Welcome to A Novel Approach. If this is your first issue, I encourage you to check out my back issues for more tips on how to write a novel. It's my fondest hope that I can help other writers do the best they can do.

If you have any specific aspects about novel writing you'd like me to address in future issues, please feel free to contact me and let me know what those are. Thank you for your interest, and here's to better writing!

Creating a Writing Community
- Anywhere

You need a writing community!

What's a Writing Community?

A writing community is merely any connection between you and other writers. This might be an offline, local writing group (I belong to two), an online writing or critiquing group, a friend you know who also writes and commiserates when you're blocked or lacking enough time, or even a "penpal" of the modern variety, via the internet.

Writers communicating with each other in any way, even if it's only to chat about the frustrations working alone can bring, create a "community" of writers.

Most groups that spring up "locally" tend to be critique groups. Ones where the writers bring short excerpts of their writing to share and get other opinions for editing. One of the two I belong to has about 40 members, though you rarely see more than 10 at any one meeting. Usually three to six people bring things to have critiqued.

We choose a topic each month, sometimes have guest speakers, and finish by critiquing the writing people brought. The range of writing styles is wide, with everything from poetry to memoirs to historical to fantasy.

But you needn't be that complex. The other group I belong to doesn't always have a topic (it's newer, and we haven't settled on how to do things), has only four people who attend regularly, and thus, a narrower range of writing styles.

Both give me something I can't find alone: outside perspectives to my writing and ideas from theirs.

How Can You Create a Writing Community?

Maybe there are no writing groups near where you live. I happen to live in a dinky town near a slightly less dinky town, but the devotion to fine arts in the area is phenomenal. If I did not have this availability, though, I would look online.

There are groups galore who "meet" online. Some (I believe) at regularly scheduled times, others who work more as a forum or blog, posting writing and critiquing what's posted.

Do a search and you'll find quite a list of possibilities. Check them out and see who you mesh well with. I've never seen any fee for joining a group, and you can leave pretty much anytime, if the group doesn't fit your needs.

If, on the other hand, you really want to have a local group, advertise at your local library. You'll have to take the initiative to pull it together (and believe me, busy people have a hard time making room in their lives for one more commitment).

Once a month works best, for most groups of this type, and someone will need to "stay in charge", if for nothing else than keeping notes on topics and meeting dates and times.

Then lay ground rules.

• No Vicious Critiquing - Thoughtfully and gently say where and how someone could improve the piece they brought. Mention what you like, too.
• Stay on Track - This can be very difficult, as it's tempting to chat.
• Set Time Limits - If you have ten people who all brought writing samples, you need to limit each person's reading and being critiqued to no more than ten minutes, assuming you meeting is over an hour in length.
• Be Nice to Beginners and Advanced Writers Alike - No one wants to feel bad about their writing efforts. Be sure everyone feels they've done something well, even while you give ideas for improvement.
• No Condescending - If you've had more experience writing, don't belittle those who haven't.
• Have Fun - If you don't enjoy it, what's the point? You may need a different group or venue.

Getting Creative

If you don't see any online groups that entice you, and don't have enough interest nearby, try finding one or two fellow writers from blogs or forums and inviting them to make a mini-group.

I met a writer in Ireland merely because we saw each other's websites. We now correspond regularly, and I have one more link to keep me from going insane working alone.

So don't despair. There' someone out there you can connect with. And your writing will profit from it.

Here's a quote about battling the isolation writing can bring.

I think writers need windows on a view to remind them that a whole world is out there, not the minutiae with which they might be dealing on a close scale. ~ Anne McCaffrey