Writing with a friend!
Salutations readers and writers!
It's been a while since my last update. Rest assured, I have still been working on my various works in progress and I haven't been neglecting my characters too much. I have actually just started a little writing group with some friends and it has been a wonderful and insightful experience!
In previous posts, I have talked about how important it is to create a writing routine. It doesn't have to follow what someone else does because everyone is different and everyone is creative differently. But it does provide your mind a consistent opportunity to relax from day to day worries and think creatively.
A friend of mine recently reached out to me and expressed their interest to write their own book and even shared with me some of their ideas. After speaking for some time, we decided that we would set up a consistent time every week where we would both join a call and just write together. It may seem counter intuitive because for the large majority of the call, we are both silent as we work on our individual pieces, but I have found it to be very enjoyable and it's even helped me to write better for a few reasons.
First off, writing with someone has made me more accountable to keep to my schedule I've set to sit and write. Sometimes after a long day at work and taking care of kids, the last thing I want to do is sit down and write even though I have lots of ideas and am genuinely excited about my story. No matter how you spin it, writing is hard. But having someone to cheer you on and be there with you even if they don't say a word helps make the process enjoyable and somehow a bit easier to keep committed to.
Secondly, writing with someone has helped me to learn different perspectives and writing styles that I otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to. As I mentioned earlier, everyone is creative differently. This diversity is a wonderful thing! It allows everyone's voice to be unique and fresh, but it also allows us to learn from others and share different perspectives. After all, isn't that what writing and reading is all about? To share stories and experiences (even the fabricated ones) that are different from all the others out there? While writing together, we will often talk about our ideas, processes, or stories that we're excited about. I get to share about what I'm excited about and I get to learn from my friend about how he writes and what he's excited about. I've found that subtle things in my writing have improved over time because of it.
So whether you like to plot out every single detail with excruciating detail before you put pen to paper or you like to just write and see where the pen takes you, I recommend doing it with a friend. There are lots of groups out there that are created for just this thing and it really has helped my writing to be sharper than ever.
Anyway, that's probably enough of my waffling! I hope you have a wonderful day! Till next time!
