Writing Advice: Community and Collaboration

Perhaps it’s a topic that is overlooked when thinking about how to improve writing, but there’s a lot to be gained from the wider writing community. It can be easily overlooked when focusing on improving your writing, but you should spend time getting to know your fellow writers in this space and networking with them. It sounds terribly formal perhaps, but making connections with other creatives using the same medium will help you in a lot of ways - which I’ll run through some of them here. But perhaps the single most important reason for connecting with others is exactly that - having a sense of community and belonging. 

Writing, we all know by now, is quite a solitary endeavour. Even when you strip away a lot to the Romantic (as in, Romanticism) notions about how writers or art might work, you’ll still be spending quite a lot of your time on your own, typing away. Creating stories isn’t exactly a medium which lends itself naturally to streaming - I doubt you’d quite want to watch me typing away at a story. No matter how high my words per minute, I’m not going to be able to write it as fast as you can read. And then there’s the edits of a first draft that are needed, as we know…

Then once you’re done editing and you’ve posted the story, it’s still the case that those reading your stories again, will be doing this by themselves. So the point is, throughout both the creation and engagement with your work, it is a solitary affair. And that’s fine, but it’s important to note how this can cause some difficulties. We all have points in any writing project where you feel unsure about the piece, whether people will like it, whether it’s worth other’s time to read it. While these fears are perfectly natural - ask any artist and they’ll say the same about their own work - it can feel much harder to resolve these doubts if you’re writing on your own. So I certainly recommend that you make connections with other writers so you have some support from your peers that you can draw on when you need it. And if you’re doubting whether other writers would do this… just remember, we all love writing, we love stories, and we all want to see more books out there. You’ll be surprised at the warmth and support available, it’s just about reaching out and making those connections.

One of the other things that I think is key to remember as furry writers too, is that your peers will be often going through the same struggles, doubts, and difficulties as you are. So often, you’ll help to support each other and grow, which of course is the whole point of a community. But it should be noted that it’s give and take, not a one way street. You’ll learn as much from giving advice as you will from receiving it, so make sure that you’re truly trying to make a supportive community, not a hotline that suits you. It’s just important to make sure that you contribute to your community of course, rather than just take from it.

If you’re feeling perhaps a little sceptical about the support of other writers, I think it’s also important to remember that this isn’t a competition. It certainly does not need to be. Talking to plenty of writers and creatives, everyone is keen to see new work, and as furries, we’d rather support each other’s new work than whatever the latest corporate slop that’s being served up. I mean it - we are in a very fortunate position to have a wider community (furry) that makes us see each other as fellow furries, rather than strangers. And the other thing is… that whole sense of competition? That’s just external crap from wider society. That’s the rat race, that’s the feeling we’re made to feel by a world that reduces people down to components in a machine, to compete against each other rather than work together. While we can’t wholly escape the influence of the wider world we live in, we certainly can drop that competitive crap in furry. I’m sure you’ve all seen words to the effect - “I’m not interested in competing against each other. I hope we all make it.” That… is the sentiment. As furries, we want to see members of our community succeed. Other writers certainly want to see you succeed. Because the thing really is, the more stories we have out, the more books, the more novels that there are for other furries to read and enjoy? The better and more engaging the writing scene in the fandom is. Supporting each other and working to this goal benefits everyone writing, so we’re all invested in each other’s success and support.

That’s some of the idealism, let’s get to the practicalities. Of course, knowing other writers means you can get their help and feedback when it comes to proofreading and beta reading. Having extra sets of eyes to read through stories is incredibly helpful, letting you consider different points of view, sensitivities, and more opportunities to find that elusive typo. Considering and incorporating the feedback of other writers will help you learn to hone your craft, so it’s important to consider. What you should also do is embrace the opportunity to give feedback in return, and spend time reading through other writer’s stories and volunteering to beta read, give feedback, etc. Your thoughts and opinions will help support other writers, and if you’re wondering whether you’d be able to give any meaningful feedback based on your experience, you always can. What did you like? What did you think could be improved? Simple questions can help frame your ability to give feedback, and importantly, reading other writer’s work will help you learn how to better craft your own stories. 

The other practical bit of support writers can give is word of mouth. Recommendations of each other’s work is a huge way to boost things, and help other readers find your works. Have you ever had a conversation with one artist in the dealer’s den and they recommend another artist they know? It’s exactly that, and even more important to do. While visual art can be pretty quickly viewed (it’s an image after all), it takes time to get through a story. And while that time spent experiencing a world in those words is great, it’s an investment, isn’t it? You’ve got to figure out if that story will be for you, so having recommendations and sharing each other’s work certainly helps. So engage in the community, give reviews, give feedback, leave comments, read the work of other writers. Boost their posts on social media, and help make the community lively and engaging, so readers can find the cool stuff everyone is doing. 

I'm talking about writers, but for my final point I want to finish on readers, and a community for them. As a writer, you should also take time to engage with the people who read your work. Think about spaces you can make to help them find your work better and stay in touch. This can be things as simple as directing to a gallery site for your work, but you can do more using social media (Bluesky etc) and other platforms. You could start a telegram channel for updates, and run activities to engage your community too. That could be WIPs, letting them know what’s coming up, or doing suggestions, requisitions, or raffles. Have a think, but do consider how you engage with those who read your work, and build a community that is fun and lively for them to enjoy. 

I hope this is a little bit of an inspiring piece to take away. I’ll finish by recommending some groups to get involved with - there’s the Furry Writer’s Guild that has a lively discord and telegram, so I’d recommend making a start there. Do feel free to make other suggestions - I’m sure there are plenty of other communities I haven’t mentioned out there!