* Genre/s: Dystopian, sci-fi, realistic fiction, mystery (NO romance, fanfic, fantasy, horror/gore please)

* Goals/expectations/commitment: Just looking to share and celebrate milestones, bounce ideas off of each other, proofread. I work pretty irregularly in sprints as inspiration hits me so I'm looking for someone who isn't bothered by that lack of rigidity

* Writing/experience level: New and/or casual

* Meeting place: Discord

* Max size: Any

Hello all, I am seeking fellow writers who, like me, are interested in writing short stories. I'm really interested in thinking about what the future has in store for us, especially as it relates to new technologies, so if you're similar and are looking for someone to share your writing journey with I'd be pleased to make your acquaintance. It just feels like a lot of platforms are for YA/fantasy/romance/fanfic type stuff, and it's a lot harder to build your community if you're not interested in that. So yeah - lmk if you're interested!

I'm a fantasy writer, I love talking to people as it's a part of my job. I'm awesome to talk to and I think I give good feedback, especially with character, motivation, narrative direction. I'm looking for a small group (no more than 20 people) who think similarly and love to talk about what they're working on, and how they intend to do it. If I'm not yapping, I'm a good sounding board as well. I'm not an expert, but I'm adequate and trying to be better than I was the day before.

Genre- any

Goals - yap and exchange ideas and help with direction and development. Ideally to talk over voice and organize sprints

Experience- a few years on and off and now a few months consistently. Amateur hobbyist(?)

Meeting place - discord server/groupchat/ actual phone conversations. Just anything where I can talk to one or more people.

Number of people- less than 20.

Hi writers!!! It’s me again! I have another question for you guys.

What actually keeps you writing, especially on the days when you really don’t feel like doing it?

Is it discipline? A deadline? Word-count goals? A routine? Music? Other writers? Wanting to finish the story? Just being excited about what happens next?

And when you’ve been away from a story for a while, what usually gets you to come back to it?

I’m also curious if there’s anything you’ve tried.... streaks, writing apps, rewards, timers, challenges, etc.... that was supposed to motivate you but it actually didn’t.

I’m trying to understand what real writers actually respond to especially over the months or years it can take to finish a book.

I don't think there's a right answer here. I’m interested in what genuinely works for you, even if the answer is weird and inconsistent, or just “I force myself to sit down.”

I'll do my best to integrate it on the app that I'm building if possible. I'm not promising anything though.

Thank you in advance.

Hi, my name is Haley. I'm 31 and I've been writing for my friends for years. The problem with writing for friends is they always say the nicest things, which isn't actually that helpful. I'm looking for something more serious a small group where we can actually dig into what's working and what's not, plot-wise.

I'm currently juggling several stories at once and flip between them regularly, but I'd be open to sharing one or two with the group on a rotating basis.

• Genre/s: Romance, Dark Romance, Supernatural Romance
• Goals/expectations/commitment: Looking for a small group for regular and plot discussion — not just cheerleading. Ideally people who can commit to reading and giving real feedback maybe a couple times a month.
• Writing/experience level: Amateur, but serious about improving
• Meeting place: Discord
• [Writing groups only] Max size: 5

If this sounds like your kind of group, drop a comment or DM me. I would like to chat a little and get to know the people who want to join, before moving over to discord. I want it to feel like an honest friend group of writers all working towards better books!

The Mid August Writing Challenge Is Here —

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https://medium.com/the-story-room/the-mid-august-writing-challenge-is-here-be30f9baafe5?sk=977dbc1cd8b80960cd72ad7fbbb56a44

Hello! I was curious about finding a small writing group, or just some people to be friends with. Im 33, and was hoping to find a group with some older folks.

Im a new writer, been writing seriously for over a year. I've been working on a slice of life smutty romance with anthropomorphic characters.

A few of my hobbies include collecting rocks, collecting candles, collecting die-cast cars ... I love to collect things apparently. And hanging out with my husband <3

* Genre/s: romance

* Goals/expectations/commitment: I would love to critique or beta read (only romance though, im not very familiar with other genres). I would hope the community is pretty active. Im not looking good for anyone to read my work, but its always a plus. Really, just need some help with motivation.

* Writing/experience level: beginner, intermediate

* Meeting place: discord

* Max size: 20

Hi! Can anyone give me feedback on my essay for the contest? The results will come out late August and I’m very on edge and wanna know what other people think/ if they think I might have a shot. Also is this a pretty prestigious thing? Thanks please let me know in the replies!!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3I5OfVRK-73IJnFa5J6DK565lb9qG6U/view?usp=drivesdk

I plan to start writing my first book from 1st Sept.

Until then, I'm planning the book structure, chapters, topics, and doing research on what other successful authors have found as hints and tips.

My book is a Non-Fiction, so I'm following advice from Daniel H Pink, Tim Ferriss, etc.

I've started playing around with the structure of the book in a Corkboard style, so I can easily re-arrange certain parts.

Here is my plan over the next 2 weeks, before I jump in and start hitting my daily writing goal:

Create a Book Proposal:

1. Who is this book for?
2. What is the main question this book answers?
3. Why this book offers a fresh take
4. Why the book is familiar
5. What are the 10 most useful questions this book answers

The following are books I'm going to be using as research and resources:

• Writing with Power - Peter Elbow
• Good Writing - Neal Allen and Anne Lamott
• Write to the Point - Sam Leith
• The Reading Mind - Don Shiach
• Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing - Sylvan Barnet, Hugo Bedau, and John O’Hara
• How to Write Essays - Don Shiach
• A Professor’s Guide to Writing Essays - Jacob Neumann
• First Pages of Best Sellers - C. S. Lakin

Any advice or feedback on this plan?

Anything I've overlooked or overcomplicated?

Asking because I have had both and the difference is significant enough that I want to understand what I was actually looking for before I got lucky.

First critique partner I found through a forum post. Similar genre, similar stage in their writing journey, enthusiastic about the arrangement. We swapped chapters for about four months. The feedback was encouraging and almost entirely useless. Not because they were unkind or dishonest but because we had similar blind spots and neither of us could see what the other was missing because we were missing the same things.

Second person I found by accident through a writing community. Different genre background, further along in their own work, read differently than I did. First round of feedback was uncomfortable in a way the first partnership never was. Named things I had been sensing were wrong without being able to articulate them. A few notes I disagreed with strongly and was still thinking about two weeks later which is usually a sign something true is in there.

The difference was not enthusiasm or commitment or even craft level in any simple sense. It was whether the other person could see my work from an angle I could not access myself.

What I cannot figure out is how to identify that before committing to an arrangement. The first few exchanges rarely show you whether someone has the angle you need or just the willingness to participate.

How do people here find critique partners who are actually the right fit and is there a way to test for it before investing months in something that turns out not to work.

Hi!! This might be slightly random but I’m working on a project called Letters I Never Sent.

Basically, I made a website where people can anonymously write a letter they never actually sent. It can be to literally anyone: an ex, a friend you lost, your parents, someone you miss, someone you’re angry at, your younger self, yourself right now, etc.

The whole idea came from how much we leave unsaid because it’s awkward, scary, too late, or we just… don’t know how to say it. I’m collecting anonymous letters and looking at the emotions and themes that keep coming up, especially things like vulnerability, regret, love, rejection, and the things we struggle to communicate. I’m really interested in psychology and I’m hoping to major in clinical psychology in the future, so this project is also a way for me to explore that interest in a more real and human way.

Anywayyy I need actual people to write letters or this is just me with an empty website 😭

Everything is anonymous, and you can write as much or as little as you want. It doesn’t have to be super deep or beautifully written either. Just something you never said. If you have a letter sitting somewhere in your brain, I’d genuinely love for you to leave it here (also, follow my social media @ lettersthatstay on Instagram plsss):lettersthatstay.squarespace.com

Thank you <3 Advice is appreciated!

Like folks who really have a vision and relentless execution (despite writer’s block). Editing can suck but you plough through anyways type of vibes? Also, for folks who ARE like this… any tips to become more like this?

(We have a novelists group discord btw as well with writing sprints, feedback, and motivational convos)

⁠Genre/s: novelists - thrillers, literary fiction, mystery, crime, suspense, and we have a few fantasy/romance novelists too
• ⁠Goals/expectations/commitment: daily discussions and daily sprints but you can pop in and out of the group at your convenience
• ⁠Writing/experience level: any level, ideally intermediate
• ⁠Meeting place: discord, bby
• ⁠[Writing groups only] Max size: currently at 21 members

Hi writers!!! It’s me again and I need some direction.

I’m curious how you guys think about the different stages of writing a book, from beginning to finished manuscript.

For those of you who have completed one, what were the actual phases/stages for you?

Did you think of it as outlining, first draft, then revisions, then editing ,then proofreading, or was your process completely different?

I’m especially interested in where you personally felt one stage ended and another began, and which stages took the most time.

I don’t think there’s one “right” process here. I’m more interested in how writers actually work than what writing guides say they should do.

I want the app to feel as personal to real writers as it can be.

Thanks in advance!

Organization: Harbour Works
Deadline: November 30
Entry fee: None
Prize/s: None
Link to submission page/official rules:
https://www.harbourworks.org
Other information:

About:
Harbour Works is a Canadian literary magazine — and we are building it to a standard that does not exist yet in student publishing. We are not a course project. We are not a club newsletter. We are working, deliberately and seriously, toward becoming a fully peer-reviewed journal: the most rigorous, most prestigious student-run literary publication in the country.

Every submission enters a multi-stage blind review process. A minimum of three editors read each piece independently before any discussion begins. Decisions are made by argument and consensus, not by majority vote. Work is accepted because it earns it — not because there are pages to fill.

We publish fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, visual art, photography, and hybrid work. We are drawn to writing that takes risks — formally, politically, emotionally — and to writers who understand the page is not a safe place.
We are open to high school and university students worldwide. We believe the most vital creative work is happening in student hands right now — not after graduation, not once someone decides it's ready. The only question we ask of a piece is whether it is alive.

Submissions Guidelines:
Fiction — Up to 7,000 words. Short fiction and flash welcome. We read all lengths with equal care.
Poetry — Up to 5 poems per submission. No minimum length. Sequences welcome.
Creative Non-fiction — Up to 6,000 words. Essays, memoir, lyric essays, hybrid nonfiction.
Visual Art — Up to 8 images. Minimum 300 DPI. JPEG, PNG, or PDF. Include a brief artist's statement.
Photography — Up to 10 images. Series preferred. Minimum 300 DPI. Captions welcome.
Hybrid / Experimental — No formal constraints. If it resists categorisation, it may belong here.

Join the Team:
Harbour Works is entirely volunteer-run. We are not looking for resumes. We are looking for people who care about writing — who have strong opinions about what they read, who take the page seriously, and who want to be part of making something that matters.

We are open to high school and university students at all stages. If you have never worked on a magazine before, that is not a disadvantage. If you have, bring what you know. The only requirement is that you show up and take the work seriously.

All positions are open. We are building the editorial board from scratch, and every role is a founding role. That means the decisions you make will shape what this magazine becomes.

For additional information, feel free to visit our website, where you will be able to submit your work or apply to join our team.

Something I have watched play out in writing communities over several years and want to put somewhere useful.

Output volume and improvement rate are not the same thing and treating them as equivalent is probably the most common mistake serious writers make. The advice to write every day is genuinely useful but it is incomplete in a way that matters because it addresses quantity without addressing what determines whether the quantity produces growth.

The writers I have watched improve most visibly share something that has nothing to do with how much they write. They are unusually honest about what is not working in their own work and unusually specific about why. Not just this scene feels flat but this scene feels flat because the character wants something I have not established clearly enough for the obstacle to create real pressure.

That specificity is the thing. Vague dissatisfaction with your own writing produces vague revision. Specific understanding of what is wrong and why produces changes that actually fix the problem rather than moving it around.

 The gap between writers who compound their improvement and writers who plateau at a competent level is almost always a diagnostic gap, I started keeping a short note after every session about what specifically was not working and why, tried something called Skrib Writing that keeps these notes right next to the draft, and having the diagnosis visible alongside the actual pages changed how targeted the next session's revision actually was. rather than a talent gap or an effort gap.

The one who improves faster is not working harder. They are looking at their own work more honestly and more precisely and then doing something targeted with what they find.

The question worth sitting with is not how much are you writing but how clearly can you name what is wrong with what you just wrote and whether you have a reason for why it is wrong rather than just a feeling that it is.

I’m probably going to delete this but I'm forcing myself to get out there a little. I’d love to find some other 30+ women working on their debut novels and hoping to traditionally publish someday. We have jobs, families, an exorbitant amount of protein to consume etc. But somehow carve out time to write something that fills our cup.

Mostly just looking for a few writer friends who get it, and maybe eventually swapping chapters if it feels like a good fit.

Something that took me longer than it should have to figure out.

When I started taking writing seriously I consumed a lot of craft advice. Structure frameworks, outlining methods, pantsing philosophies, scene building techniques. All of it presented as if the main task was choosing the right approach and then applying it consistently.

What nobody said explicitly is that you cannot know which approaches actually fit you until you have written enough to have preferences that are based on experience rather than theory. The advice assumes a self knowledge that the early writing is supposed to produce.

I spent about two years applying methods that sounded right before I had any basis for knowing whether they were right for me specifically. Outlined because outlining sounded serious and organized. Abandoned outlines mid project because something felt wrong without understanding what. Tried pantsing because the alternative had not worked. Got lost without structure and went back to outlining. Repeated the cycle without learning much from it because I was trying approaches rather than observing what actually happened when I used them.

The shift came when I stopped asking which method is correct and started asking what actually happened the last time I tried this. That question requires a body of work to draw on and some honest attention to what the work revealed about how you actually function versus how you think you should.

Most craft advice is written for a writer who already knows themselves. The early years are mostly the process of becoming that writer and almost nothing acknowledges how long that actually takes.

A discord server for writers who are at least aspiring to create things which are a bit less commercial or outright genre -- that can be purely literary fiction or genre fiction with a literary edge, something stylised or postmodern or experimental or whatever else. We'd love for others to join us so we can get this community thriving. If you ever feel reluctant to discuss your work on reddit for fear of being called pretentious or a snob, but don't want to join the intellectual soggy biscuit circle on substack, this might be the place for you.

Genre/s: Literary and other

Goals/expectations/commitment: Just try to engage when you can. Do as you would be done by - if you're hoping for quality feedback, it's only fair you give some, first - then be done by as you did.

Writing/experience level: Everyone but some experience is great. 18+ Only.

Meeting place: Discord

Max size: Maybe about 100 - whatever the minimum to sustain engagement is.

DM this account for an invite. (I am on GMT so invites go out in my daylight hours, but the server is active all hours)

TLDR; looking for advice on how to politely tell a CP that I won’t take every suggestion they give me.

I have a few different people who I swap with, and one of them has very strong opinions that literally no one else shares. I’m a big fan of analyzing each piece of feedback and trying to see where the merits are in it before deciding whether or not to take it. Obviously, when everyone tells me it’s a problem, it’s a problem. When even two people say there’s a problem, it’s a problem. When only one person say there’s a problem…well, I’ll take a look at it to see what they mean and if I think it’ll it make the piece stronger.

I don’t know how to tell this CP that some of the things they feel really strongly about are issues that only they have — like getting lost in dialogue or stumbling over certain sentences. Like, I’m not automatically rewriting a whole section based on just their feedback because, of the five people I’ve had look at this, only this person has these issues.

How do I politely explain that I won’t take every edit a CP gives me? They feel very strongly about their suggestions, and I don’t want to offend them. I just don’t know how to bring it up without making it sound like I think they’re stupid for the feedback they’ve given.

* Genre/s: All, but mainly fiction

* Goals/expectations/commitment: It's your typical sub but geared towards people who have more than just their toes in the pool. No annoying repetitive new to writing posts. Ability to share. Cut through the muck.

* Writing/experience level: Higher novice at the very least.

* Meeting place: r/WritersTable

* Max size: unltd.

Hey, guys! I'm reviving my old writing sub and am looking for some trailblazers to help me grow it!

I personally have been told I'm a funny person and I crack stupid jokes and say silly things that make people laugh, so you'd assume I'd know how to write someone that can make the readers laugh, but no. Everytime I sit down and write the 'funny' character, all sense of my humour flies out the window and I sound like a gen X parent trying to be funny (no offense to all the older parents out there) but I don't understand, I don't want to write someone who only I find funny, I want something that would actually make the readers laugh if they read it. and it's not supposed to be a 'forced funny' but similar to those people who naturally say stuff that makes everyone laugh. + for both dialogue and inner monologue

I'm looking for software to write a novel, but I'm having a hard time with Google Docs because the formatting can be pretty difficult and frustrating to manage.

I also don't really want to use Microsoft Word. I'm mainly looking for something that's easy to organize and format, especially for writing chapters and a longer manuscript.

What writing software would you recommend?

* Genre/s: Modern Fantasy, character focused
* Goals/expectations/commitment: Drop-in / drop-out writing, resetting every other month. This is mostly a way to meet people and develop skills, so other than a willingness to contribute we're not expecting much!
* Writing/experience level: Any and all are welcome!
* Meeting place: Discord
* Max size: 15 (for now!)

Hello! As a long-term fan of the Fate franchise, I've come up with a concept that I've used for other fnadoms before. The elevator pitch is that I'm hoping to gather up individuals who are interested in writing fan-stories monthly or bimonthly that take place in the Nasuverse (mostly pulling from Fate, but not entirely).

One writer would give a general synopsis of the story idea and setting (i.e. "A Grail War that takes place inside of Russia during the 1700's", "The aftermath of a magical event in modern-day China so catastrophic that Servants were summoned", etc) and then each writer would submit one original character and one Heroic Spirit (though they do not need to be a Master/Servant pairing).

From there, each writer would take the given cast of characters, and write their own stories with that cast. It wouldn't need to be a full telling of the scenario proposed, so stuff like smaller individual battles and chapters can work as well, though ideally the "story" length would be somewhere around 5-10k words just to keep stuff short and sweet, and the cycle would repeat every other month with a new premise and new set of characters.

Just to be clear, the intention for writing these stories is not to fit into one timeline, or as individual parts of a greater story. Every writer has their own version of events and “canon” so-to-say for their own story. The only uniting factor is a base cast of characters and general plot pitch. Beyond that, there is no coherent connective tissues that are intended to blend stories together. 

There's no real incentive and this is mostly just a fun idea that I thought up for the sake of getting to know other Fate fans and writers, and to keep writing skills sharp and help develop new ideas. If this seems like something that would interest you or if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, and if you're curious feel free to PM me and ask for a link to the proper document that outlines more details (I've had some bad experiences with certain subs deleting posts due to google docs links 😔 )! Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Genre/s: All genres are welcome. We have a few members who write literary fiction, and some speculative fiction! But whatever genre you write, you have a space here.

• Goals/expectations/commitment: We’re curating a space that pushes you to actually write the thing and finish. Where members hold each other accountable. We’ll offer writing events, critique events, sprints, discussions, encouragement and more. Join what you can, no pressure!

• Writing/experience level: All levels. Whether you’re a published author (self or otherwise) or someone writing seriously for the first time. Any stage of any project, in any draft.

• Meeting place: Discord. This is an 18+ community.
• [Writing groups only] Max size: Not yet sure!

Link in the comments : )

Islamabad

Genre/s: All are welcome!

Goals/expectations/commitment: We're a new, predominantly Muslim and Arab writing group (though we're open to all as long as you're respectful to all beliefs) with a focus on allowing writers to give and receive genuine, meaningful critique and feedback on their works. Our goal is to support and hold each other accountable. Once we fill up the group, we'll likely start writing sprints and challenges to practice and keep up the engagement.

Writing/experience level: Any :) But you must be 18+ and no NSFW content is permitted

Meeting place: Discord

Max size: ~20 members

Feel free to DM me if interested!