Finding your tribe: Why every writer needs a writing community.

Have you ever felt like the writer that couldn’t write?

Everything you write is drivel. If, that is, you manage to write anything at all.

Instead you while away the time, staring out the window or you find something ‘more productive’ to do. Like unnecessary laundry. Or clearing out the attic. No matter how hard you try, you seem to get nowhere. In fact, the harder you try, the worse it gets. And it’s not for want of ideas. Your head’s brimming with stories screaming to be released onto the page. 

Diagnosis: You’re fine. You’re just going through the writer’s cycle.  

Prescription: You need to find other writers… or, better yet, a writing community. 

Writing doesn’t need to be lonely

“Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”

Philip Pullman

… So said a brilliant writer. 

Except that’s exactly what we want as writers. Sympathy. A knowing nod, a sympathetic shrug. Even better, where’s that magic wand to make that writing rut disappear? 

Sorry to say, we’re still working on that one. But all writers know what it’s like to feel stuck. Whether they’re halfway through their sixth draft or they’re starting something new from the beginning, we all get it (though some of us might not care to admit it). 

The solution? 

“You can’t think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block.”

John Rogers

Write yourself out of it. Sounds like a vicious cycle, right? Not to mention, lonely. Sure, it works a lot of the time, but when it doesn’t…? 

That’s where a writing community comes in. Having people around you who have been there, done that, and got the survivor’s t-shirt is important. Not just for the sympathy you don’t get anywhere else but for tips and tricks to help you get out of it. 

You wouldn’t climb a mountain (or a wall) without a buddy, to motivate and support you. So why would you write an 80,000 word novel alone? 

Make the writing journey easier (day I say enjoyable) for yourself. Find your tribe, your community of writers at an Orwrite retreat. Have a cup of tea, chat it through and watch that writing block crumble. 

Developing your writing through community

"You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.”

Octavia E. Butler

Everyone thinks they can write. 

Everyone can. But writing well takes practice. It’s a craft, after all. And good writers have to learn it. 

Through every draft, revision and edit, writers develop their skill. Like anything, the more you do, the more natural, the more instinctive it becomes. 

Engaging with other writers only speeds up the process. Whether multi-bestselling or recently self-published, other writers have different ways of working that might just work for you too.

All of them learned somewhere.  Whether online or in-person, reading the craft books of great authors or through Youtube masterclasses, they learnt from more experienced writers before them. 

Even the greats had a community of writer friends egging them on to greatness. C S Lewis and Tolkien had The Inklings. Val McDermid and Mark Billingham have the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers (look them up). 

At Orwrite, we really believe ‘you’ll never write alone’. At least, you’ll never write well if you try to do it alone. And why should you? 

So come join your tribe and see where your writing takes you.

Orwrite- the support you need to write your way

Finding your writing tribe is important. Writing communities are great sounding boards. They offer challenge and suggestion to elevate your writing. Yet, sometimes receiving feedback can be demoralising. Comments about a project you’ve put your soul into can be soul-destroying. And posting work to online groups in the age of AI can be daunting. 

It’s not surprising so many writers keep their skill- and their dreams- to themselves. But development of those stories- and those writers- is more difficult. 

That’s why Orwrite was created. To build a community, where writers feel safe to develop among like-minded creators. Where feedback is strictly supportive and where tips and tricks of the trade are shared over tea and coffee. Because you’ll never write alone. 

And after all, if it was good enough for The Inklings and the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers…