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Stuart White posted an update
Hey folks, I wanted to ask 2 important questions, today:
1. What would you if WM was to disappear overnight? Would it affect you significantly, or would you feel like you could find your community elsewhere?
2. What one thing that WM doesn’t offer, would you love us to do, to help you improve as a writer/grow closer as a community?
Both answers will provide us with actionable feedback hopefully!
Katina, Ellie Salkeld and 3 others37 Comments-
I would be so devastated if WM disappeared!! There aren’t any other writing communities I’ve ever been interested in joining!
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@undefined And is there anything we don’t offer, that you’d love to see us add?
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@Joanna Sellick I had a think before posting and I honestly don’t think there’s anything you don’t do… we have the monthly chats, the sub group monthly chats, pitch events, workshops etc. what else is there???
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@undefined That’s okay – I just want us to be open minded and to always get feedback that can make this place better for you (if we can do it ofc!) so good to always ask the Q but happy that you’re happy!
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Yes, I would be devastated too!! It’s my writing home. Most of the writers I have met in real life are from WM. I’d like to do more real world interactions. I even met my dear friend @@FrancesTosdevin when I visited London. You make friends from all over the UK. The new website is a little glitchy on my phone so I realise I’m using it less. It’s not as instant as Slack. However, I’m gradually getting into the habit of bringing up the website on my laptop.
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@undefined IRL stuff – we can definitely try and arrange something this year! I’m definitely aware though that there is glitches from time to time – but I know the developers of the base software are always doing upgrades to things (like most apps) and it will always improve over time. Slack was useful in so many ways, and free to use, but we think the benefits of having our own place will, in time, outweigh the benefits of being on a multi-million pound organisations site as we have more autonomy over certain things and we can host everything here – I know our biggest complaint before was having to switch between places to watch videos/courses/manage accounts etc to Slack for actual community.
Anyway, do stick with it, I promise it will get better and I hope it won’t put you off being part of the community because we really value all of you and I know you’ve been with us for such a long time, too, Zeshan!
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@Zeshan Akhter Your reply made me tearful, @obi-wan-kenobi I don’t know why!
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I would be horrified. I am currently sat here taking notes from the extremely helpful Hub Modules knowing there isn’t anywhere else I could get all of this info. Most of all I would miss the writerly camaraderie that bonds us all.
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@undefined That’s good to know, re; using the Hub Modules! I always wonder how much use people make of all the resources we have (and maybe I need to be better at reminding everyone all the things we have available!) but thanks for telling me this, Debbie!
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I’m not sure there is anything else like this in the UK, it’s a real community and has lots of really useful stuff – the modules, the monthly chats, WOWCON, the weekly newsletters. It would be lovely to have more opportunities to meet in person around the country – but maybe that’s up to us to arrange (maybe once the regional groups have become a bit more established?) One thing I am struggling with is keeping on top of the notifications – I can never seem to get them down to a reasonable level and am always way, way behind and struggle to delete them once read. Not normally a technophobe but this one is getting to me a bit! Will persist! I love Write Mentor, please don’t go!
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@undefined IRL we can definitely look at something but it’s always hard for the reasons you mention – geography – if we do a whole WM one, it will likely be a place where not everyone can come.
One thing I was thinking was if people wanted to volunteer for their region to organise a meet up every so often? I’m happy to do a Central Scotland type one, but it wouldn’t make sense for to me organise all the English, Welsh, Irish, Europe, Rest of the World ones. So yes, maybe if we asked for people to volunteer in each region (and it could be rotational, so it’s not always the same person organising) that might work? I think SCBWI use a similar system – though, obviously they are a MUCH bigger and more established organisation.
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@obi-wan-kenobi Yes, SCBWI do have stuff, but in my region, it seems to have fallen over a bit and nothing much happens here. definitely like the regional idea and sharing the load – I think the problem with the SCBWI one is that there is a defined person and it gets to become onerous after a while.
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?@Joan Longstaff? understandable and if we could rotate the person organising that’s a nice way to do it I think?
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@obi-wan-kenobi We did have a Central region meetup last year – three of us met up in Edinburgh and it was so enjoyable. @lesley-annw and @JCombes The next one was going to be in Linlithgow but Storm Eowyn put paid to that! We are still in the process of sorting out the next one – all the chat (well, re-started since we moved to the new website) is there. We don’t have a date yet. Maybe during Easter school hols or after if that works better? In terms of WM-wide in-person get togethers, London is prohibitively expensive. I wonder if another less expensive option could be looked at? Also, how about in-person self-led group retreats? Or each person attending could offer some learning so that we don’t need to hire tutors and can keep the costs down? We have all the recordings on the Hub to use – so we could make use of that?
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@undefined Yes, I remember – I couldn’t make it unfortunately but we should organise something again soon. On the wider one, I know London is expensive, but just as much as Glasgow would be expensive for someone coming up from the south of England. Unfortunately the nature of geography means some people won’t be able to make it due to cost or other issues. It’s the reason why WM exists mostly online, so we can include so many people. I am keen to not do London but somewhere like Birmingham or Manchester might not be much cheaper for us, regardless. It’s so tricky. I like the idea of a retreat, too. Might be something to consider on a more local basis as well as maybe something wider for anyone who can make it. Good suggestions.
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@undefined In terms of the app, again, thank you for persisting! I know it’s difficult with new things, especially when it doesn’t perform like all the huge social media apps or Slack or whatever – but it definitely will get better in time and we’ll all become more used to it. You can control those notifications in your account settings – happy to talk you through it if needed. Thanks for being patient with it!
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1. I would be devastated. WM has a space for ND members and critique groups. And lots more. I wouldn’t know where to find anything like that elsewhere.
2. I love the Daily Activities, especially Tall-Tale Tuesdays and Feedback Fridays. There is one thing that is quite similar to those, that I really like. I attend workshops for autistic writers (Writing East Midlands, Beyond The Spectrum), and every session we write to prompts – short pieces, poetry or prose, longer if you want to follow up later. They are often prompts that take you out of your comfort zone, and in that way enhance your writing. Examples: freewriting with constraints, write a poem or prose with only one-syllable words, write a limerick or another form of poetry (Ghazal, Golden Shovel, whatever), spring reflections, freewriting but include 10 random words, (6)(50)(100)-word story. Aside from the prompt there are no rules, just have fun with words and rhythm.
Reading each other’s pieces and commenting on them is fun and teaches you a lot, and it increases a feeling of community.
I don’t know if anyone else likes this kind of thing, but to me it’s become a warmup exercise, and freewriting helps me when I get stuck with a manuscript (keep scribbling anything that comes into your mind, even if it’s complete nonsense).-
@Karin Maatman I think @FinlaysonPalmer is a fan of free writing (I hope I got that right, Emma!) too!
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@undefined that’s right, I’m a HUGE fan of freewriting, it’s how I get most things started, or help myself out of a rut
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I love this community – it’s always felt like such a safe space to ask questions, seek support and share in one another’s celebrations. I hugely value the spaces for ND writers and debuts and the fantastic matchmaking that @melissawelliver does when setting up the critique groups. The writing resources are brilliant and the interviews are gold. I’ve loved the courses I’ve done and the competitions provide fantastic opportunities and are sensitively run. I particularly enjoyed the in-person conference and would love to see more of those in future – so great to meet hubsters in person and the content was really helpful. You’ve created a wonderful community @obi-wan-kenobi and I would feel quite lost without it!
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@Louise Austin irl event will go down on the list of things to organise!
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I would be lost with WM. There are other close-knit writing communities, (I’m thinking particularly of WritersHQ where I hung my hat for many years) but NOTHING that is totally geared towards writing for children and ya. The querying channel keeps me sane and makes slogging away in the trenches not so lonely, or daunting. My fabulous crit group are here. I love the ND space. Mostly though, it’s like I’m writing with friends who ‘get it’ and that’s the best feeling! Please don’t disappear overnight!
One thing I have trouble with is finding some of the content I’m searching for, eg the Jonathan Eyers talks. Maybe it’s just me, but having the back catalogue of material more clearly signposted would be awesome.
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@Kirsti Sinclair I think the Jonathan Eyers video you’re looking for is on YouTube rather than on here – we have some videos on there which I could bring over here – will look into that – that’s a good suggestion.
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This is definitely the best writing community I’ve joined – so much interaction as well as courses, groups, feedbacks, author talks and opportunities. I can’t think of what else I’d like as you’ve pretty much covered it all!
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@Sharon Boyle I’m really pleased to hear that, Sharon. Do let us know if you think of anything- always keen to make things better if possible!
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I don’t know how I’d manage without the WM community now, there’s nothing else quite like it! I don’t think I can really add anything to this thread that hasn’t been said before. I like the sound of regional groups, maybe set up a group per main area, like for me, West Midlands, and so on. As others have mentioned, not using the website as much since the move from Slack, but that’s mainly me adjusting and getting used to the new place
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I’d be pretty lost without WM to check into. Now that I’m not able to join in with the sprints and daily activities it’s even more valuable to make me feel like I’m STILL a writer – even if for whatever reasons I havent written a new word in a while, I can dip in and have a look at what everyone’s doing. As you’ve said, the site will get easier to use- and for me, if the screen-orientation thingy for I pads get’s sorted out, I’ll be able to use the group much more and particularly to watch more hub videos. One thing I was thinking recently is around having access to editors, to hear them talk about what they love and/or what they are able to take on, and to see them in action. Watching the last YA chat with Melinda, where she was turning around pitches for people like an awesome Pitch Ninja, reminded me of Reedsy videos I used to watch where an editor would pick a load of opening lines or opening pages from people who’d registered in advance, and demonstrate live how they would edit them. Can you tell that I’m currently editing? I also loved those parts of previous WOWCONs, where agents discussed a selection of opening pages and gave their views on what was working. As well as the community, instruction, opportunity for competitions and mentoring and the wonderful critique groups, I love the snippets of info that you also manage to pass on – the agent looking to build a list, and the info coming out of Bologna – I just love that! Thank you, to you all xx
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@undefined Another good suggestion – it’s actually on our list of things to potentially try and could be something to trial over the summer!
Re; the iPad issue – I just turn mine around and use it the way the screen is – can you not do that? I understand that would be frustrating.
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I would be lost without WM! The community has made the querying journey a lot less lonely and scary, and even though it’s online, it’s where I get the majority of my support from as I don’t have many people in my life that I can talk writing wins, struggles, and disappointments with. This may be the first place I’ve felt understood and seen! In terms of improvement, it’s really hard to think of anything because WM offers so much already. I think the ways that would make it better for me are out of your control anyway – completely understand that you can’t organise in-person meet ups in Australia! Agree with others that the new website/app can be glitchy or slower at times but I appreciate all the hard work you all have poured into it and am so happy to stick with it to reap the benefits of this lovely community!
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I really just want to echo what everyone else has said about WM and the sense of community it brings – quite apart from all the practical benefits that come too. Like many others, I couldn’t imagine life without it now.
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I would be lost and devastated if the Write Mentor community disappeared. It structures my writing and offers support unlike anywhere else, at all times of the day. The community seems to be unique and exceptionally welcoming.
What could you add? Because when lots of us are sprinting at a busy morning time the comments/posts don’t update in real time in a way we can see. So that was the only thing for me but Melissa is already organising a way of the writing sprints having a real time chat add on, which is great, so we know who we’re sprinting with & communicate in real time.
I’ve seen IRL being suggested and that would be fun, to have local meet ups, but not as important for me, so nice but not top priority. If it was a whole WM thing, I’d appreciate if it could be in South West this time at least, otherwise I would struggle to get there. But others in the North would undoubtedly like it closer to them too
Most of all, I’m happy with Write Mentor and I’m not sure what I’d do without it. Thank you for everything you do ♥️
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I’d also be really lost and sad if Write Mentor disappeared! I find that it really helps to refocus me when I come to a lull in my writing/between projects. When that happens, I like to dip into the Hub/community chats and I know that I’ll come away feeling reinvigorated and uplifted! The only thing I can think of that I’d potentially like is to meet more writers locally (I am in Buckinghamshire). I’d love to meet up with other writers IRL in a more frequent way, so having some sort of WM chapter/regional network or something would be cool, possibly.. but WM gives me so much already that I am very happy with! Thanks for all your hard work Stuart and team!
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I would be very sad it it disappeared. It’s such a great community to be a part of! Even though I don’t post very often, I really enjoy checking in most days and seeing what others are posting. I know that if ever I get the time, there are lots of resources to use! Regarding how to improve what is on offer, I particularly enjoy the sessions when visiting editors come to talk to us, and would love to see more of these, especially for picture book and chapter book writers.
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I would be lost without WM so please don’t stop! Yes, an irl meet up would be good, and maybe something on historical fiction for both grown ups and children’s fiction.
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Oh heavens, it would be a massive loss to me if WM disappeared overnight. I’d found some level of engagement through a SCBWI crit group and Twitter, but I felt like I needed more. Then I came along to WOWCON 23 and realised this was the community I’d been looking for (to paraphrase Star Wars Ep 4). I’m not a natural joiner but everyone was so open and welcoming. It’s a part of my daily life now. I value the pitch events, the monthly groups, the sprints, the talks with editors and authors. I especially value the ND space, which I’ve never had before. The just general chit-chat about writerly stuff. And the fact that it’s specific to children’s writing.
And yes, Scottish peeps, let’s sort out a meet up sometime.In terms of what else I’d like to see? As a newly agented person, there doesn’t seem to be much on the internet covering what happens after signing (eg I had to write a piece for the publishers on what my story meant to me and I couldn’t find anything to tell me how to do it/what to include). Maybe something around that? And Florianne did a great one-off talk on freelance writing, maybe that could be expanded, eg writing for children’s magazines, how to pitch articles (and how to write them). What about something on children’s poetry/short stories? There are lots of avenues for it – The Dirigible Balloon, The Toy, Tyger Tyger. Maybe something to do with that? An author chat with someone like Attie Lime would be fab!
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?@Fiona Bannatyne? lots of good suggestions there, Fiona! I’m sure we could manage some of that!
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WM was recommended to me by several former Writers HQ members. As a newbie, if WM disappeared without my having got to grips with the website and taken advantage of any networking, courses etc it would be a huge shame. Don’t think there’s another organisation that caters specifically for children/youngster’s writing.
In relation to the second question, would love to see bursaries for writers like myself with ‘zero or low incomes’. You may offer this already and I’ve missed it.
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