If you're not a member of a writers group, you should give it some serious thought. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a new writer. She has quite a bit of talent, but currently doesn't belong to a group. When I moved, I felt bad for her, knowing that she wouldn't have someone she could talk to. She doesn't write romance, so I wasn't able to set her up with my RWA chapter. However, there are a large number of writing groups for various genres. I hope she joins one to further her skills.
If you have an interest in writing, you should explore what groups meet in your area.
I started writing seriously four years ago. I thought I was doing really well until I joined the Toronto Romance Writers. Being able to talk to other writers, listen to guest speakers, join a critique group opened my eyes to my own writing flaws. Some I didn't even know I had. I have improved so much as a writer in the last few years, I cringe when I go back and look at my older manuscripts.
Conferences are another great way to learn about writing. While they can be expensive, I think they are worth every penny if you are serious about making writing a career. Don't limit yourself to conferences and seminars in your genre either. Learning a wide variety of skills and techniques will only help strengthen your writing and stories.
Why has this come to mind? I was looking at the New England chapter, Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference. While this would be a bit of a drive for me, I think that I'm going to go this year. The opportunity to meet and talk to other authors is always fantastic.
2 comments:
I agree, Christine. I don't know how people do it in a vacuum.
So much harder. And there's always something to learn from other writers -- either via their writing or via a conference.
I live in a little town. Don't know another writer here. The nearest writing group meetings are about two hours away, so I don't know what I would do without my on line groups and writing friends. (Smile)
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