5 Reasons to Join a Writing Group

Do you feel like you’re the only one in the world striving hard to achieve your writing goal? If you do, you’ve found one excellent reason to join a group. Writers often work on their masterpieces by themselves, stopping now and then to recall the spelling of a word or ponder whether to make the paragraph longer or shorter. But why ask yourself those questions when you could ask a bunch of like-minded individuals? Here are five reasons to join a writing group. 

Social conversation with like-minded people

Some writing groups like to get together to talk over a beer or a coffee. Now you might wonder how that’s different from socializing with friends. The difference is a group of writers talking about life, video games, jobs, or movies will eventually start talking about stories.

They’ll compare movie plots with plots in novels. They’ll talk about historical events and how those events can become plots in stories.

Life conversations revolve around writing. How does one find time to write if one has a full-time job? How do writers get inspiration for their writing? When is the best time of day to write?

Just being around like-minded people can get you in the mood to either start writing or keep writing, knowing that other people face the same struggles.

Discussions about writing

Writing groups are a safe space to hold discussions in-person or online about writing. Unlike casually chatting with your friend (who doesn’t write outside of work) about a novel you are working on, your writing group is not only interested in what you’re doing, but they can provide you with support. They empathize with your struggles when you have writer’s block. 

They know the pain when you forgot to save 1000 words because you shut off your computer by mistake at 3 a.m. Most importantly, they might have suggestions on books and other resources to help you write better or get over the hurdle of developing your protagonist.

You have a group of people who have been where you are and know what you’re going through.

Ideas, resources, and industry information 

A writing group that meets in person and has an online discussion platform can keep the discussion going after an in-person meeting. For example, if the group sets up channels on a platform such as Discord, they can share thoughts under specific topics, such as conversations for future get togethers, self promos for books, writing topics, publishing topics, and critiques of each other’s work. 

They can also share resources, such as writing books they recommend, and thoughts on industry trends for best ways to promote books, and what types of literature is most popular.

Accountability for writing goals

You can find people in the group who are looking for accountability partners. Some people find it difficult to find motivation to write or stick to their writing goals if they are easily distracted or overwhelmed by life’s challenges and distractions (good and bad).

If you have an accountability partner, you know you will report to someone at the end of a designated time period to tell them about your writing progress. Between the two of you, you don’t want to be the one who didn’t achieve your writing goals!

An audience

The most important reason for joining a writing group is you already have an audience. This is especially important if you are a first-time writer and you don’t have an audience for your work. Your writing group is there to support you on your journey to finish (or just work on) your writing project. You have an audience who will give you feedback and comments and encourage you to keep writing.

Key Takeaways

Joining a writing group has a lot of perks. You’ll be in an environment of supportive, like-minded people who face some of the same writing struggles that you do. They can help you with resources and advice and hold you accountable to your writing goals. Also, if you’ve lost the motivation to write, your writing group can inspire you to start thinking about writing again.