Freelance Writing 101: Writing Forum Participation

There are many ways to stay inspired as you begin your writing career, and in my opinion one of the best ways to maintain your motivation level is to find support through other writers. There are many writing forums online that you can join to begin networking with your peers. Here are what I consider to be the best writing forums online:

1. Absolute Write Water Cooler
This is the most active writing forum on the Internet. With over 32,000 members and a board for every aspect of the writing life, you are sure to find an amazing support base here. Quick tip: when you are going to reply to a post, I highly recommend clicking on the "Post Reply" button at the top of the thread, as opposed to replying using the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom. I learned the hard way that when using "Quick Reply," you are not able to subscribe to the thread in order to receive e-mails when something new has been posted. It's important to be active in a community, but also to keep track of all conversations you are a part of.

2. Writer's Weekly Forum
This writing forum, while smaller in scale, is one of my favourite writing forums to participate in. It has one main board about freelance writing (much easier to keep up with than multiple boards), a board that posts warnings for writers of potential scams, a board for paying writing markets, and a board for interview requests. While not as active (each post is individually moderated, as opposed to having a moderator just check on the board), the boards are always organized and insightful.

3. Writer's Digest Community
I only joined this forum about a month ago, but I am falling in love with it. Setting up a profile is quick and painless, and instead of the traditional board setup, the forum is setup with tabs at the top to take you to where you want to go. There are a lot of members, a lot of groups, and a lot of blogs, so I would recommend surfing through the Community one section at a time to keep from getting overwhelmed. That way, you can gradually become a more active participant as you are ready to meet more writers.

4. Poets&Writers Speakeasy Message Forum
Setup much like Absolute Write in terms of the variety of boards, the Speakeasy forum has over 42,000 registered users, but isn't as active as one might think. If you are someone who is taking their time adjusting to the world of social networking, I would recommend starting with this forum. It's active enough so that you can meet new writers, and begin talking to those in your niche for ideas and inspiration, but not so active that your inbox ends up bombarded with follow-up e-mails.

5. The Writer Forum
Setting up a profile in The Writer Forum is an absolute breeze. They have various boards setup for writers who are looking for critiques of their work, as well as several boards where you can discuss a wide array of topics about becoming a published writer. My favourite part about this forum is that when you login, there is a list underneath the board links that show the most recent posts, so you don't have to click on each board to find out if there is a post that interests you—a huge timesaver in my book.

So what are you waiting for? Choose your forum, register an account, and get networking! I will very likely see you there. Feel free to drop me a line through any of these forums: my username is krissybrady (I know, creative right?).

If there is a writing forum that you enjoy participating in that isn't listed above, feel free to post it below!

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About Krissy Brady

Krissy Brady is a freelance writer located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. If you have a writing-related question, would like to write a guest post, or have a content suggestion, e-mail Krissy at info@krissybrady.com. You can also keep in touch with Krissy through RSS, facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn.