In the writing community, there’s been a lot of discourse about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) recently, including their support of AI in writing, and their covering up moderators grooming minors.
While I, and most sane people, condemn both actions, I have seen another unified statement from the writing community…
It sucks that NaNoWriMo has to end because it was a great place for meeting fellow writers and encouraging each other. Plus, the concept of trying to write 50k words in 30 days is something that’s helped a lot of writers.
I’m here to tell you that just because the official NaNoWriMo site and owners suck, doesn’t mean we have to stop doing NaNoWriMo-type events.
They don’t own the concept of trying to write X amount of words in X amount of days. And they certainly don’t own the concept of writers forming a community to support each other.
I think the concept of trying to write X amount of words in X amount of day is an excellent one that every writer should try at least once. I took part in NaNoWriMo about ~7 times, and the event is what gave me the kickstart to move from fan fiction to original fiction.
But it doesn’t have to be done to the rules set by an organisation that is frankly not a good representation of the writing community as a whole.
Make your own rules. Write Mon-Fri. Aim for 30k words instead. Do the event in January. Whatever works for you, as long as it gets your butt in a seat, writing words.
But even with different goals and habits, one thing remains constant and is (in my opinion) the most important thing a writer can have…
A good community.
There are support groups for everything, so why not for writing? Oftentimes, writing is a lonely pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be.
A good community can offer so much, such as advice from people with more experience or different viewpoints. Somewhere to go to and share your feelings and feel less alone. A wealth of knowledge and resources.
Some communities even host events, such as writing sprints (where we all sit in silence for 30 minutes, racing to see who can write the most words in that time), critique workshops and accountability posts.
If any of these sound like things that would help you as a writer, I suggest seeking out a writing community, and I have an excellent one to recommend.
The Write Here, Write Now Community, from Karen Sanders Editing.
I’ve mentioned both WH,WN and Karen Sanders (aka author Kyra Lennon) on my blog numerous times, but let me give you a rundown on WHY Karen is the perfect leader of a community like this.
Karen has been writing almost all of her life, weaving in her personal struggles into her novels, as a way of processing complex emotions. She speaks in depth about that here.
She has also served as an editor for numerous authors, including bestsellers like Ker Dukey, Lisa Hobman, Heather MacKinnon and Maya Nicole.
Over the years, she has learned what makes a book good, and what makes readers stop after one chapter. As an indie author, she’s also learned a lot about how to sell books and connect with potential readers.
Those skills alone make Karen an excellent community leader, but she also studied counselling, meaning she has an understanding of how the mind works, and how to produce the best in people, while also helping them overcome any issues they may have.
Many members of the WH, WN community had never published a book before joining, and now have released their debut or are about to. Even experienced authors have found new confidence and pushed themselves out of their comfort zones.
Writers in the community have shared experiences, acted as accountability and critique partners for each other, celebrated each other’s successes and acted as cheerleaders for other writers. During the summer, some of the members submitted short stories to the After The Rain Anthology and raised over £150 for the charity Hopefull Handbags.
In October there is a ‘Face Your Fears’ event, where community members are encouraged to create a bingo card of twenty writing-related things that scare them -- such as writing a different genre, doing a Facebook Live video to promote their books, writing X amount of words in X amount of days, and anything else they can think of!
I’ll be taking part, and doing my own version of NaNoWriMo by trying to write 50k days by the end of the month, which is more than double my usual target of 20k words per month.
Here is a more extensive list of what The Write Here, Write Now Community has to offer.
- An exclusive members-only Facebook group
- Over £200 worth of learning resources to help you improve your writing and grammar skills, get a better understanding of author marketing, boost your confidence, and enhance your mindset
- A minimum of 1 masterclass with an industry expert every month to help you with your authorly struggles OR a group workshop to polish up your writing skills
- A minimum of 3 one-hour writing sprints per month to increase your productivity
- A minimum of 3 coffee mornings to get to know your fellow members
- 10% off any future courses from Karen Sanders Editing with a discount code (excludes group coaching program)
- A 10% discount one-to-one coaching with Karen Sanders Editing
- 10% off general edits with Karen Sanders Editing (excludes backlist book editing)
- A weekly wins post every Friday to celebrate our successes!
And to sweeten the deal, from today until September 15th only, Karen is offering a 50% discount for your first month for readers of my blog (limited to 50 only).
The code is: SEPDEAL
From a personal standpoint, I cannot recommend The WH,WN Community enough. I have made life-long friends, learned more about myself and what works for me as a writer, and developed a better mindset when it comes to writing and related tasks such as marketing.
If you’re looking for an inclusive, varied, friendly writing community to help you grow as a writer, I suggest taking advantage of the 50% discount and checking out The Write Here, Write Now Community.
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