New writers often ask what is the best process for writing? They read advice from other writers, famous writers, and slavishly copy their steps—say, writing by long-hand, or writing on a computer, or burning candles, or writing at a specific time, or completing a certain word count. The list is endless.
The magical thinking is if you do their steps just right, Voila! You finish your novel, or polish that screenplay, or establish your author newsletter. Easy! When it doesn't work, you're disappointed, and beat yourself up. You might even quit writing.
Part of your job as a writer is to develop your own process—a way of writing that works for you. It's harder than it sounds because it means you've got to trust yourself, try a few things and make a few mistakes, and then you have to get up again and keep at it.
A writing group can help you.
By bringing your writing partners along on your journey, they can assist you in developing the writing routine that helps you get your work done. Your writers' group can brainstorm process ideas with you, assist you in navigating challenges, and hold you accountable, as well as share from their own experiences.
You won't get your process by coloring in the lines that somebody else sketched. And you won't get your process by 'add-water-and-shake'. It takes time to develop an approach that's successful for you. But if you use your secret writing group sauce, you will accelerate your progress. You'll get to know your writing self better and more quickly, and you'll be more likely to stick with your work, even when an experiment doesn't turn out the way you want, so that you can finish your creative project.
At the end of the day, you want to develop a process that is right for you. So, work with your writing group to explore and develop yours and you'll succeed.
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