Why is a writing community so important? Why do you have to have people around you to write a bunch of words? 

    I am here to answer those questions for you today! After being a writer for a little over three years, I have been in plenty of different writing communities that look completely different and I’ve figured out what works for me and what doesn’t. I want to show you the importance of writing communities and what the different communities look like. 

    So, let’s dive into the article!

What is a Writing Community?

    Before we ask why a writing community is important, we have to ask what is a writing community? 

    A writing community is a group of writers who do things with each other having to do with writing such as critique each other’s work, brainstorm together, support each other’s platforms, just chat about writing or books, etc…

    A writing community could look very different from this, but this is usually what most writing communities look like. 

    Often, an effective writing community has writers who write the same genre or are at the same age or simply have something in common. Because one thing that makes a writing community effective is the ability to have fun. 

    You heard me right! Have fun! 

    A good writing community is made out of a bunch of friends who love to talk and laugh. You might not even talk about writing all the time, but that’s fine!

    Having fun is really important!

How Big Should a Writing Community Be?

    I have been in several writing groups of different sizes and I think I’ve decided what sizes work for me. 

    It is honestly up to you how big you want your writing community to be, but let me explain the sizes for a moment. 

    Larger communities with more than twenty peoples are super helpful for a lot of things. In large groups you may find super supportive readers, critique partners, or some amazing writer friends who you will spend a lot of time hanging out with. 😂

    Then you have smaller communities with only a few people, around twenty or less. These groups are a lot more personal and supportive. Usually these groups will be people writing in your genre or people who are at the same stage in their writing as you. And these people will usually be your good friends. 

    Smaller groups are much easier to brainstorm with or ask for help because the people in these groups will probably know your situation a lot better. But often, since these people are your friends, you want to make sure you get their honest opinion on your work when asking for critique. 😉

How Do You Find a Writing Community?

    This could be the hardest question out of all of them. Finding other writers can be difficult. But, if you found this blog, you are on the right track, my friend! 

    If there was one safe Christian writing community I would recommend to you it would be The Young Writer’s Workshop. (YWW does cost money, but it is totally worth it!) I joined YWW a year ago, and it changed my writing. It gives you an amazing community for teen writers. It is a larger community, but you can easily find other young writers like yourself who would love to start a smaller group. Through this large group, I’ve found a smaller group of friends/writers and we have so much fun online and some of us even got to meet in person when I went to YWW Conference a couple weeks ago! But if you’d like to find a group another way, there are plenty of ways to do it. 

    You could find other writers in your town or city and meet in person, or you could attend a writing conference and find people there! Or keep an eye out for other places writers may be! I started my writing journey with a couple of friends who live on the other side of the state and we would write in Google Docs together and encourage each other in our projects. 

    You really need a writing community. It helps tremendously. So please, don’t be shy! Find your perfect writing community!

So, Why is a Writing Community so Important?

    To wrap this up, I will finish with the question asked first. Why is a writing community so important?

    Because it gives you a place to share your writing and help it grow better by getting critiques and help. Writing isn’t a lonely thing. You need other writers around you who know how writing works to help. 

    And you never know, you could find some of your best friends in the process! 

    If you have any more questions, feel free to put them in the comments below and I would be happy to answer them!

    Until next time, 

~A.J. Syngrafèas