For anyone who’s tried to take a stab at writing, specifically writing which involves storytelling, one thing becomes abundantly clear: that it can be a solitary, even isolating endeavor to undertake.
This was something I struggled with for a few years actually. That sense of separation, especially when just starting out, can be daunting, even demotivating. It can lead to a feeling that what you’re working on doesn’t matter, or get you stuck in a rut when it comes to trying to fix a story and not knowing the best way to go about it.
As lonely as the actual pen-to-paper writing process might be, that doesn’t mean that the entire process of making a story has to be. I joined a local writing group of similarly-minded writers, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Hampton Roads, close to a year ago, and in my opinion, it was one of the best decisions I could have made.
The first, most obvious benefit of a writing group is that it can bring new eyes to a piece of writing that you’ve no doubt already spent many long and arduous days looking over. As much as you can self-edit and critique your own work, there’s always something to be said about taking a story in its early phases of construction and allowing someone completely unfamiliar to look at it. Typos, inconsistencies, and even complete narrative issues will be revealed that you might not have noticed or considered, and will help you realize those story details that might need to be made more clear to a prospective reading audience.
The second, less obvious benefit is that it also allows you to critique other people’s works. While this might initially come across as unnecessarily added work or even an inconvenience (after all, wouldn’t you want to keep on writing your own stories rather than reading and commenting on someone else’s?), I’ve actually been surprised to find out how much I value and appreciate this aspect of the story-sharing process. By looking through and giving critique on someone else’s work, you can gain a greater understanding of the writing and story-telling craft than you might have been able to by just trying to write on your own. Because there’s no personal attachment to the work being critiqued, you’re able to view it in a more objective, editorial way, and will be more likely to notice those specific elements that are conducive to a story working and those elements that might detract or hamper a narrative. I’ve found that it really allows me to then consider how best to apply those lessons to my own writing and avoid potential problems I might not have recognized before.
And last but not least, a huge benefit of being involved in a writing group is the sense of motivation it can bring to your own process. Ever since joining my current group, I’ve found that I’ve been so much more productive than I ever was in the past, able to break through any potential writer’s block or slump of self-doubt with the knowledge that no matter what state the end result might be, there will be a group of people there ready and willing to come at it with open and constructive minds. This is an invaluable mindset to have, especially for an amateur and aspiring writer (such as myself), since the amount of rejections you will receive at the beginning of your writing journey will most likely far outweigh the number of successes. It’s always important to keep that creative spark burning, and merely the act of interacting with others who share your same passion has the potential to do just that.