Writing tends to be a solitary pursuit. You lock yourself away in an office, bedroom, or library and churn out the kind of words that makes your creativity monster happy. But it doesn't have to be completely solitary! Find your tribe! Writing is a way to connect with like minded creative type people. In fact, today on my twitter feed (@nanazlyn) this post came up:
Katie Masters @Katie_Masters
DEAR WRITERS NEW TO TWITTER, PLEASE TALK TO US! WE LIKE YOU! WE WANT YOU! You're needed & you have a place at the table! THIS TABLE IS A MAGICAL TABLE THAT STRETCHES OUT TO INFINITY AND WE'RE ALL NERDS! JOIN US! WE HAVE COOKIES! #writerslife #writingcommunity #writingtips
Creative people love to talk to other creative people, and I've found that this writing community is mostly supportive and can help fellow writers through anything.
When I began my pursuit of writing the a essential baseball cozy mystery, I joined both the Sisters in Crime (not just for ladies!) and the Mystery Writer's of America. Through both of these groups, I have found people to answer questions, provide feedback, and most of all encouragement on those days when I didn't feel my writing is good enough.
So, basically what I'm saying is....join some groups! Find your tribe! It can help the writing process immensely. (And this is coming from an extreme introvert who loves nothing more than sitting in my house with my cats and books.)
Ways to find your people:
1. The library! I mean, books everywhere....
2. Meet Up groups....I now belong to a group that meets during the winter at my library full of other creative writers
3. Twitter! I love twitter and I'm not ashamed by it. Follow other authors, even famous ones, they are great. They provide knowledge and encouragement (just watch out for trolls)
4. Genre Groups- like Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers, Horror groups, there is a group for everyone!
If you have other ways of meeting your people, feel free to comment!
And just know, I believe in you and your writing!