The importance of interaction: events
One of the greatest benefits of being part of a coworking space is events and the chance to make invaluable connections. Both Paragraph and The Writer’s Junction do host official events, but specifically said that they see very organic connections between coworking members.
Parisi told Deskmag that they host a monthly reading series, which gives writers a chance to showcase work and meet with potential agents. “We hear all the time how people have made great friendships, found good working relationships, or just been appreciative of the people they've met through the space -- being able to come out of the writing space to celebrate just finishing a novel, or vent about a problem with an editor, and there usually being people around who understand." She implied that indeed the official events help, but that coworkers also plan their own roundtables and meetings as well.
Funke also found that the relationships between writers at The Writers Junction often happen organically and she has seen a lot of self-motivated collaboration. Yet that doesn’t mean that it isn’t nice to sometimes have a little structure.“We once had a 24 hour literary marathon once, where people got up and read their work,” explained Funke.
In between events and the creation of a friendly space, writers find a community that is flexible enough to fit their specific needs.
Ready to start writing?
While both coworking spaces are open to all types of writers, they do have certain requirements for joining their community. The Writers Junction requires that you show previous published works and a description of your next project. They want to be sure that you are serious about bringing some tangible inspiration to the community. Paragraph does not require that you show published works, but they do have an application that you have to fill out explaining why you would be a good fit.
Parisi told Deskmag, “there's something great about knowing that everyone around you is writing, even if someone is writing fiction and another person is a screenwriter, and another person is a journalist. There's still a thread that joins everyone here." We feel this statement sums up coworking for writers perfectly.
