✍️ Community, and How It Can Improve Everything about Your Writing
or, Sometimes All You Need is a Tall Glass of Water
This writer I know used to feel alone in the writing world.
He had been a writer his whole life, but rarely came across other writers. He didn’t know anyone to, say, discuss craft for example. This was pre-Internet, so he couldn’t even Google online writers groups.
He’d probably say that in retrospect, lack of a writing community contributed directly to his lack of output. Others might point out that this sounds all well and good, but smells of a bad excuse… But there is physical proof that chance encounters over the years did spark bouts of creativity.
For example, at almost the exact moment he and his wife had their first child, he had an opportunity to meet his favourite author, Paul Quarrington. All those writers he knew were out there gathered in a small classroom at the local college. There was an after-party, where all the writers quietly and dutifully lined up along the walls like funky 3D wallpaper. There was a euchre game, which this writer skipped for reasons that seem lame now.
And, there was a writing contest announcement.
That contest along with finding physical evidence of real writers in our midst inspired him to write a short story. He aimed for funny, like Paul Quarrington, along with a touch of wry sentimentality. His story Hat Trick won “Chef’s Choice” in the contest, basically a runner-up category with a nod to the owner of the café where the awards evening was held.
The recognition was nice, but ultimately it was the newfound community that set him on a more productive path.
How can I be so certain? Because as I’m sure you’ve already figured out, dear reader, that writer is me.
Here’s the part where I might write, “…and the rest was history.” But of course, there’s never really Happily Ever After. There’s only:
What’s Next?
Community – It’s Not Just One of the All-time Best Sit-coms
I am hyper-aware of what belonging to a writing community – or, more accurately, writing communities – has given me. In these pages alone, I’ve started so many anecdotes with “I was talking with a writer friend the other day…” that now I consciously avoid doing it because I wonder when you’ll start saying I’m making it up. (Those stories are all true, bee-tee-dubs.) I also consider these pages to be a writing community unto itself – a place where other writers drop in from time to time, read a post or two, comment on what moves them.
Community comes in all shapes and forms so that they can connect with us at all levels and needs. There are those writers I met in 1998, who formed the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW), which I’ve been a member of for much of its time, and even a board member for a few years. There are the Laughing Foxes, which I’ve mentioned at least once. There are the Unprecedented Peeps, a small group of writers that stay connected even though they don’t meet nearly as much as I’d like. I write with Igor, a writer and computer programmer in Berlin, in a Zoom session almost every Friday since being part of a Substack seminar – I’m writing this post in that virtual session with him right now. There is another group I write with on Tuesdays that is open invitation to a larger group of writers, but is usually two or three. Oh – and another group that I started to write with recently, and met yesterday as of this post going live. Which reminds me of another group I meet with the third Wednesday of every month, which is more of a check-in with other writers.
These are probably the most actualized groups that I belong to. All of these writing communities feed me. But I’m also part of other, more ephemeral groups. NOWW brings in writers for workshops and our annual LitFest who I call “Friends of NOWW” – Angie Abdou, Gary Barwin, Rod Carley, Ann YK Choi, Vera Constantineau, Michael Christie, Terry Fallis, Amy Jones, and many others I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of meeting. There are also others in the industry who have visited including Heather Campbell of Latitude 46 Publishing, Mackenzie Fisk of Mischievous Books, and famed editor and publisher Douglas Gibson.
Is Canada unique? Except for maybe the Margaret Atwoods, Canadian authors and others in the writing/publishing community are so approachable. (This isn’t a knock on Atwood, btw. From what I’ve seen, she loves interacting with other writers as well as readers. But I can imagine she would spend more time a day turning down requests than most other Canadian writers spend writing, if not for her assistants…)
I really appreciate how approachable the writing community in Canada is because I’ve learned a ton from the writers who have come before.
What Does a Writing Community Give You?
What the writing community gives you isn’t always easy to quantify. My wife jokes that when I say I’m going to a “writing meeting” that what I really mean is a social coffee, a social glass of wine, a social whatever. Now, I joke back that I’m going to a tequila meeting, which will have me covered for just about any eventuality on the business/social scale.
“Yeah, nobody was up for body shots, so we talked about writing instead…”
But I digress.
The point is, meeting up with other writers doesn’t mean that we’re talking only craft and taking minutes and debating the finer points of the Oxford comma. We always talk writing (or write), but we don’t only talk writing (or write). Often, we talk about writing-related things, planning writing retreats, or whether we should all look into taking a Scrivener workshop. A lot of the time is just connecting and shooting the shit. It’s more about the support, the camaraderie.
It’s about not feeling alone in what amounts to a very alone business.
I’ve seen it from the other side, too. I’ve seen the impact on other writers who join the groups I’m in. I’ve seen them gain confidence, become more productive, become more motivated, and have more fun with their writing. Community helps writing be more fun. That’s in part because it becomes a group activity, if only esoterically. (That’s enough, it turns out.) It’s also because when we hear others talk about lack of confidence, fear of writing, and so on, we recognize that it’s not just us. Every writer has doubts and fears.
We learn that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable as a writer. Community shows us that everyone does – and shows us how to write anyway.
Water
I’ve trained myself over the years to recognize that if I am tired or out of sorts, it helps to drink a glass of water. Dehydration does funny things to me – probably has for years, and (being a simple male) I just didn’t notice it.
Community is like water for a writer. It’s something you might not realize is missing. Once you find it, you might not even realize it’s working. But community is an invisible cure for a writer, and one that will help you write great things.
So get out there and find your writing community!
Key Takeaway: Community can be one of the single most important catalysts for writing success (however you personally define it), even if we don’t always notice its effects. Writing can be a lonely business, but simply connecting with other writers gives us the feeling that we’re no longer alone.
Over to You: What’s Your Experience with Writing Communities?
Have you joined a writer’s group or writing group or some other similar group? How has it helped you? Do you come to this newsletter for community? Let us know in the comments below!
Speaking of community, if you’re in the Thunder Bay area, I’m co-launching a book club for writing craft with two other writers, Mary Gastmeier and Marion Agnew (both of whom sparked the idea in the comment section of “The Importance of Being Wilde”). First up is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Find out more here: writingcraftbookclub.ca
I’ll leave you a clip from the sit-com Community. It has come to my attention that a frightening number of people have never seen it. Community is one of those shows you need to stick with a bit to get the rhythm, but it’s well worth it. You’re welcome.
Until next time... keep writing with wild abandon!
~Graham
email me if you get lost.
I’ve never seen Community. In the Friends world, I’m outwardly Monica, but behind that persona I’m all Phoebe.
For a writing couple, Roy and I never talked about writing all that much. But I’ve also never had to explain or justify why writing looks like going for a walk or laying pages out on the dining room table or flipping through random (or specific) books. There’s something affirming in that, too.
So yep, community—colleagues. They can be so helpful.
You’ve been a big part of helping regional writers find each other, Graham, and we’re all the better for it.
Great to be a part of your community!