Communities: The Backbone of Your Healthy Writing Journey
By Guest | February 29, 2024 |
Please welcome multi-published, bestselling, award-winning author Denny S Bryce to Writer Unboxed today! Denny’s trajectory as an successful author has been a brilliant sight to behold. Her debut novel was published in 2021. Three years later, Denny is about to publish her fourth novel with co-author Eliza Knight! More from Denny’s bio:
Denny S. Bryce is the bestselling, award-winning author of novels THE OTHER PRINCESS, A FACE IN THE SUN, and WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES. Her new book (out March 5) is CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS: A Novel of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monore, co-written with Eliza Knight. Additionally, she is an NPR book critic, an adjunct professor at Drexel University, and a freelance writer who has written for Harper’s Bazaar and USA Today. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society, Tall Poppy Writers, a women’s author collective founded by Ann Garvin, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, where she serves as the 2024 WFWA Guiding Scribe. Denny is represented by Wendy Sherman at Wendy Sherman Associates Literary Management.
Writing communities aren’t magic. They don’t fix all the woes of a writer’s life or provide the perfect dose of wisdom, critique, or networking opportunities that guarantee your novel lands on the New York Times or USA Today bestseller lists. Or that your Indie-published releases generate 100K a month. You still have to write the manuscript alone in the writer’s cave.
But none of this is to say that writing communities aren’t the next best thing to sliced bread!
This article contains everything you’ve ever wanted to know about writing communities and the role they can—and should—play in your writing journey. And yes, that is an over-promise, but I like to start big. So, let’s dive in.
I believe six key topics answer “the what and why” writers should join a writing community with clear benefits to their writing journey.
o Support and Encouragement
o Learning and Resources
o Feedback and Critique
o Networking Opportunities
o Accountability and Discipline
o Diverse Perspectives (bonus)!
Keep in mind that writing communities are about more than writing. They are a form of self-care, which means they help a writer’s heart and mind cope with the business of writing.
And with that, I’d like to provide some background on my writing journey, in part, and my involvement in writing communities.
First, I am a joiner. I am there if a group exists on a topic that interests me, let alone a subject I love. I also am okay moving on if the vibe, content, or expectations don’t support the goals I’ve set for myself. However, if you’re not this personality type, that doesn’t mean writing communities aren’t for you. However, if you write books, you already know what it takes to start a new project, immerse yourself, and then revise, revise, and revise until you have produced the best possible book you can write. So, apply that book knowledge and experience to writing communities that will help you achieve your goals (and don’t forget to set goals).
When I reflect on my early days as a writer, the community kept me writing. I began writing fanfiction around 2003. Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfics were entirely online (in the beginning). And by the way, I wrote Buffy/Spike, which was my OTP/one true pairing.
Live Journal was our hangout, but most writers and readers had fictitious names. Most writers had little or no desire to become published authors of original fiction. We wrote for the fun and challenge and our readers and other fanfiction writers. And I’m not throwing shade on writers who don’t desire to publish or be published more broadly or in a professional capacity. Some fanfiction stories I’ve read are the best books ever written.
Nonetheless, the experience boosted my confidence. I loved writing drabbles, short stories, and full-length novels prompted by the latest Buffy storyline for a fandom hungry for these stories.
But did this mean I was ready to enter my first writing group, seek out critique partners, or increase my knowledge of all things those “real” authors needed or wanted?
The answer: No, I was not.
Keep in mind that for me, my writing in fanfiction was anonymous. It was online, and in the early days, no one knew my real name, what I looked like, or where I lived other than the city. So, my level of exposure was as much or as little as I desired.
But when you seek out a writing community or group these days, technology has given us ZOOM and other methods for face-to-face interaction. It’s not only a Facebook group. Or planning regular one-on-one write-in sessions at a fellow writer’s home or meet-ups at Panera Bread.
So, if you’re choosing to find a community that fits your writing and personal needs, it’s not anonymity you seek.
It takes courage; even a New York Times bestselling or multi-published author must regularly rethink the role of community in their writing lives. A seasoned writer might better evaluate their needs, but it is also more difficult for these authors to find a community of like-minded authors with a similar career history. Writing groups are not only for new writers.
This year, I am celebrating a writing group that has been a part of my writing life for over a decade. We named ourselves the Dreamweavers. We formed in 2014, the year we were finalists of the Golden Heart, a once-upon-a-time national contest for unpublished writers. Since then, the Dreamweavers have held weekly online meetings and meet-ups at conferences or group dinners and writing retreats at hotels, resorts, and homes across the country.
Admittedly, not all original Dreamweavers, which numbered close to thirty, participate in the weekly online sessions. Not all are still writing. But ten years later, a core group of fifteen authors makes stopping in and updating each other on what’s up in their writing life, seeking advice, information, resources, or ranting—a must-do as frequently as possible.
A few Dreamweavers gathered for a Zoom meeting on Galentine’s Day this year to gossip, catch up “face-to-face,” and discuss our expectations ten years ago versus today, and the value of the Dreamweavers.
My first question was, how come the Dreamweavers have lasted so long? One name sprang to all of our lips.
Author Erika Kelly: Shelly Chalmers.
Author Nan Dixon: I was about to say, I wish Shelly were here because I wanted to take a little ownership when I started the accountability week, but Shelly ran with it.
And Shelly has kept us on task for ten years.
There’s a difference between where we began and where we are. I asked that question, too.
Author Sheri Humphreys: Well, I’ve been in a critique group where they are hobbyists, and I should’ve left. Instead, they ended up kicking me out. But that was okay.
Author Tru Taylor: When we were Golden Heart finalists together, I knew I wanted to Indie publish. I did have an agent and was, you know, in the submission process. But I had gotten information about self-publishing I couldn’t ignore. It seemed like the wave of the future.
Author Laura Trentham: By the time the awards rolled around, I had two contracts, one for historical and one for contemporary, but I wish I’d been braver about Indie publishing earlier. Now, I will focus on historical fiction and growing my hybrid career.
Author Erika Kelly: I wasn’t like you guys; I did not have goals and aspirations. I was writing books, raising kids, and putting my books under the bed. I didn’t think of being published.
Author Laura Trentham: I love what I do.
Author Nan Dixon: Yeah, yeah, I love what I do, and I can’t stop hearing the voices in my head.
Author Sheri Humphreys: I’ve written many books that I’m proud of.
Writers supporting and encouraging other writers sounds like a no-brainer. If you’re in a writing group, no matter the size, you expect the six elements, but you also develop personal connections that can last a lifetime.
And oh! It shouldn’t matter how many books you’ve got published. Writing communities are there for you—and if the right one isn’t there—start it yourself.
Be your own Dreamweaver.
Let’s talk about communities we can’t do without. Aside from Writer Unboxed, which do you belong to? Which can’t you do without? How have they enriched your writing life? What do you look for/hope for in a writing community?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Thank you for being here today, Denny, and huge congrats on your successes!
I think there are some wonderful niche communities on social media–which might be the best thing I can say about social media. Those who write “women’s fiction” may belong to the WFWA group on FB, where you can find companionship, allies, and a keen understanding of that genre’s strengths and issues. My husband belongs to a screenwriting group, and just the other day I learned he’s one of the most prolific members in the group. That level of recognizability may help him down the road, but regardless he’s helped now by the group’s energy and specificity and the ability to engage in conversations that inform and validate.
I do love a writing community. Go figure. ;-)
Thanks again for being here, and all best wishes for Can’t We Be Friends and your next works!
Thank you for having me, Therese. Yes, I am a member of WFWA and what makes it so comfortable is that it doesn’t force members into any particular cyclone other than the one where you write books. You can watch, wait, and learn, become involved, share your key learnings. It’s wide open and the offerings are varied and quality. And yes, we must forgive social media because it’s one of the reasons we can stay better connected to other writers and the goings on in the publishing industry. Which I also feel is important conversation (discussions) for writers to stay abreast of:)! And yes, Three days until Can’t We Be Friends is out in the world and I can’t WAIT!
Whoops. I wrote this lone thing and then somehow deleted it, but THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME:)! And yes, WFWA is a great group and I think the reason it has grown and works so well for so many writers is it’s organic approach to being a writer’s organization. Members can participate as much as they want, interact where and how often they want, or lurk comfortably. There’s no you must do, you must respond, you must do this or that. The common ground is writers and writing. (And yes, forgive social media for it’s ills. It’s existence has made communication so fluid and global. It’s the stuff in between that is bothersome. But writers are expert at the work-around:)!
I guess I have to learn patience:)!
Denny, thanks for the warm insights on writing communities. The gods command that I not obey the “aside from Writer Unboxed” because WU is the cat’s pajamas (and its slippers, its mittens and its purring soul too)—this place is the ice cream shop of the imagination. I am in another small writing group that is filled with worthies as well, and I get a lot of writing newsletters, which I occasionally comment back on.
And of course, there are the voices in my head, a writing group of sorts, but I mostly tell them to shut up. Thanks for a nice piece.
When you find writing group that works for you — no problem standing on the tabletop and shouting I’M HOME! As you know, since my first Writer Unboxed Conference in 2019 (and after years of travel and conferences), it ranks number 1 for me. And I can’t wait until 2025! And thank you for stopping by and commenting.
I start most writing days by trying to gather the brain cells – and have come to do that by visiting a set of blogs I can usually trust to have an interesting recent post that welcomes comments.
So I start my writing day by visiting the asynchronous online writing communities I belong to, reading what’s there, and dropping a line if I see something that triggers one.
This is not, as it might seem, wandering around wasting time. I’ve tried to write as some do, first thing in the morning, but thoughts don’t jell into fiction until I’ve practiced making coherent sentences – by making coherent sentences. I can’t afford too long at it – I have extremely limited energy – but it creates a chemistry concept: agglomeration, where things start sticking together in my mind.
As soon as I’m lucky, something I read/write will encourage a higher state of focus, an idea for the day, and I try to stop futzing around and get going (I block the internet with Freedom asap, and start going through my written process for loading all the elements of the current scene into my head so they can start making nice). I sneak into writing fiction by writing anything, with the awareness that I have a very short time during which I can use the wool-gathering process to actually start working – I have had it fizzle out enough times not to waste it.
The sites visited are my online writing community – helpful because I’m extremely isolated IRL – I’d never progress to writing if I didn’t ‘waste’ this time this way. Maybe it reassures me I’m not spitting into the wind, that someone, anyone, will read what I’ve written today. Because no one is seeing that fiction until it is as perfect as I can make it.
This may make more sense if I mention I’m chronically ill, and every speck of energy has been optimized into letting me write since the beginning of this century. I have to do every single thing MY best way. Or it doesn’t happen at all.
Thank you for commenting. It’s imperative that all of us find the best approach to getting the most out of our writing day. I spent many wasted hours in the early days of my writing journey seeking feedback everywhere and anywhere, and that can be stifling. Also time-consuming. Writing and reading and writing and reading makes for the best authors, I think.
Hi Denny and welcome to the WU community! Dive on in; the water’s fine. :)
I am with you in loving my writing circles. It came as such a surprise to me, when I started writing, that such a solitary activity could be infinitely bettered by making it social. Who knew? Answer: all those people who folded me into their writing groups. It’s fun to learn about yours.
I’m replying late, but wanted to chime in on your lovely article, Denny – and apologies I wasn’t able to make the Zoom chat. I too took awhile before I joined and found the right writers’ community for me, and like you, I’m a joiner but will leave when it doesn’t work for me. And I think those needs sometimes change as we progress in our careers and goals, especially so when the needs and goals of the overall group – and the vibe as you describe – don’t align with your own. To me, one of the reasons why the DWs work, and continue to work, probably has something to do with how we’d all reached / entered that contest at similar times, with similar goals and have therefore kind of developed together. I would encourage anyone who is similarly looking for a writers’ group to indeed, do as you do, and join up following their interests. But then listen to your gut too, and make sure it’s the right group for you, one who can give you the support and self-care you deserve. Writing and the writing life can be hard and sometimes lonely, so those groups that help us keep going are truly golden. :)