Share Your Writing Journey: Writing Tribes

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Image courtesy of Armin Schreijag @Pixabay
Last week, I acknowledged and thanked three women who provided significant encouragement during my writing-to-publish journey. I stand by my point that writing is never a solitary endeavor. It takes people who share information and give you feedback.

Although those three women played chief roles in my journey, my writing tribe remains huge. If you're wondering if you have a writing tribe or how to get one, I wanted to share two  resources you should investigate.

Writing Groups

My critique group opened my eyes to many aspects of writing: the unwritten rules of writing, errors I couldn't see (because we should never proofread our own work), access to conferences and contests, and feedback.

The most important contribution was how to give feedback on someone else's writing. This is how most writers learn in a writing group: members look at the same piece and give individual feedback. The array of feedback helps the writer know what to watch for in their own writing. This works even if the feedback is on someone else's work.

Conferences

First of all, don't wait until you finish your novel to attend a writing conference.

Conferences provide access to people you want to know before you're ready to submit your work. Meet the agents, editors, publishers, authors, and wanna-be authors now. Network. It's as important in writing as it is in business.

Also, meeting these people before you need to pitch your story makes them less intimidating. They are people. People whose workshops you should attend. They are glad to share their insights with you. The information gained in a conference remains one of the most valuable resources you can find.

Online Benefits

Right now, many writing groups meet online. South Carolina Writers' Association (SCWA) has several of its local chapters, including mine, meeting online. As a member, you can participate in these.

The best part? You don't have to live in the same area to be in an online critique group. Check to see if your local or state writing organization offers online events. Or start your own. If you know of other writers wanting to work on their writing, invite them to help you form an online group.

Many conferences switched to online platforms this year, too. There are quite a few. I just googled "virtual writing conferences" and got 280,000,000 hits. If you can't find something there, you're not trying. Yes, some are expensive, but the price range is broad. Do your research and remember you get what you pay for.

Also, a lot of organizations are providing short workshops for free or at a nominal fee. SCWA offers a workshop every Tuesday at 12:30 pm EDT. Sign up and participation are free.

Share

If you know of a great online writing group or a virtual writing conference or event, please provide the information in the comments on this post. Help us share our writing journey.

Comments

Arisia said…
The 2020 virtual Realm Makers conference is July 16-18. Here is the link to find out more:

realmmakers.net/vrm2020/realm-makers-2020/vrm-registration/

Realm Makers is also a year-round group with forums, online critique groups, and a bookstore.
July 7, 2020 at 3:10 PM
Barbara V. Evers said…
Thanks! Realm Makers looks interesting.
July 7, 2020 at 5:37 PM
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