I’ve been reading Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering, and it’s gotten me thinking about why and how we gather for various occasions. And why specifically do we writers gather? Support and accountability are the usual reasons. Many of us are writing at home, alone, and it helps to know that someone else has our back. It’s important that we have at least one person in our corner. But why else do we gather? What are the deeper reasons behind our coming together? Here’s what I’ve found over 20 years of teaching writing to various communities and levels: Writing groups spark creativity. I can discuss the same topic until I’m blue in the face, but there’s something magical about the back-and-forth that happens within a larger group. It often sparks creativity as well as leads to the next level of breakthrough. We […]
Why We Gather as Writers (the Not-So-Obvious Reasons)
