It’s not an accident that I gravitated toward a life dream that’s often associated with solitude. Certainly not a coincidence that 95% of the work of writing can be done alone in an office. And if I’m honest with myself I do try to keep it that way, preferring the click clack of my keyboard to the sound of another’s suggestions.

However I can’t ignore the fact that having a writing community to commit to holds many benefits for me, the most important one being: it’s made me better. I attend a monthly writer’s peer critique workshop and have done so for probably a year and a half or so now. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the feedback isn’t all that helpful, but the amazing thing is that I’ve learned something new every. single. time.

Sometimes the right person shows up and makes a comment about my short story that I never would have thought about prompting me to make an important edit. Sometimes they do that for another writer and I learn by proxy how I can improve my own writing. Sometimes I learn new vocabulary words to describe the mechanics of writing so that my future feedback will improve. No times have I learned nothing.

Perhaps even more surprising, for me personally, than how much I’ve learned is how many true friends I’ve made. These are good, supportive friends who understand the hard work of writing and the challenging, emotional processes of submitting your work. They buy your latest book, they tell their friends about you, offer to read your work, lend you their skills, all because they get it.

Now there’s a local group I’m excited to start meeting up with in addition to the one I attend online every month. This past weekend I attended my first writer’s conference and learned so much from the speakers as well as the other attendees. Do I still enjoy the calm solitude that comes from sitting down at my keyboard with fresh ideas in my head? Of course. But there’s just something to be said for being a part of a community who just gets it.