Thou Art the King of Glory

I am a student of writing in a predominantly private sense of the work. Though I obviously am enrolled in a higher education where I participate in formal writing classes, most of my journey and culminated work is cultivated and currently resided in private. Other than this very blog, I have never pursued public outlets to express my writing or communal experiences to share my work with a collection of others. Due to the fact that my writing is mostly intended for personal use and secondarily intended for a reader, I haven’t yet felt a strong need for additional eyes, yet continue to remain open to the idea as a possible next step in cultivating my writing.

The only way I have shared my writing is to individuals. I’ve shared my writing as a gift to my parents. I’ve given my writing over for gracious review by fellow students. I’ve shared my writing with curious friends. That would be the extent of it.

All of these experiences have been fruitful in their own way. I have not yet had a negative experience in someone’s interaction with my writing, though I would not say positive feedback is the goal in every case. Because of the lack of exposure my writing has had, I have yet to cultivate a solid pool of constructive criticism from which to continually grow and attune my work. In that light, a communal writing experience would offer a lot of benefit to a writer in creating an enriching place for constructive critique and development, as well as track one’s gradual growth as a writer amidst other peers and pursuers of the craft.

Though not every writing group or community writing experience is equal, sharing one’s work with others not only cultivates one’s writing but has the potential to create connection and community around a shared passion.

Any takers?