Never Alone

I’ve written before about the many stops and starts I made in the twenty years before I actually wrote a book.  Finally, in 2009, I accomplished the impossible.  I finished one.  I committed myself to writing in a way I had never done before.  At first, my 40^th birthday provided me with the motivation to sit down and write, and then do it again, because I felt like if I didn’t do it then, I never would.

That only got me so far.  About 200 pages of completely spontaneous dreck.  Writing is a marathon, and some of those miles really suck.  I didn’t know what to do, so I started looking online for help.

I found it.  To this day I don’t remember exactly how I found the Verla Kay Blueboard, but I did.  And there was a whole community of writers just like me.  Some published, some just trying to get through a book.  I was inspired by those who accomplished, and I learned so much about the industry that I would have never known.  

I learned about an online auction that led to my getting a 50 page critique from a published author and a 30 page critique from an agent.  While my work was not nearly ready at that point, there were bright spots, and the encouragement I needed to keep going. 

One thread on the Blueboard led me to an afternoon seminar on how to get an agent, which in turn led me to my first ever writing conference, which led me to the Muses.  

The way I thought about my writing changed forever once I had people to share it with.  I felt accountable in a way I never had before.  I started treating writing like a profession as opposed to a hobby, but somehow I ended up loving it more.

Having a community of people to share the experience with makes it so much more valuable.  Despite all the long hours at a computer with no one but my imagination for company, I am never truly alone.  I am never more than an email, a tweet, or a forum reply away from encouragement, commiseration or celebrations large and small.  

I love writing.  I hate it some days, but most days I love it.  But I love my writing community every day.  That is what makes the perilous trails on the publishing journey worthwhile.