Episode 113: The Power of a Writing Community

[00:00:00] We often glorify writers in a way that makes them seem like these solo acts that go off by themselves,

[00:00:09] create these beautiful stories and then bring them out into the world and just wonder how do they do it?

[00:00:15] Well I'm pulling back the curtain today and want to talk about the power of a writing community

[00:00:21] because every good writer has a good writing community. I'm so excited you're here today,

[00:00:26] let's get started. Hello hello and welcome to another episode of The Written Compass. I'm so

[00:00:35] excited you're here, just want to give a shout out as we are moving and trucking through the year,

[00:00:40] just so grateful for this community and all the different ways that it is allowing me through the

[00:00:45] podcast to connect with amazing folks just like you. So make sure as you're listening how you

[00:00:51] leave me a review, you share it with someone who means it, you subscribe to the podcast so you

[00:00:57] make sure you do not miss an episode. And today I want to talk about the power of a writing community.

[00:01:05] This isn't something new, I've talked about this many many times and you know that's the thing about

[00:01:09] writing and writers is often the things that we are so passionate about. We keep talking about

[00:01:14] them over and over and over again and that is okay, I just want to affirm that if you feel like

[00:01:19] you say the same things over and over again, you're kind of showing the same wisdom over

[00:01:23] and over again, that's probably a good indication by the way wink wink nudge nudge that you are ready

[00:01:27] to put those ideas down in a book. And the one thing that I think is most important is that

[00:01:35] you find a community that is going to support you on that writing journey whatever your

[00:01:39] intentions are for your words. Because here's the deal, writing is often viewed as a solo act

[00:01:46] which makes sense, it makes sense that we think oh this is just something we do on our own

[00:01:50] by ourselves because ultimately who's the one that puts the words on the page whether with a pen

[00:01:56] or pencil or with fingers on a keys, it's ultimately you right? You're the one that gets the words down.

[00:02:02] However what we may not realize is that all of our writing, all of it, every single word we come

[00:02:08] up with, it's a socially constructed message, idea, concept. We're influenced by others,

[00:02:15] we learn language because of being in community with others and so it makes sense that even as

[00:02:20] we're sharing our own ideas, they are connected and influenced by others. So how do we make the most

[00:02:28] of this influence? And I truly believe it is by having a powerful writing community. So I want

[00:02:35] to break down the importance of this and how and why it's going to be essential for you

[00:02:41] to go from idea to publish, you need to have that powerful writing community. So probably the number

[00:02:49] one thing that I see in our community, our embodied writing community that all of our clients, however

[00:02:55] they're working with us get to be a part of is inspiration and motivation. When we write in a

[00:03:02] community with others, we naturally like you're vibing off of each other right? You're feeling

[00:03:08] the energy of others and even when I show up thinking, good gosh, I have nothing to write,

[00:03:13] I have no smart ideas. I don't want to be here. I don't want to do it. I will inevitably feel

[00:03:20] inspiration by simply seeing someone else if this is one of our writing days that we have in our

[00:03:25] community, seeing someone else's smile right when they show up or hearing their words and

[00:03:31] feeling inspired by them in our writing as healing Facebook community, the comments,

[00:03:36] the shares that we hear from others really get me going and motivate me to go, yeah,

[00:03:42] I want to write it too. And here's what I'm thinking and it just is like a snowball effect.

[00:03:48] We get excited to write when we find that inspiration and motivation in community of others.

[00:03:53] And when we get excited, our ideas are going to flow. It's easier for the words to come out.

[00:03:59] It's just making the process more palatable and more enjoyable and more motivating. So that

[00:04:05] is probably the number one thing that I see happening. The other thing that I see in number two

[00:04:11] is accountability and with any kind of goal, you need to have some loving accountability. And

[00:04:17] I call it loving because I really, the older I get, the more I am less of the hustle grind,

[00:04:24] come on, push it. Yeah, there's times and moments where we need to turn our hat backwards,

[00:04:30] roll up our sleeves and like kind of lean in and grind in and put her shoulder into it as

[00:04:35] me and my good friend say. And there's other times where we just need that loving accountability,

[00:04:40] right? And I try to lean towards that a little bit more than the hustle and grindy these days.

[00:04:44] And so when I know someone is waiting for me to show up to a writing day or they're waiting

[00:04:49] to give some feedback on my next draft with my writing coaches and editors, that's what I feel

[00:04:55] and they're kind of lovingly nudging me along. I'm more likely to show up,

[00:05:00] right? And guess what, when I show up, my words show up, right? Even if it's just a few words,

[00:05:06] it doesn't matter how much is showing up. It's just the fact that we do something,

[00:05:10] we do it often. It creates that nice accountability. It gives us a bit of a rhythm.

[00:05:15] It doesn't always have to be perfect or consistent. Again, we're showing up, we're

[00:05:20] doing something, we're doing it often in the writing community can allow you to have that

[00:05:26] loving accountability because you're like, well, if they're going to show up, right? It's like your

[00:05:31] gym partner. If you said you're going to be there at this time and you don't show up and they do,

[00:05:35] right? So same thing happens with your writing community that loving accountability is there.

[00:05:41] The third thing that I find is so powerful about a writing community is affirmation.

[00:05:48] When we are off on our own and putting words down, I've been experiencing this as I'm

[00:05:53] putting the final touches on my upcoming book, Writing is Not That Hard.

[00:05:57] I notice how I can lose sight of the big picture and just think everything I'm writing is terrible,

[00:06:05] right? And when I bring it to my writing community, when I bring it to someone else,

[00:06:11] it's amazing when they go, oh my gosh, this is brilliant. They read a line or read a paragraph

[00:06:16] and they go, I can't believe it. I'm so excited for this book. When's the next,

[00:06:20] you know, when's the next draft? What's happening next? What's the next chapter about?

[00:06:24] And you just go, what? Me? You just read my words and had that experience because when we're off on

[00:06:30] our own, we aren't sure how our words are landing. We literally have nothing to bounce it off of.

[00:06:36] But when we start to share it with others in that writing community, we get that beautiful

[00:06:42] affirmation. Here's what's working. Here's what I want to know next or here's what maybe

[00:06:47] is missing that I'd love to hear more about. And it gives us direction. It gives us that next

[00:06:53] nudge we need to keep going, to keep drafting, to keep revising, to finally get the words down

[00:06:59] and finally put them out there because when you are in community with others,

[00:07:05] you get that affirmation that you need to keep going. And that is unbelievably powerful.

[00:07:11] The fourth thing that I see happening in the writing communities that I am a part of

[00:07:16] and that we offer our clients is they are amazing gremlin killers. And this kind of all connects

[00:07:23] through each of the three, the inspiration, the motivation, the accountability, the affirmation.

[00:07:28] But this gremlin killer aspect that I notice is when you write, it is such a personal,

[00:07:34] personal act. It is something you're taking the inside and putting it on the outside. Even

[00:07:39] if you're writing fiction, there is something so, so deeply personal about the process that it is

[00:07:47] inevitable. I want you to hear me say that over and over again. It is inevitable. It is normal. I

[00:07:52] would have normalized the gremlins, the naysayer voices, the negative talk that shows up where

[00:07:58] we think, who am I? No one's going to read this. This is dumb. I don't know what I'm talking

[00:08:03] about. I don't know why I'm doing this, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Send me a message on all the

[00:08:08] voices that you hear when you sit down to write. And those negative voices can get really, really

[00:08:16] loud when we are in isolation. And so a writing community helps you realize the value of your

[00:08:23] words, helps you turn to those voices and go, yeah, no. That is not accurate. That is not true.

[00:08:33] Here is at least one person who is reading my words and going, thank you so much for saying this.

[00:08:39] I have been processing something similar or thinking something similar or had a similar

[00:08:45] experience. And I just want you to know that to read this is so affirming for me and gives me

[00:08:51] permission that tells me I'm not alone. And those are the best gremlin killers being in

[00:08:56] that community. So the power of a writing community cannot be emphasized enough. I cannot

[00:09:04] encourage you enough to find one if you're not in one, regardless of whether you are trying to

[00:09:09] share your words with the world or just develop your practice of writing to write, writing

[00:09:15] as a tool for healing, writing as a part of your personal growth journey, wherever you are,

[00:09:20] I highly encourage you to be in community with other people because just as I've shared,

[00:09:27] it's inspiring, it's motivating, it's going to keep you going, keep you showing up,

[00:09:32] keep you in alignment with your goals and your intentions for your words. It's going to keep

[00:09:38] you accountable. So if your goal is to develop a stronger writing practice, you're going to

[00:09:42] have more accountability for that. If your goal is to eventually publish one day, get

[00:09:47] your words out in a journal, a book, a guide, whatever it may be, it's going to keep you in

[00:09:51] line for that. It's going to give you the affirmation that you need, the yes and keep going. We want

[00:09:57] to hear more. That was amazing. I can't believe you wrote that. You just thought of that.

[00:10:01] You're going to feel that over and over and over. And that is that little dopamine hit that you

[00:10:06] need to keep going. And then finally, in conjunction with all of those, it's going to

[00:10:11] help you kill your gremlins. It's going to help you realize they are not driving the bus.

[00:10:16] Yes, they're going to show up. It's part of the journey, the fear, the questioning, the doubting,

[00:10:21] all of that stuff. But when you're in community with others, then you've got those people that are

[00:10:25] like, yeah, yeah, no, that is not true at all. Let me tell you how amazing you are, how

[00:10:30] powerful your words are, how I look forward to hearing what you've written since last time

[00:10:35] we met, right? So I'm curious what of these, if you're in a writing community, which of

[00:10:39] these do you feel like is most valuable for you? If you are not in a writing community,

[00:10:44] then how are you going to take a step to get into one? And of course, we want to support you in any

[00:10:51] way possible. So we are opening up our calendar right now. My team and I, we want to talk to you

[00:10:58] and support you in either finding a writing community or making some decisions on how you

[00:11:03] could use all the amazing writing you've already done or the amazing ideas you have and think

[00:11:08] you want to potentially turn into a book, we are ready to talk to you. So head to

[00:11:12] shaynahartman.com slash schedule that's S-H-A-N-A-H-A-R-T-M-A-N dot com slash schedule to get on our schedule,

[00:11:22] talk to our team and see what your next best writing steps are. I hope to see you soon in the

[00:11:29] community and I'll catch you next time. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of

[00:11:36] The Written Compass. If you are enjoying this content, do me a favor and go and review the podcast.

[00:11:43] This allows me to share and get these messages out to the people who really need them, who we want

[00:11:48] to read their books in the future. You can also go and share your thoughts and tag me at

[00:11:54] shaynahartman underscore on Instagram. Again, this is just a way for us to get connected

[00:11:59] and share the writing love. And if you know that you are ready to write your book, that message

[00:12:06] that's been burning inside of you for a long time, then I want to talk to you, my team and I want to

[00:12:11] talk to you. Head on over to shaynahartman.com and click work with us. From there you'll see

[00:12:17] an application to explore and see if writing your book is your next best step.