How do I create a writing community?
Last year, a good friend casually mentioned that she was considering starting her own choir. She’d been wanting to join a choir for ages, but she couldn’t find anything locally that fit the bill. Would I be interested in joining her? This simple idea blew my mind: could we really just do it ourselves?
Well, it turns out we could. Last month, our choir performed our third show. Our numbers have grown significantly. Choir has transformed my social life and sense of community in a new city. Every time we meet for one of our living room rehearsals I’m slightly amazed by how much fun we have and how real we sound. It’s a kind of magic to create something out of nothing together, especially when you’re doing it in the same room.
Creating a DIY Writing Community
Are you wishing there was a writing retreat, or a regular writing group, or just a nice shiny deadline to work towards? If these things only exist in your imagination (or outside your budget), can you use the DIY ethos to bring them into reality? It might take some time and persistence to get it off the ground, but the eventual pay-off and sense of satisfaction could be huge.
Like with our choir, the first step is to reach out to friends or colleagues who may be interested in creating writerly community and mutual accountability. You might be surprised by how many people are also really ready to get out of their offices and start stretching their social muscles.
If no one comes to mind, consider posting on a relevant group on social media, or sending an email out to a listserv. And think expansively: these people might be in the same field as you or they might be working on completely different kinds of creative or intellectual projects.
Once you have a person or two (or more) on board, here are some DIY options you might consider. You can also mix-and-match options, e.g. my contract partner and I also meet to workshop each others’ writing:
What You Need: Regular Writing Deadlines
How to DIY it: Sign a Writing Contract
You and a friend create and share your own writing contracts outlining how much and how often you'll write, tailored to your current schedule and needs (e.g. “I will write 200 words a day, and this cannot include revising existing material”). You then stay in regular contact to check in on your progress and to hold each other accountable. This is a high-intensity method, but this podcast episode and article show how effective it can be, both in terms of getting writing done and building a creative friendship.
What You Need: People to Write—or Talk About Writing—With
How to DIY it: Create a Writing Group
Organize a regular time to meet, virtually or in-person, and write together, discuss writing, or both. Maybe you’d love to grab a monthly coffee with the two other new hires in your department, to vent and problem-solve together, or just to sit down and write. Call it a group and put it in the calendar, and suddenly it’s much more likely to happen. You could even create some deadlines for each other for added accountability.
What You Need: Feedback on Your Work
How to DIY it: Set up a Writing Workshop
Similar to a group, but with the added element of sharing and discussing each others’ work. Use wisely: we all know there are some stages in our writing when feedback is detrimental, and some people whose input we should avoid. But if you get it right this can be a powerful resource for building and maintaining a writing practice.
What You Need: To Kick-Start Your Project
How To DIY it: Organize a Writing Retreat
You could invite some friends over to your house for a full day of writing (maybe each participant brings a favorite snack to keep everyone fueled?). Or, you could meet every morning for a week at a local library, perhaps rewarding yourselves afterwards with lunch, or an ice cream, or a walk together. Or, if you have the resources, why not book a cabin or apartment together somewhere pretty but not distracting? How nice would it be to spend a long weekend writing by day and hanging out by night?
Coming Soon:
The Academic Writing Circle
If you need extra support creating a writing community, I'm currently planning an Academic Writing Circle for this fall, to help you get more writing done amidst all the distractions of the new academic year.
The circle will involve regular virtual meetings to troubleshoot writing challenges, set goals, and get some writing done together. Other possibilities I'm considering: mini-lectures about academic writing and publishing, opportunities to get feedback on your work, and a Slack or Discord group to discuss our daily writing triumphs and challenges.
If this sounds like something you’d benefit from, please register your interest and preferences here before August 1st 2025. If you do, you’ll be first in line for registration (which will be limited to keep the circle at an intimate scale) and you’ll receive 10% off the full fee.
Happy Writing!
Feature image credit: Photo by Europeana on Unsplash
