Finding Community

The writing profession is reeking with this loneliness. All our lives we spend in discoursing with ourselves. . . . The loneliest people in the world we writers are. Except that, while we are conversing and laughing with ourselves, we manage to shed our loneliness . . . to scatter it as we go along -  Fred Hobson

When I got serious about writing, that I was going to sit down and complete an entire book, no matter how painful, I realized that I needed, no craved, the company of other writers. I wanted to know how they had scrapped together their determination, got serious and well, written a book. The first thing I did was go to Google – always dependable, honest, and factual. On-line I found an amazing array of resources for writers. In particular I found Verla Kay’s Blue Board, an amazing waterhole for writers at all stages of their careers. It’s a place where people share information, commiserate, talk about publishers, agents, the writing process, good news and bad. There are many sites that offer this sense of community – She Writes, Goodreads, Jacketflap, SCBWI, Redroom and others. The information I’ve learned over the years from other writers has been invaluable – it’s guided me in choosing my agent, researching publishers, understanding contracts and innumerable other things. So if you’re feeling a little lonely, writing away in your corner, jump on the information super highway and find some friends.