The Writing Community

It’s my first Friday blog of the new year and the subject of this little chat shall be entitled THE WRITING COMMUNITY.

Listen friends, in the grand scheme of things, readers and writers and bloggers and those actively involved in all–of-the-above make up a very small community. It’s a community that is quick to praise and quick to love and quick to friend. I adore the writing world. And I think that’s why it’s so jarring when a portion of the community turns on one of our own.

This week I had coffee with a writer pal. (Do you have a local writer pal? I hope so!) My pal had caught wind of this incredibly unfortunate event in the community. It started with an author and an idea and, with the help of social media, it snowballed into a vitriolic mudslinging affair that included threats and name calling. Sad. Awful. Terrifying. 

Unacceptable. 

This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened within our little world and I know it won’t be the last, but it’s writers like you guys that give me hope. You’re all so fabulous at COMMUNITY. You encourage one another, and you work at your craft, and you know that not everyone has the same stories to tell. You get it.

Here are five things I think we do pretty well here, things I’d love to see more of in the writing community at large.

Thoughtful dialogue. I love that the writing world is full of thinkers, but sometimes technology gets the best of us. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but before you type that comment, post that blog, or compose that review, you owe it to the entire community to think it through. Are you adding something beneficial to the conversation or just stirring the pot? Don’t just spew. Use your brain.

Consideration. You may not like a book or a writer or a blogger, but it’s important to remember that there are real live people on the other end of these computers and you should treat each one with the kind of dignity you hope to receive.

Bravery. Most of the people who write for public consumption have superhero status in my mind. It is terrifying to let others pick apart your work, and yet this community is overflowing with souls willing to give it a go. I applaud that. But there’s another kind of bravery we need. The kind that stands up for someone being bullied. The kind that refuses to take part in the tearing down of other writers. So many are quick to pile on when a member of the community has stumbled and it takes a special someone to simply refuse. Be that person.

Benefit of the doubt. Confession, I stole this one from a marriage book. But I think all great relationships need this. And that’s what a community is, right? A collection of relationships. Why must we always assume that others had ill-intentions? Why must we be defensive? I’m not asking you to be a door mat and let people walk all over you, but if you can teach yourself to first assume that someone else had the best of intentions when they did this or that, it will change the way you approach every conversation. 

Mentoring. Officially, unofficially, I don’t care how it happens, but there is a wealth of knowledge out there locked away in the minds of writers who’ve been doing this thing a while. Competitiveness can curb sharing in any community and there is certainly a level of that in what we do. But there is something so appealing about an author who freely shares what they know. It makes all of us look good.