Interview with WH,WN Admin Clare Bentley

Continuing our spotlight on the Write Here, Write Now Community, today we have an interview with WH,WN Amin Clare Bentley.

1. What inspired you to get involved with this writing community, and what keeps you passionate about it?

I was told by a couple of friends that I needed to join, so I did. I was welcomed with open arms, and I haven’t looked back since. I love the lessons, the support and the friendships I’ve built.

2. How would you describe the mission or heartbeat of this community to someone who’s never heard of it?

The mission of the community is so no writer feels alone. So much of what we do is a solo job, it’s nice to have likeminded people to bounce ideas off, but the heartbeat of the community is the people. I have made real, lifelong friends with people who understand the highs and lows of this business.

3. What aspect of the community do you think makes it unique or especially supportive for writers?

Members will always rally around to help a fellow member who is unwell, struggling to write, and having focusing issues. They also cheer the loudest when you have something to celebrate, whether it’s a new release, a good sale month or something in your personal life. We’re family.

4. Can you share a memorable moment or success story that happened because of the community?

I’ve had so many revelations since joining. I feared writing spirits, and I was encouraged to try one, once. If I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to do it again. I came to find, the spirits weren’t scary, but a great way of focusing.

One of my most memorable moments was winning a competition my first year. An independent judge chose a piece I had written for a prompt and the prize was 100k in edits. I was astonished and, I cried. It validated that I’m good at what I do.

5. What role do you personally play as an admin, and how has it shaped your own writing journey?

I run sprints and coffee hours, whether on an evening or morning. I feel the role has helped me get to know members on a deeper level, especially when the chats are just me and one or two other people. There’s an intimacy involved, which helps learn more about the individuals involved.

6. How do events like writing sprints or accountability sessions support members’ creativity and consistency?

I think it helps members feel as if they’re not alone. It shows them someone cares, and in the group we always encourage words, no matter how small the amount. I myself have been struggling to write for over 6 months. Gentle encouragement from members and lack of pressure has eased me back into wanting to get words down. I only wrote shy of 150 during the last group sprint, and they were celebrated regardless.

7. What’s something behind the scenes that people might not realise goes into running or supporting this community?

The hours of availability checks between admin, video calls for bouncing ideas, scheduling events, scheduling posts and making graphics. There’s so much going on that people may not realise.

8. What are some of the biggest challenges you've encountered in building or maintaining the community, and how have you overcome them?

It's difficult to express to people how important this community is, and what I get from it. When I say I wouldn’t want to do this job without it, I mean that. I’m not just saying it. As I said, I haven’t written since before Christmas. I hate it, but at the same time, I never want to force it. I was supported. I may not have been writing, but I still showed up to run the sprints, and I never had any demands to write. The members simply gave me advice of how I could overcome my block. None of it worked, but I was given the advice, and that was enough for me.

I reevaluated my goals, and decided to try and write at sprints I run, and slowly, I got back the feeling of WANTING to write. Since the beginning of the month, I’ve written 1,200ish words. That may not seem like a lot when I liked to write 1k a day, but I’m happy because it means I’m writing again.

9. How has being part of this community impacted your own writing or personal growth?

It’s great to have feedback from people who all write very differently. I have struggled to know whether I manage to evoke the pertinent emotions in scenes that require it, and the advice I got back, when asking others' opinions, was suggestions on where to improve and encouragement for what I was doing well.

10. What hopes or visions do you have for the future of the community?

I hope the community grows. There are so many authors out there that I see struggling. If they would just take the leaps to join our community, even for a month to trial it out, I know they wouldn’t want to leave.