The Importance of Writing Communities by Steph Beth Nickel

 

Although writing is seen as a solitary pursuit … Although many writers would consider themselves introverts … Although there is much we can learn on our own …

Belonging to a writing community such as InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship benefits us in many ways.

Today, let’s touch on five of them.

Community

We were created for community. And a community of likeminded individuals facing the same challenges and victories? That’s priceless.

A writers’ community reassures you that you’re not alone. When you sit down and look at the blank page or blinking cursor, you can rest assured that you’re not the only one trying to get your thoughts sorted. You’re not the only one drawing a blank as to what to write. You’re not the only one questioning your choice of creative expression.

Plus, being part of a writers’ community gives you people with whom to celebrate victories others wouldn’t even recognize as such. When you share, “I pushed through and wrote 200 words today,” it may not mean much to those who don’t write, but to those who do … Those who don’t write may not understand your nervousness when you say, “I just clicked Publish on my first self-published novel,” but your fellow writers will offer words of encouragement and a virtual hand to hold. And when you sign with an agent after years of querying, you’ll hear the cheer go up from across the kilometres.

Community is important to all of us.

Collaboration

What better place to find a coauthor for your book, a cohost for your podcast, or a critique partner for your unpublished words than a community such as InScribe?

Belonging to the same writers’ organization gives you a point of contact, a reason to reach out and develop a friendship that may grow into a professional partnership … or a professional partnership that may develop into a lifelong friendship.

Confidence

You may be familiar with the term “imposter syndrome.” You may ask yourself, “Why on earth am I here, surrounded by all these experienced writers, editors, and publishers?” Being surrounded by those who have far more experience than you do can make you feel like an imposter.

But it may surprise you to discover that there are best-selling authors who suffer from imposter syndrome from time to time. When they release a new book, they may ask themselves, “What if it doesn’t do as well as my last book?” “What if I disappoint my readers?” “What if my best writing years are behind me?”

What we learn from our fellow writers and other professionals in a writing community can build our confidence to continue to pursue our writing goals and dreams even if we feel we’re on shaky ground.

Commitment

Belonging to InScribe, or a similar organization, gives you the opportunity to “give back.” You can make a commitment to write for the blog. (Both this and the professional InScribe blogs have openings.) There are many volunteers who serve on the executive. This is yet another way you can make a commitment to the organization and your fellow community members. Keep an eye on the FellowScript magazine for these and other opportunities.

Courage

You may find it odd that courage made the list, but belonging to a writers’ community can increase your bravery in many ways.

Your willingness to try new things, to make a commitment to the organization, will develop your confidence and courage to “put yourself out there.”

As you get to know other members of the community, you may very well come across people you’d like to work with and develop the courage to ask if they are interested in collaborating with you. (It’s best to start by working on a short-term project to see if you work well together and to address any potential problems before committing to writing a book together or cohosting a podcast.)

And imposter syndrome? Fellow community members can give you the courage to press on when you’re tempted to give up on your writing. Plus, you can do the same for others.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s the importance of connecting with others, of being part of a community. And being part of a supportive writing community can help us get through 2021 and beyond.

What benefits have you found from being part of InScribe?

Tools to Keep You on Course by Susan Barclay

I can't find it in the archives here, but I was certain I'd written about this before. I was hoping I could just direct you to the original post since nothing has changed (insert smiley-face). 

Here's the list:

First there are the physical tools: the writing instruments (pen, paper, computer, laptop, tablet) and the space you write in (separate office, niche in one of the room's of your dwelling place, library, cafe). Do you write best with or without music/background noise? Can you write in a cluttered environment or must it be clean and tidy? Make sure you have what you need before you get started - many of us writers are easily distracted!

Now onto the books and online resources:

The Writers' Market - specific guides for different types of writing: poetry, novels and short stories, material for children. These tools provide helpful articles as well as a variety of places you can send your work and agents who can help you with the submission process.

Writer's Digest Magazine - a monthly publication with helpful articles, columns, writing prompts, and contests. Also the Writer's Digest website.

The Inscribe website and listserv. Maximize your membership by utilizing these and reading the current issue of Fellowscript, which contains articles by the members as well as columns, contests and market information.

The best book on writing I've read so far is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Rennie Browne and Dave King. It's been a long time since I read it, but I found full of  helpful advice for the revision process.

Participation in writers' groups. I've been part of a writers' group for fourteen years now and nothing beats the feedback and encouragement of fellow sojourners who know a thing or two about the writing and publishing processes. If you can't get together with writers in your local area (every Fellowscript issue lists Inscribe writers' groups), try to find an online critique partner and shoot your work back and forth. Nothing has improved my writing more than the practice and discipline of writing and receiving constructive criticism.

 Most importantly for writers who are Christian: be in God's Word daily and be in prayer. We want to be in the centre of God's will for our lives and for our writing. We can't be either if we're not connecting with Him. As it says in the notes of my Transformation Study Bible (Warren Wiersbe, NLT), 

"Our relationship to the Word of God indicates our relationship to the God of the Word."  

If our writing isn't going well, it's possible that we have gone off-centre and God wants us to refocus our attention on Him and what He wants.
____________

Post-script: I still haven't gotten around to reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, but I recently noticed a couple of other books in the form of guided journals: 300 Writing Prompts and Complete the Story. These look like fun resources to get the creative juices flowing!
_____________
Please visit my personal website at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.ca

12 Benefits of Belonging to a Writers' Group by Steph Beth Nickel

As a founding member of WWC (Women Writing for Christ), the last 10+ years have been an adventure; one I've been able to share with incredible friends and fellow writers.

Here are a dozen reasons you may want to join (or form) a writers' group:

1. Spend time with people who "get you."

Have you ever been excited about something you've read or something you've written only to share it with those whose eyes glaze over? It's nice when that doesn't happen.

2. Benefit from encouragement.

I'm not talking about flattery, but genuine, authentic encouragement. It's wonderful to spend time with fellow writers who will spur you on to develop your skills and who will point out what you do well and kindly let you know what you can improve.

3. Be challenged to learn new skills.

Whether it's in the form of recommended reading, critiques, or freewriting sessions, there are many ways you can learn as a member of a writers' group. You may even want to take turns teaching lessons. There's nothing like hunting up info to share to increase your knowledge.

4. Grow more courageous. 

Even experienced authors often find it unnerving to share their writing with others. You're in good company.

5. Learn how to take constructive criticism.

It isn't easy to hear what others say about your work, especially if they tell you what you could improve as well as what you did well. But it is a great way to develop as a writer. I've often said writers must be able to pour out their hearts on the page but have hides as thick as an alligator's.

6. Learn to critique others' writing.

It's surprising how much you can learn from critiquing another's work. It will help you improve your writing as well as theirs. Just a note ... It's best to find out what the other person wants you to focus on. A critique is not an edit.

7. Stretch your writing muscles with freewriting sessions.

While other members of WWC find this a real challenge, I love freewriting sessions ... maybe because I see journaling as "rambling until I stumble across truth." Plus, I think it's amazing how we all create completely different pieces from the same writing prompt. (There is no critiquing allowed at this stage. Otherwise, we'd be too timid to write whatever comes to mind and we definitely wouldn't want to share it.)

8. Get your creative juices flowing.

Being around other writers can inspire you to make the time to write no matter how crazy busy life gets. It also helps if you are expected to take something you've written to the next meeting.

9. Be challenged to write something you never considered before.

As I mentioned, each of us will start with the same prompt and produce entirely different pieces, from poems to short stories to nonfiction works. What fun!

10. Make connections with writers beyond your group.

The four founding members of WWC attended Write Canada over a decade ago ... in matching t-shirts no less. Talk about energizing! Even if you find the idea of attending a workshop or conference overwhelming, it's the perfect place to learn new skills and network with others in the writing world.

11. Publish.

It was through the founder of our group, Ruth Waring, that I met Deb Willows. Deb and I went on to coauthor her award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances. And who did I want at the launch? Members of WWC, of course.

12. Discover the thrill of "rejoicing with those who rejoice."

It isn't only about your writing successes; it's about celebrating those of other group members as well. The best writers' groups, in my opinion, are those made up of true friends who will challenge you to become all you can be and who will throw a party when you reach a milestone along the way.

To the ladies of WWC ... You are treasured gifts from God Himself. I'm thankful for each of you. 

Please note that I'm also thankful for each InScribe member I've had the privilege of interacting with. Our connection is a result of my membership in WWC. (I love how the Lord weaves our lives together.) 

And by extension, I'm thankful for each of you who is reading this. Without readers, where would writers be anyway?

On Affirmation - by Susan Barclay

Writers crave affirmation, and I've been blessed to be surrounded by people who've believed in my gifting. From my mother, who encouraged me to write down the songs and stories I verbalized at a very young age, to my husband, who said 'yes' when I talked with him about quitting my 'day job' to pursue the dream. And to those in between and beyond.

There was my grade three teacher - Mrs. Weiss - who, years later, could still recite the conclusion to a story I wrote in her class. There was my grade ten and twelve English teacher, Mrs. Michna, who with her enthusiasm, enlarged my passion for literature. And what would the discussion be without referencing my grade 13 Creative Writing teacher, Mr. Weir, who told us all to forget about writing? Plumbing was certainly a respectable profession. Not quite affirmation, but he explained privately that it was his way of motivating us to prove him wrong.

Writing for pleasure took a back seat during my university years, and it was only after I married and was on maternity leave with my first child that I started writing again. Perhaps not surprisingly, my efforts turned to children's picture books. Fast forward a few years, and the decision to pursue the dream meets up with the formation of a local writers' group. With the first meeting just hours away, I manage to drum up a page-worth of words for an initial submission. At the evening gathering one of the writers seems awestruck after reading my piece. "You have enough substance here for a novel," he says.

A novel? The thought hadn't entered my mind. But now it does, and it lingers there, urging me on. Fast forward again; the writers' group membership has shifted and changed, morphing into something new, something good and solid. My novel too has taken shape. One evening, Jenn, one of the other writers says, "I could see this being a One Book, One Community read someday." I am stunned.

I pass my work under the eyes of various Writers-in Residence. Wayson Choy, famed Canadian author of The Jade Peony among others, meets with me. "You are a writer," he says. Wow. He probably says that to all the participants, but still. Wow.

In grade 7, my son misses a visit with author Eric Walters at his school. His classmates tell him he missed an amazing event, but he just shrugs. "I live with an author," he says. "My mom writes books." I love my son :) Who else his age would prefer me to Eric?

I hope you have people in your life who encourage your writing, as I have. We writers can be very hard on ourselves and need others to believe in us and spur us on. With all those rejection letters, we discourage easily. But if God has truly given us the gift of communication and imagination, we need to keep going, trusting that He will open doors for our work to find readers. We have to rely on His affirmation most of all.

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. ~ George Mueller

----------------

For more of my writing, please visit my blog Notes From Innisfree and my website.

Growing as a Writer - by Susan Barclay

I've been writing in some form or other ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil. So hopefully I've grown quite a bit as a writer over the years. Many things have helped - teachers, books, conferences, courses, other writers...

While I've had a lot of positive feedback on my writing, to grow I've had to gain, and apply, knowledge. To this end, I've taken classes at the community college level; completed The Institute of Children's Literature's "Special Publishing" course; attended conferences like Write! Canada, Packaging Your Imagination, etc.; and participated in one-off workshops like Donald Maass' The Fire in Fiction.  I've done a lot of reading - the 'for pleasure' (and learning by osmosis) kind, and books that are on writing.  The writers in my collective are a huge help as well, providing honest critique.

The key, though, I believe, is practice, practice, practice. If a tree falls in the forest, does it still make a sound? If a writer doesn't write, is s/he still a writer? And so I strive to make writing a habit.  I blog; I prepare for writers' group meetings; I work on children's picture books, short stories for adults, and on my adult novel. Sometimes I even write poetry. I'll be the first to admit that if you graphed my attempts at disciplined writing, they'd resemble stock performances since 1934. But still I strive, and the overall movement is upward. The overall trend is growth and improvement.

I'll take it. How about you?

Please visit my website at www.susan-barclay.ca