Writing as a Team Sport
All throughout school, I hated team projects. Not because I didn’t like collaborating ideas with other people, but because invariably everyone has different work ethics and different schedules to accommodate. For all their trouble, I just preferred to do the whole project myself.
However, as I’m embarking on my writing career, I’m finding that teamwork can be not only a good but vital aspect to success. Not only in establishing your own professional team (especially if you are an indie author) to do things you cannot or should not—editing your manuscript, developing a cover design, crafting a website, etc.—but also in the more amorphous benefits of teamwork: encouragement, support, working towards a similar goal. It’s this aspect that I suddenly find myself a huge proponent of embracing writing as a team sport, at least for my own success.
I never really had a writing community up until a few years ago, beginning with a single, special friend deciding to devote herself to writing her novel at the same time I did mine. It expanded to people I met during NaNoWriMo, to people I through my writing coach, to finally people I met and continue to meet in online forums, Twitter writing/book events, etc. Once you open yourself up to engaging with the local or global writing community, it’s only a matter of time before you cultivate the right assortment of people to aid you along your journey.
The second half of 2015 was my heyday of writing. All was going well, my novel was coming along, and I had a great group of diverse writing buddies. People who were local and could meet up in person, people who I clicked with and offered insights beyond my own perspective, people who encouraged me and kept me on task just as much as I did them.
Then it all changed.
After the writing fury of November and NaNoWriMo, most people need a break. Life needed to get back on track, and daily writing isn’t a reality for most people. So my group got smaller, if only until the next NaNo event.
Then, one of the core people I continued to work with moved across the country, to Arkansas. That was a blow not only to my writing life, but also my personal life. I had only known her for a short time, but we clicked instantly. She was quickly becoming one of my Very Special Friends, and one of the few that was a part of my everyday life.
A few months after that, another core (and equally awesome) writing buddy also decided to move across the country, this time to Texas. Another blow. Another loss.
Welcome, 2016, the year of learning to write by myself again.
This also became the year of expanding the reaches of my buddy circle outside of my local area. I stay in touch with these newly-far friends through social media and Skype; surprisingly, doing word sprints with a buddy over Skype is not so different from being in the same room. You have someone to talk to, a face to look at, and the newfound ability to mute if surrounding noise gets too distracting. Writing is such an isolating activity that it’s nice to have that “another person in the room” feeling, and video calls provide that.
I got involved in my writing coach’s group coaching program, which connects writers from all over. Skype comes to the rescue yet again! They are a lovely bunch of people, and I’m thrilled to work and share with them.
Additionally, I’ve begun using social media for far more than just relaying my personal and professional life. Facebook has a ton of great writing groups, and I’m steadily interacting with more authors from around the world.
Currently, I’m taking a little vacation and visiting that writer friend in Arkansas. I love exploring this new state—it’s absolutely beautiful and holds far more treasures than I would have imagined. More than that, though, I love connecting and writing with her again. I love the idea (and now practice) of visiting writing friends to reconnect, work, and experience new parts of the country.
So, I’m in the midst of a paradigm-shift in my writing circle. I previously relied on close and convenient friends to fill out my writing team, and they were wonderful. ARE wonderful, because they are still very much present in my life. Now, though, I am actively seeking new methods of staying in contact with them and finding new people and opportunities to broaden my writing horizons.
For me, writing IS a team sport, and I heartily thank every past, present, and future friend who ever was or will be a part of my team, for however long. You are more important than you know.
