You can listen to the audio version of this post below.

This is a part of the October 2020 blog challenge. You can find the other posts here.

Somewhere on the other side of the world, these two books sit side by side on the shelf of Kris Emery - editor extraordinaire. I met Kris in a book writing group which she ran with writing coach Annick Ina. When I joined the group, I had been blogging for a year, and wrapped up my first series of blogs for which this entire site is named - 39 lessons I learned before I turned 40. 

During my time in the group, I completed the first draft of my first published book, in the company of other first time book authors. However, this wasn’t my first time in a writing group, and it would not be my last. When I started my blog, I was part of a Facebook group of bloggers where we could share our work, get feedback and get encouragement from others who were just starting out their blogs. There I met two amazing friends, and also was able to get over my fear of sharing my work with people I didn’t know in a safe environment.

Today, I belong to other writing groups, and I have even run some of my own. I even came up with the idea for this blog series during a session in one of my favourite writing groups - the See Jane Write Collective (which is open for enrollment right now!) 

If there is one thing that this journey of writing, blogging, self-publishing and coaching has taught me is - writing is a team sport. In fact, I firmly believe that having community while I write changed both my writing and my life. 

I have written off and on during my life for years, but my writing really took off when I started to become part of writing groups. Prior to that, I always thought of writing as this solitary exercise, me sitting alone in front of my laptop, tapping away, lost in a world of my own, and there are parts of it that are like that. But writing groups helped me build my courage to share my writing, to receive feedback and to hone my craft. I am not convinced that I would be the writer I am today if I had continued to write alone. 

Here are 3 ways in which community changed my writing for the better.

1. I felt understood. Writing (and other forms of creativity) can bring up a lot of fears and resistance that we didn’t even know were there. Fears around whether we are good enough writers, fears of judgement from readers, family and friends, memories of English class at school to name a few. I have had all of those fears and many many more. In fact, I noticed that as I write, I have a very loud inner critical editor that sometimes fills me with doubt.

And sometimes, the only people who seemed to understand this was other writers. When I am with other writers, they understand my fears, and they assure me that these feelings are perfectly normal, and they encourage me to write anyway.

Their encouragement and understanding has often been the push I needed to write in spite of those fears. They help me brainstorm ideas, and help me to write when I am stuck. They inspire me to dream big writing goals, and then cheer me on as I work to achieve them. Having a community of writers helps me feel seen and understood in such incredible ways, and many a time this has been the reason that I have kept on writing instead of giving up.

2. I felt witnessed. While it is true that not all writing needs to be shared, I believe in the power of sharing our stories and bringing our voices into the world, and you can read more about it here in my post about being an Everyday Storyteller. I believe that stories form powerful connections between us, and I think it is very important that at least some of our stories we share with others. I also won’t lie - it can be terrifying and I think that we all have a fear of judgement.

Being a part of a group of writers has been a safe space for me to have those stories witnessed, before I was ready to share them publicly. In many cases, those in the group were my first readers. Having them there allowed me to  build the muscle of sharing in an environment of trust before I took them into the real world.

It helped me to determine which stories I was ready to share, and which I wasn’t, and it gave me just enough courage to move onto the next step - sharing with friends/family and eventually the world. While I used to believe that I needed courage to share my writing, I found that I built courage THROUGH sharing my writing, and having a group to share with was where that courage was built.

3. I learned a LOT. It was in these groups that I learned about self-publishing and the steps required. I learned how I could format my blog better, and where I could find stock images when I don’t find any of my own photos that fit the post. I learned about opportunities to collaborate, about publications where I could freelance. I learned about SEO and storytelling techniques. And I learned the things I have already mentioned. How to write in spite of my fears, and share my work.

Community made me a better writer.

I truly believe that the right company can change us for the better, and that has been the case throughout this writing journey of mine. 

As for the book in the photo at the top of this blog, I also met that author - Amanda J P Brown - in a group of writers, which I joined so that I could learn about marketing and promoting my book. I later discovered that we had the same editor, and by some happy coincidence, both of our books sat side by side on her bookshelf in Australia. I wanted to recreate some of that magic here on my shelf. 

If you are a writer, a writer at heart, or someone who is even thinking about writing, I hope that you find a community of writers that can journey with you. There are no better companions to ride with.

I send you big love from a small island.

Here are the books from myself and the authors in the first image above. Check them out!

Lisa Gale - Drawing Closer to Him

Me!! Safiya Robinson - Everything Is a Thing - my journey to living a truly authentic life or get a physical copy on Amazon.

Keisha Rock - Releasing the past. Building beauty from brokenness

Kim L Ramsay - Barbados most wanted