Writing Is Lonely

It's been said that the writer's life is a lonely one. Most writers, unless writing with a partner, work alone. They research alone, they plot alone, they write alone.

Which is why writer's groups are so important. Whether physical ones or electronic ones, I need to be able to reach out and get support for a variety of reasons. Maybe I'm stuck on a plot point and need to bounce an idea off of someone. Or I'm just having a really bad day and need to cry on someone's shoulder. There are things that only another writer will understand. And family much of the time just doesn't get it. Not their fault--I'm learning about the publishing process as I go along, too. But I'm not expecting to write and sell the next Great American Novel and start living the life of a queen off the royalties. I am expecting to work hard, to write well, and to establish a good reputation. I want to be on readers' "must buy" list.

And I'll share my successes (and failures) with my writing buddies. I currently belong to one RWA chapter that is local. I attend the meetings every month, rubbing elbows with published and unpublished authors alike. I also belong to three online chapters: Passionate Ink, RWA's only erotic romance chapter; Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal (FF&P), RWA's paranormal chapter; and RWAOnline, the first online chapter of RWA. They each give me something different as far as resources, but they all give me one much-needed thing: support.

If you're a writer and you don't belong to a writer's group, I encourage you to join one. There are many out there for specific genres or regions (and this is not an endorsement of any one particular group; do your research!): Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Christian Writers Fellowship International, Horror Writers Association, International Association of Crime Writers, Midwest Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Society of Southwestern Authors, Southeastern Writers Association, Writer's Guild of America. There are many more. Do your research. But find a group (or groups) that fulfill your needs.

Writing is a lonely business. But it doesn't always have to be.