Thread by @Joannechocolat

I wish I knew. But let's try it anyway. Follow #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity to collect them all!

https://twitter.com/rob_teun/status/1187030251823665153

1. The first thing to understand about the writing community is that all its members, whatever their status, are also part of the reading community. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

2. We all begin as readers. Many of us then continue to become writers, bloggers, authors. But at the heart of it, we're all essentially people who care about books. That doesn't change. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

3. At best, the writing community can be a support group, allowing writers with more experience to help those with less, or just to allow writers to talk about their problems and shared experience. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

4. At its worst, it can seem like an exclusive club, designed to put down or sneer at those who don't belong. If that's how it seems to you, then maybe you're hanging out with the wrong kinds of writers. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

5. Some writers (fortunately not many) believe that their success depends on the failure of others. But most understand that for those of us who really care about books and writing, it's important to be supportive of each other. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

6. That can mean any of the following: mentoring; reviewing; providing cover quotes to new novelists; networking; supporting the work of fellow-authors, or just talking to people and sharing your experience. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

7. It doesn't mean that you can't be critical of a colleague's work, or their ideas. But there are ways to do this without being mean, dishonest or underhand. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

8. Sniping at someone because of their success is no better than sneering at someone else because they're not successful. Both attitudes come from a toxic "us and them" mentality. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

9. The writers who benefit most from the writing community are usually the ones who understand that ANY success by ANY writer benefits the literary community as a whole. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity

10. And it is a relatively small community; which means that whatever you say about someone - good or bad - always gets back to them in time. Which is why it's best to avoid saying behind a colleague's back what you wouldn't say to their face. #TenThingsAboutTheWritingCommunity