Welcome, friends!
I’ve been wanting to start a writing community for awhile. Even as a professional writer, I know how hard it is to find the space, time, and inspiration to create. Sometimes I think we all need a little nudge from the outside to get those creative juices flowing.
When putting together the idea for this community, I ran into a problem. If I made it open to writers of all types, there were way too many directions we could go in. Non-fiction and fiction. Horror and romance. Traditional publishing and self-publishing. And so on. I’d have a very hard time planning things out and some members would likely end up feeling underrepresented.
So this writing group is geared to what I feel is an under-served group—SHORT STORY WRITERS AND READERS.
I absolutely love the short story format. Ever since I picked up Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew when I was a kid, I’ve been hooked. To me, short story collections are akin to eating family-style at a restaurant. Instead of committing to a single entree for the entirety of the meal, you can sample a whole bunch of dishes. What’s not to love about that?
And as a short story writer, I also love that you can play with the format. For instance, in my collection Step Into, there is a magazine article, podcast episode, personal journal, government manual, as well as some more traditional storytelling formats. I may be biased as a short story writer myself, but I think the format allows for much more creativity and experimentation, which is a ton of fun to write and read!
But enough about me. This writing group is for you, so let’s talk about the community.
A Place for Short Story Writers
I think there’s an urge inside many of us to tell stories and share them with the world. And there’s something very empowering about doing it within and with the support of a community.
The unfortunate thing is that in all the writing groups, conferences, and retreats I’ve been to, they don’t really cater to short story writers. And if you want to publish your short story work, you’re going to face more challenges there, too.
So I’m creating something that will allow us to support one another.
Whether you’re an established short story writer or you’re just getting started, welcome! (We also welcome short story readers looking for a club devoted to this succinct format.)
The first part of the community I’m launching is the Short Story Book Club. I know, I know… It’s not the most creative of names. I had thought about naming it the Camp Anawana Book Club and making a pair of shorts be the logo. But unless you’re a Nickelodeon Xennial like myself, you might not get the reference.
Sooo… We’re going to keep it simple and to the point. The Short Story Book Club.
Because I’m a digital nomad and I also don’t want there to be any geographical barriers to joining, we’ll be hosting our club meetings virtually. And unlike traditional book clubs, we’ll only be reading short stories. Not entire short story collections (not for the most part anyway). Individual stories from different authors. (Don’t worry. I’ll try to find some from free online sources, so it’s not a pain trying to find them each month.)
Once I get things set up with the writing community, other membership perks will include things like:
- Live writing sessions
- Story prompts and exercises
- Community forum
- Job board
- Opportunities to promote your own stories
- Annual in-person get-togethers
- And more
I have a lot of things in the works, but it’s going to take time for me to set it all up. So in the meantime, enjoy the journal entries and sign up for the book club. Also, if you sign up for the newsletter on the bottom of the main Journal page, I’ll let you know when the membership program launches.
Oh! And if you have any questions or suggestions, fill out my contact form. I’d love to hear from you!