07 April 2011

The Writing Community

Sophia's post has inspired me, particularly her comments about how welcoming and supportive the writing community is.  I had written a first novel and knew writing was something I wanted to pursue and decided to take the leap into blogging and joining twitter.  At some point in those months (I say that like I don't remember the exact moment, which in fact I do.  Here's the blog post: The First Paragraph), Sophia commented on my post.  It was a huge turning point for me, some random stranger had commented on my blog and ended up wanting to be critique partners.

I am not a naturally competitive person.  I feel bad when sports teams lose, even when I'm cheering for a particular team.  I love games but constantly wish everyone could tie.  And I really dislike working really hard for something and still not winning or doing well, especially when there are other people I am competing against.  Those reasons must be why I quit sports after 7th grade and joined choir and did musicals instead.  I adore the writing community for some of these exact same reasons, everyone is so darn welcoming and supportive.  Strangers comment on blog posts and offer what help then can.  Big shot writers add you on twitter and offer advise.  Some may give you harsh critiques, but I haven't yet encountered anyone who tells others to quit writing entirely, they always say to keep learning and work hard.

How often do we have the chance to belong to a community as wonderful as this?

4 comments:

  1. Aww, I'm all warm and fuzzies
    It's been awesome meeting you Juliana! And to be able to share our worlds with each other - Rupert's and Amby's. This is just the beginning :)

    Can't wait to see your new stuff too!

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  2. This is so true. I'm not competitive either. I know we can all share our stories. Writing isn't a competition to the finish line, it's an art. One everyone should enjoy, from both sides, as the reader and the writer. All we need are more agents and publishing houses and we're golden. hehe
    have fun!!

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  3. I enjoy blogging, too, but find keeping one and following others to be time consuming. It needs to be limited. I'm still trying to figure out how.

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  4. I love reading everyone's journeys on blogs, through tweets and FB wall posts. Becoming a published writer is hard. And it’s a LOT of work. It’s fun following along - I can relate. All your words help push and motivate me. Keep on writing people!

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