Community Matters

After a few years of procrastinating, I recently decided to start working on my author’s newsletter again. However, because it had been years since I last attempted to create a newsletter, I have forgotten most of the information I had learned about putting together a quality newsletter and how to implement sending it to my subscribers.

So I decided to reach out to my writing mentor and other writing friends in the writing community for help. If I have learned anything over the last decade being part of the writers’ community it is this, writers like to help other writers if possible.

After my accident, I depended on both the medical community and the brain injury community to help guide me on my recovery journey. I wasn’t aware of how my brain injury affected my health. I didn’t expect the setbacks I would face. The community of doctors and therapists and survivors all pushed, encouraged and helped me get better.

Below are some ways support groups help TBI survivors recover after injuries from everyday (health.com).

• Support groups help people feel less isolated
• Support groups provide practical knowledge, resources, and networking
• Support groups answer questions doctors can’t
• Support groups provide comfort for families and caregivers
• Support groups help survivors regain a sense of identity

I have experienced similar support over the last few years with my peers in the writing community. Whenever I get stuck or lost in the process, I know there is a listening ear somewhere for me to turn to for help. And because of them my writing has improved over the past 10 years, it only happened because community matters.

Community Matters

Webster defines community as, “A unified body of individuals: such as:  people with common interests living in a particular area; a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society.”

Community is important to the growth and success of society. It brings people together for many reasons: encouragement, entertainment, and enlightenment. Community helps us grow together. We each have a place to contribute within our communities.

Other writers have different goals, styles, purposes, and voices we each belong to a creative community that graciously helps one another. Below are a few benefits of the writing community from Leap Forward Publishing

1. You can share your work and get feedback.
2. Bounce ideas off of one another.
3. Motivate and encourage one another.
4. Promote each other’s work.
5. Share writing tips and information about writing and the publishing process.
6. Network and make connections.

Whether you are just starting out on your writing journey or a seasoned published writer you have a place in the writing community! There are countless resources for growing in the craft and there are also many opportunities to help others who are struggling in their pursuit of publication. The most important thing to remember is that community works together for the greater good.

Community Works

After my accident, I spent 11 months of my life either in the hospital, in rehab, or going to outpatient therapy. It was during that time that I had to listen carefully to my doctors, therapists, psychologists, and other brain injury survivors.

I can still remember waking up in rehab that first morning and having a nurse push me to a breakfast room for non-ambulatory (unable to walk) patients. At that point, I still didn’t believe my health was that bad. I didn’t want anyone to help me.

It wasn’t until I felt milk and cereal seeping out of my mouth and into my lap that I realized I really was paralyzed! My new reality only depressed me more. My friends and family were powerless to help me. It was then that I began going to talk with the neuropsychologist on staff. The neuropsychologist gave me so many words of wisdom: “Healing takes time, we all need help at some point, and when in doubt—wait it out.”

That is how a community is supposed to work. The writing community is just as kind and helpful. Below are a few more ways the writing community helps one another from medium.com

• Fellowship
• Advice
• Accountability
• Networking

Community is a group effort. One of the hardest things to do in life is to ask for help, when hours younger I was self-sufficient until I had my accident. Pride and youth blind us all. After beating the odds and surviving my accident, pride made me feel indestructible. But the truth is, none of us are perfect.

As writers, we can become so focused on our goals and careers that we don’t see our mistakes or where we need to improve. But if we plug into the community, others are willing to help us and that is why community matters!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.