Recently I had a post on Instagram go viral (well, viral for me, at least). In the post, I talked about my experience of moving to New York City and finding fellow writing friends, and joining a writers club. The post seemed to resonate with a bunch of people, namely fellow writers who were looking for that type of community, or fellow brave souls who have moved to a brand new city with no friends. And I got so many comments and also private messages about moving to a new city, making friends, and finding a writer’s community.
I’ve actually moved to a new city three times! When I was 21, I moved from Australia to London. A few years later I moved to Berlin. And now, as you know, I live in New York City. Because I’ve made that huge leap across oceans a few times now, I’m pretty confident about landing in a new place and connecting with others. But I know for someone who hasn’t done it, they might find it incredibly challenging or terrifying. A bunch of the comments I received has inspired me to share some of my experiences with anyone who would find that helpful.
But the thing about New York City is that it’s a place where you can find anything you could possibly want, including a group of likeminded writers who want to drink prosecco and chat about books. So of course it’s been easy for me, but I know around the world you might be more isolated without any similar writers nearby. So I thought at the very least we could try to connect online.
If that kind of thing resonates with you, I’d love for you to join the Discord group I’ve just set up (completely free), where we can all connect with fellow writers and feel free to discuss the highs and lows of writing together.
I’m actually in Mexico right now, but I’m so excited about the potential of this group that even when I was sitting on a beach sipping margaritas, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I just had to get it started. So here it is! Anyone can join the Discord chat, but there will be private rooms available for my Patreon supporters. We’ll talk about writing, and I’d especially love to create a space where we’re comfortable chatting about what it’s like to be a writer, including the toughest and most isolating parts of the journey.
Here’s the link to the Discord if you’d like to join:
ellekirks 