Many people—mostly writers—consider writing to be one of the loneliest occupations. Writing tends to require a complex understanding of human nature and a converse ability to hide from all human interaction for extended periods of time, often imagined as in a darkened room with a three-day-old cup of coffee. But while some authors have managed to create great works in isolative, depressive, absinthe-induced states, they hardly set the standard for healthy artistic practice. Most of us need community and collaboration to reach our greatest writing potential.

Writing groups fill this need for connection as they have for centuries, from Socrates’s school to the group of eight or so that meets at my local Starbucks every month. The advent of the internet, however, introduced a new forum for writers to connect and collaborate. Without discrediting the merits of an in-person writing group, online writing groups offer many advantages.

1. The benefit of connecting with other writers in your niche genre. They can offer nuanced feedback and solutions that even the most experienced writer in a different genre might miss. A romance author in a group full of science-fiction enthusiasts (or vice versa) may receive completely irrelevant feedback that bulldozes the intricate terrain of their genre.

2. Simplicity in our growingly complex society. Your favorite writing pal moved three states away? No ten-hour commute required. Caught the flu and don’t want to share it? You can even mute your mic to blow your drippy nose. Can’t find a place to meet because all your starving-artist writing buddies live in tiny apartments and can’t afford a Starbucks trip? All you need is wifi.

3. Community for the rurally located. Writers in small towns (or large but unartistically inclined towns) no longer have to slog it out solo or enroll in a correspondence course. Online groups provide you with support anywhere you want to go.

Now let’s address the basics of how to actually structure and maintain an online writing group. For the sake of metaphor (and because the writing buddy I make review my stuff is a retired marine who excels at military metaphors), consider your writing group in the terms of an effectively functioning military unit.

The Draft

Also known as, “Where am I supposed to find these people?” The best plan for recruiting members will vary somewhat depending on your niche. Good starting places include writing conferences, genre conferences (finally, an excuse to attend Comicon!), relevant Facebook groups, Reddit threads, or even Goodreads reviews.

Foremost, look for writers willing to commit to the community. A mediocre writer can improve with time; a selfish or egotistical writer probably won’t. Energy, teachability, and a sense of humor are invaluable. Our writing projects are our babies and, in the case of first drafts, often very ugly babies. Choose your trusted confidants with discernment.

Plan of Attack

Writing groups function best with clear structure and goals. Yours may vary, but a good generic goal sounds something like “to support each other’s writing projects using a virtual conversation space, in-meeting workshops, and an out-of-meeting buddy system.” This clear goal helps you stay focused and outlines the structure for your meetings.

While an online group is mostly suited toward a workshop format (explained in greater detail below), setting aside time at the start of each meeting for group conversation will help build community and keep all members engaged. Consider a designated half hour at the beginning of each meeting where members give a two-minute update on their writing projects. To encourage a close community (and to prevent group sharing time from consuming an entire session), membership should probably cap at ten to fifteen people.

Lines of Communication

Online communication platforms create a home base for your group to collaborate between sessions. Throw out a wild story idea for initial feedback, query the difference between a hyphen and a dash, or celebrate a story’s publication, all in a contained and private space. Options abound including mainstream options like Zoom and Teams. More specialized platforms like Discord and Tox offer private chat forums, file sharing, and group voice and video calls.

For more help setting up an online group, check out Discord’s Beginner’s Guide.

Performance Reviews

Video call workshops form the face-to-face component of your writing group. They create a space for real-time collaboration and the in-depth review of one member’s project. In this arena, a defined structure is vital. The public speaking organization Toastmasters provides an excellent example. Club members who want to present sign up in advance for a session. In a writing group, this might look like a shared spreadsheet or calendar that allows members to put their name down for a session when they have a project they want to workshop.

Depending on the length of your meetings, you may be able to review two short works, but longer works will probably take an entire session to cover. To provide stronger feedback and make the best use of everyone’s time, any works over one page should be submitted to the group at least 24 hours in advance for reading before the workshop.

Rules for Engagement

Turning our writing over for review strikes terror into most of us, so set some ground rules for feedback.

1. Be specific. No one wants to hear, “Yep, it was fine.” Identify the key moments that impacted your impression of the story.

2. Be positive. Pointing out what does work is just as important as what does not.

3. Be collaborative. The draft may be ugly, but it’s not your baby to fix. Offer ideas without telling the author how to write their story.

The Buddy System

Potentially the biggest payoff from an online writing group, a writing buddy system provides each member with personalized feedback. Some projects will necessarily be too long to cover in-depth or effectively in the short time span of a workshop. Writing buddies commit to providing more thorough feedback on their partner’s entire work. Besides the obvious benefit of extra feedback, the buddy system also creates relationships between writers familiar with each other’s style and pitfalls. Writing buddies can be assigned at random, assigned based on shared interests, or allowed to develop naturally within the group.

Commissioned Officers

You may picture writing group like a hippie commune. Down with anarchy! Rule of the people! But for your and everyone else’s sanity, make sure your writing group has a leader. Even if leadership rotates on a monthly or quarterly basis, the importance of the buck stopping somewhere cannot be overstated.

The leader’s main job is facilitating the meetings to steward everyone’s time (and to keep Greg from spending an entire hour talking about his recent tonsillitis). Other responsibilities might include sending out meeting reminders and preparing a discussion topic or activity if no one has signed up to present a project.

However you go about setting up or joining a writing group, whether online or in person, remember that the goal of such groups is to motivate you to keep creating and improving. If a particular group is demotivating or has nothing to offer you, consider politely moving on.