I spent Sunday afternoon helping to make a music video. While I wasn’t keen on being part of the thing (my coordination is lacking somewhat, just ask anyone who’s had the misfortune of dancing with me), I was happy to act as prompter – for want of a better term. That entailed running alongside the star performers and making sure they could hear the music they were miming to. It was a brilliant afternoon and I heartily recommend you listen to The Bleeding Obvious (far left). While you’re at it, read some of my other friend’s works at The Thinking Chimp (far right).
It got me thinking though. A year ago, I was hardly part of any Wakefield communities. Prior to starting a writing group (a year ago this month actually), I wasn’t in communication with other Wakefield writers. Sure, writers are solitary creatures, but there’s something about being part of a group that spurs you on. Wakefield Creative Writers has renewed my zeal for writing when I’ve been struggling, and it’s also introduced me to some wonderful friends and my fiance too.
It was also the catalyst for me getting involved in some things I wouldn’t previously have considered. I wouldn’t have joined a life drawing class, I wouldn’t be guest hosting poetry groups, and I certainly wouldn’t have been running around Thornes Park with a mobile amp on one of the hottest days of the year.
The point is, I think, that change feeds change. If you don’t start taking those first, very shaky, steps towards being part of a community – any community – then you might not find the right way to grow yourself and your writing career. More than that, you won’t have nearly as much fun.
One word of caution, however, before you pick up your laptop and scurry into the outside world: there is no shortcut to the actual writing side of things. Don’t minimize your writing time in favour of building your community network. If you do, you might find that your next novel or play or short story never makes it out of your imagination.
