I’m not gonna lie, being a writer can be a little lonely sometimes. My workday is mostly spent on my laptop with my imaginary friends, AKA the characters in my next project! I do have virtual meets with my writing community, ‘The Write Tribe’, a few times a week, but other than that, I’m pretty much ‘Nora No Mates’. Don’t feel sorry for me, though. I love precious solitude and am completely fine with my own company. I don’t miss the busy hustle and bustle of the working world at all. I can live without office gossip and water cooler whingers, that’s for sure.
However, I do love working with other writers. I’m not big on competition; you won’t write the same as me, and vice versa, so why would we compete? There are enough readers who, let’s face it, love adding to their ‘To Be Read’ piles, so let’s build each other up and support each other, especially indie authors without the big marketing machine of publishers behind them. Collaborating has many benefits, including giving each other feedback, bouncing ideas around, sharing skills, motivating each other, and keeping everyone accountable. Just some of the reasons I love a good collaboration project.
In ‘A Tapestry of Tremendous Tales’, I collaborated with some wonderful women writers (including Leah Palmer, a fellow contributor to The Up and Coming), and we each submitted short stories, which I curated and published. Some of those writers had never published before and did not feel they could on their own, but with community and collaboration, they were able to build their confidence and become part of a published book.
That was such a great experience that I’m now working on ‘A Patchwork of Poems’. I love Poetry because it helps us make sense of the world and our place within it. It captures moments, memories, emotions, and ideas in ways that ordinary conversation often cannot.
My idea for A Patchwork of Poems is to create a beautiful collective tapestry of words, woven together by people from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Every voice has a story worth sharing, and I’m so excited for this project. The book will be published on October 26, but the process, the working together, is happening now, and that’s where the magic happens.
So, if you haven’t tried a collaboration project yet, give it a try. When we collaborate, everybody wins!
This was written by our contributing writer, Claire Walsh-Jones.
Image Source: Pexels, Artem Podrez
Leave a Reply