writer and critique partner is more important than any individual project. The most valuable feedback comes from a close ally and friend, and it is mutual.
Ideally it becomes critique partner & writer vs. the work, and not critique partner vs. writer and the work.
There were 6-8 of us, and we soon got to know each other’s projects, styles, and understood the vision behind the work. The critique and encouragement there is something I will probably spend the rest of my life hoping to replicate.
Lesson learned: Critique often comes in the form of suggested changes. Listen to the advice but don’t do everything suggested. Consider WHY they feel these changes are needed and address the cause of the suggestion. What is wrong that they want this change? Is this change the best solution? Is this solution true to your vision for the project?
On returning home to New Zealand, I sought out another such group. I’m sorry to say, it didn’t happen. Not the same, anyway. I soon became involved in the NZ Society of Authors, and out of that grew a weekly write-in.
Basically, we write together. Everyone has their own projects to work on. Occasionally we swap chapters for feedback, or ask for help with something, but most of the time we sit and write.
Lesson learned: I am way less likely to procrastinate and get distracted by the internet when the writer beside me is tapping away. I have no idea if they’re actually writing, but it seems like they are, so I keep thinking, ‘I could be getting so much done…’ and end up doing just that!
It’s a kind of passive accountability. We keep each other on track simply by working in the next chair.
This small group is still going, though I can no longer regularly attend. It’s a drop-in style group, no commitment required, and people are SUPER committed.
Open-mic nights come in all shapes and sizes, but the monthly one in Christchurch is a delightful mix of first-timers and Ockham finalists. Everyone gets a chance at the mic, and everyone gets applauded three times! It’s something special to read a poem or story and have a whole crowd of people listen and cheer.
Lesson learned: Reading aloud, even to yourself, is very powerful. You will notice errors and literally hear which bits sound great.
Reading aloud to real live people is NEXT LEVEL! and can magically clarify, instantly, what works and what doesn’t.
There are all kinds of writing communities and every group won’t suit every writer. That said, you can’t necessarily know what you need, or whether a group can meet that need, until you’ve been going along to a group for a while.
Lesson learned: Put yourself out there and get involved. The best groups are made up of people who are not focused primarily on their own needs. Give community a chance! Writers gain so much from helping other writers.
More recently, I’ve become more involved in the Romance Writers of New Zealand. Our local chapter is growing at a rate of knots, and the wisdom shared at a regular monthly meeting is astounding. The annual conference is, without a doubt, the best writing craft conference in New Zealand.
The romance writing community is warm, generous, and really just the best at celebrating each other’s successes.
Lesson learned: There’s no shortage of readers and plenty of success to go around. We aren’t really competing because readers love what they love, no less for there being more of it!
If you do happen to live in my neck of the woods, don’t hesitate to get in touch (or just rock up to Beckenham library of a Tuesday morning and odds are you’ll find a bunch of us working/wording away in the Young Adults section.) Honestly, there will be writers wherever you are and it is well worth finding your tribe.
