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The inherent problem with our Nanowrimo efforts is that everything must be a question. The chat is spotty to say the least. Weirdly of all the stacks this is the one that seems to have the best community as far as I can see. But the community is, oddly, held back by the fact that this is expressly neither a community, in the social sense, or a forum. It's a Q&A.

The obvious answer to this has something to do with real names. So you could replace the infamous FB with G+ or something as they're apparently doing away with the need for real names but tbh I personally have no objection to people knowing my real name. My constant problem in life is that I am not a household name as an aspiring writer...

Anyhoo, I thought with Nano literally round the corner and the failure to worm our way into the Nano community in "official" mode I might suggest that a sort of social offshoot of the Q&A might be an aid in "selling" writers.se at Nano. It's not something I would suggest for all ses but it is certainly a suggestion I am making here because I sense a logistical gap in the communications between some enthusiastic contributors that a social networking group may go some way to filling.

Have I failed at "Hawk or Handsaw" or am I only mad when the wind blows southerly?

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    You are mad. Period. You're are writer, therefore you have to be. And citing Hamlet will not rescue you ;)
    – John Smithers
    Commented Oct 30, 2011 at 21:16
  • There are already a number of Facebook groups that cater to writers in general. One that I have been involved with is called "Indie Writers Unite", and I feel it serves its purpose quite well. Having said that, I feel that this social group serves a completely different purpose and caters to a much different audience. I'm not convinced that having a group for this site would be all that beneficial.
    – Steven Drennon
    Commented Dec 12, 2011 at 20:31

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Let me get this straight:

You think we have the best community here, but it does not show up, because the social element is missing. Do I get that right? I'm interested in how you come to the conclusion with the best community, but let's go to the more important topics.

Next thing is, why do you think a Facebook group would change anything? Why should people participate more there than on chat? (Well, I won't for sure, because I'm not on Facebook, but that's different story. I have a G+ account for some odd reason, but it has nothing to do that I do not use my real name.)

And the last topic: Even if NaNo participants know our FB group and find it interesting, why should they go there during NaNo? They need their time to write, I guess, and if I get this right then NaNo has its own community where people can ask questions and participate. They do not need a FB group to do so.

The Q&A format has its advantages and is a problem, yes, agree.

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I think a Facebook group, or any some such, would serve us poorly. It would mostly distract from the main event - the SE site. I don't think it's a good idea to try and form a community around any seed other than the SE site itself - even if such efforts work, then they'll almost certainly lack the SE Q&A focus that we're here for in the first place.

I feel like we get a fair dose of community in here - within the answers, in the comments; we've grown familiar with one another, and that's awesome :D But I don't see that carrying over into, say, the chat room, and I equally assume it won't carry over into a Facebook group - nor do I expect a Facebook group to carry over well into here.

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