Hey everyone. The Winter Writing Challenge has been a blast, I don’t want it to end!! I realize how fulfilled I am when I can post my works, and people can vote, comment, critique it. It gives me the encouragement I need to keep writing.
That being said, what are y’all’s thoughts on online writing communities? As a Christian, my major concern would be joining one, only to be bombarded with inappropriate stories or nasty messages from unbelievers. Are there any Christian versions of WattPad for instance, where one can expect wholesome forums and equally wholesome writers to engage with you when you post stories?
Scribophile seems highly rated, anyone try that before? Or Writeseen? I need a place for my fiction pieces to land other than in my family’s laps. (:
This is a great question! I wish we had a better solution for this (at The Company, or otherwise).
We’ve experimented with online forums in the past, and it’s a tough nut to crack. There’s a reason that there are very few organizations/sites that offer this, and very very few good ones.
At a live workshop, you really need some confident people to set the culture. What kind of feedback are we going to give and how are we going to give it?
You need the same in an online forum, but that can a huge commitment! At a live workshop, you can limit the amount of volume that everyone has to read. Online, it’s easy to flood the system. Then you typically get a lot of feedback from inexperienced members.
There’s nothing wrong with feedback from inexperienced writers. In fact, I’m a huge proponent of it, because they’re reading a lot more like actual writers do.
However, without some leaders leading by example and setting the vibe, it’s really easy for that forum to turn into either a) a fluff fest with lots of nice things said and little helpful substance, or b) a lot of unnecessary conflict and backbiting.
A workshop, to be most helpful, needs to say the hard things, but say them in a way that is mature, loving, and palatable.
I know that’s not exactly answering your question. But I just wanted to provide some insight on why good online groups like this are hard to find, and why the good ones often stop after not very long. And why at The Company we don’t presently offer it. Maybe it’s something we’ll have the team for in the future.
I appreciate everyone sharing the links and things to what’s out there!
Oh my goodness this is exactly what I want to build!! I’m a beginner developer and I’ve been thinking about this so much — a Christian writing community where you just KNOW it’s going to be safe and the people are going to be kind. Would you actually use something like that if it existed?? Because I’ve been seriously thinking about making something like this.💻