Why Growing Your Writing Network Is So Important

When I first got into writing when I was younger, it was a very solitary activity. I thought up the stories and wrote them down in my notebooks – after all, who else was going to be able to get the story from my mind onto a page? A writing network wasn’t even something I considered! But as I grew up, I realized it didn’t need to be a hobby for just me, myself, and I.

How Writing Networks Helped Me as a Young, Aspiring Author

I don’t remember how it started, but at some point in 7th grade, a group of friends and I somehow got into writing a novel together. We each created a character and passed around a notebook where we would write the next couple of chapters from our character’s point of view. It was fun and thrilling and helped my young, creative mind fill to the brim with ideas. This was when I began to realize how beneficial it was to be close to other writers, as we could bounce ideas off of each other and provide feedback to each other.

Eventually, that novel fizzled out as we moved from high school to college and all drifted apart. But, I maintained that sense of camaraderie over the years with other writers. In high school, I joined an online community called The Young Writer’s Society. Not only did I make great friends on the platform, but I was able to get some solid advice from other young writers after posting chapters or short stories. It was where “Show, Don’t Tell” really became engraved in my brain.

After college, I set up weekly writing sessions with friends. We would either meet at a coffee shop or jump on a phone call where we just spent the time focusing on writing our novels or blog posts. In fact, when Meagan and I aren’t working on our business, we still have calls to focus on writing. Those sessions have always been so beneficial for me in dedicating time to either pushing out words for my novel or focusing on the world building needed to make the story come alive.

The Benefits of Growing Your Own Writing Network

If you’re looking to grow your own writing network, then joining a writing community is one of the easiest steps for getting started. Those communities can help you with meeting other writers, learning about events, and potentially getting feedback on your own novel. But what are some of the other benefits of growing your writing network?

Fight Writer’s Block

It’s easy to get discouraged when you’re stuck at an impasse in your writing. Anyone who writes will understand just how bad writer’s block is to continuing in your novel or other work. But the great part about a writing network is that you aren’t alone in dealing with this. Your writing network can help you by bouncing ideas off of each other and helping you work through the point in your story that is giving you a hard time. They may be able to offer recommendations for how they deal with writer’s block. Does going on a run help them? Meditation? A good night of rest?

Gamify Your Writing

One of the fun things about writing with other people is that you can make it a little competitive with activities like writing sprints. For this activity, everyone agrees on a time limit and then attempts to write the most words within that time frame. This is a great way to really dedicate time to focusing on writing. It’s also super helpful to anyone working on National Novel Writing Month in November, where the focus is on quantity and not quality.

Outside of that, you could play storytelling or word games with people in your network. This gives you all the chance to take a break from your novels, but also work together to use your creativity and maybe think about things a different way. Perhaps this could even help with writer’s block!

Get Advice On Publishing

Drafting your query letter, researching agents, or figuring out the ins and outs of traditional publishing versus self-publishing… There are a lot of steps to take when trying to get your novel published. Having a network of writers can make it a bit easier to navigate the process, especially if you know someone who is currently querying or who has already been published.

Find the Perfect Cozy Atmosphere for Writing

If you’re trying to find a change of scenery for your writing time, then your local network will be able to give you recommendations on where to go – whether it’s a quaint local coffee shop or a location with a charming feel to it that will help inspire you. On top of that, communities like ours will give you the opportunity to travel for a writing retreat and help you get productive writing with the coziest of locations.

Join The Author’s Grove Writing Retreats Community

One of our main focuses at Author’s Grove Writing Retreats is to help both new and experienced authors grow their writing network and meet like-minded people. If you’re interested in seeing some of the benefits listed in this blog post, get started by joining our Discord server. We have channels dedicated to getting feedback, networking with other authors, and getting the latest updates on upcoming events, such as our 2024 writing retreat. We can’t wait to see you there and get to know more about you and the novel you are working on!