Join a writing group?  Me?  Baring my soul through writing and sharing this with

people I didnâ??t know sounded like something I couldnâ??t emotionally handle but it seemed to be the next step on the road to becoming a career writer. The courses on writing I had taken were over and the ladies in the class thought it would be great to start meeting monthly to talk about and share our writings.  The instructor agreed to start the group in her home and we were all informed by email where and when it would be.

     I suffered up until the day of the meeting, going back and forth as to whether I would attend or not. Fears assaulted me as I worried about every little thing regarding the meeting.  Later I would realize that this was just one of the many steps and obstacles I would have to take if I wanted to continue to pursue writing.  Coming to crossroads has happened over and over again and each time I had to decide, â??Do I want to step out in this area?  Is this a positive road in my journey to becoming a career writer?â?

     You might say, â??I can be a writer without classes or group involvementâ? and I am sure that some people have and you might to.  Writing classes and groups have been invaluable to me however, not just for what I have learned but for the connections I have made with different people.

     Going to the first group meeting was difficult and I soon realized that we all had different styles of writing, goals and areas we wanted to pursue with the written word.  We also all had many things in common such as worrying if others valued our writing, wondering how much time and money we wanted to invest in this and the big question, â??How good am I?â?Â 

     Working with others monthly in a group has helped me with these questions and others.  Every month we bring an original work, either something given by assignment or freestyle.  We listen and bring encouragement to the writer, first and foremost.  Our biggest critique is in clarity; is there something unclear or hard to understand in the writing?  Our groupâ??s goal is to encourage and learn, not tear each other down.  We rejoice when others take big steps and encourage when some are struggling.  A few months ago we had an assignment to write a short story using three key words picked out of a hat and mine was so well received that I am turning it into a novella!  So you never know what could happen.

      Keeping in touch is important especially when feeling burnt out or discouraged by the slowness of the process of building this career.  Mostly we communicate outside of group by emails; after all, we are writers!

     Next week I want to go a little further in talking about writing groups and classes by discussing how connections with people who can help you can be made through these avenues.  One such connection led to the writing of my first novel�