Writing is a notoriously solitary endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Who knew? This Age of Technology we live in is a beautiful thing. Why not use it to make connections with other writers? It may be the best thing you ever do for your book (and your writing sanity).

😜

After getting stuck three chapters in, it took a few years to unstick (in my defense, those years also involved a baby, a move to another state, and another baby, so I may have been a little—okay, a lot—busy). But I am 100% confident that I never would have gotten past those three chapters without the writing community I found.

I confess I didn’t just stumble into it. I’m a HUGE fan of Diana Gabaldon and had read multiple times about her online “hangout” at the Compuserve Books & Writers Community, so one day I went to check it out. Y’all, it was kinda magical.

I lurked for months, reading all the discussions, the questions and answers, advice and opinions, support and encouragement. I felt like I’d found a treasure trove but was a lot intimidated at the same time because I realized how much I didn’t know about writing. In the “Writing Exercises” folder, I discovered that a different exercise is posted each month (random example: write a scene in which three senses are utilized), writers post their scenes, and then exchange  constructive critiques with other posters. This caught my attention because I thought it was something I could participate in without sounding like a complete idiot.

I finally got brave enough to do it. Hitting that “post” button was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done, and—not gonna lie—my scene got a little tore up. But guess what—people were right! I understood what they said and how my writing could have been better, and it helped.

I haven’t made any official calculations, but I would guess that at least 75% of my first draft was written as exercises on that forum. I know I would still be floundering without it. The Compuserve Books & Writers Community has since been shut down, but we have all moved to a new home at TheLitForum.com . There are a plethora of writing communities to be found online, but if you’re in the market for one, this one’s a magnificent place to start. Check it out!

😊❤️