There are so many topics to discuss when it comes to the writing and publishing processes, and I'm sure I've repeated most of them, because they are important and my process has evolved and grown as I have. One thing that has never changed for me is the importance of having a community of other writers and artsy type people around.
When I first started seriously focusing on writing back in high school, I had a friend introduce me to this site called fictionpress. I lot of people have used it, and it can be a brilliant resource. Well, I don't know how much anymore, but it used to be amazing. I would post up chapters of novels and would get all sorts of great constructive reviews. That support--even the really short reviews that just said "OMG...need the next chap"--was so helpful to keep me writing. It was really great motivation. Then fictionpress added in a new feature, forums, and all of a sudden it seemed like most people wanted to do short little RP-type stories instead of reading and reviewing actual stories. So I pulled all my stories down and left the site.
I'm still basically trying to find a replacement I really like. Well, a digital replacement anyway. My friend-group has typically always included a few other writers and they are good for in-person writing discussions. Digitally, there are sites like Critique Circle and Wattpad, which both have their advantages and disadvantages.
I like that on Critique Circle you have to pay credits to post up chapters, and you earn credits by reviewing the chapters of others. That's nice. But after you've left the newbie zone, it can be a lot harder to get those reviews. And sometimes the line to get a chapter in the review area can be a couple months long. With my writing and publication schedule I don't have that kind of time. Yes, there is an option to buy a subscription for CC and open up my own little zone just for my stuff, but will that be a worthwhile expense? I don't know.
Wattpad is all free, and you can post a novel a chapter at a time, but I wonder how effective it really will be in the long run. I've heard of a lot of people using it and liking it, but I don't have much experience with it myself.
Then, of course, right now I have my Camp NaNoWriMo cabin. Every session I manage to find a few people who are active in the cabin chat threads and since they are also in the middle of NaNo madness we can all support and encourage each other. Which is really great, but then the month ends and mostly we lose contact with each other. I don't know...maybe it would be worth it to find a place where we can gather online year-round and help each other out with more than just random help. Maybe we can form a beta-reading and editing group. That could be cool.
My local NaNoWriMo group is amazing...when we are all able to get together. A few years ago it felt like we would meet every week, or maybe every-other-week, year-round, and it was awesome. While we didn't always write, we always motivated each other to do more writing upon getting home. We went bowling, geo-caching, we flew kites...basically it was inspirational adventures where we could just hang out and also talk about writing, editing, publishing, the whole shebang. Now I feel like I'm lucky to see some of the group every few months. I miss the camaraderie.
Obviously, you can see my point with all of this rambling. Communities are important, and they help on so many different levels. So many people say that writing is a solitary job, and in some ways it is, because you have to lock yourself up somewhere and just write, but it is also incredibly social. Talking to other creative types helps to break free from any writer blockages and makes the whole experience feel a bit richer.
If you can find a group of fellow writers, poets, artists, creative types then I highly recommend it...whether that is a digital group or a local group, it is super helpful.
No comments:
Post a Comment