Brey Willows

There’s nothing quite like being with a group of writers who have, over the course of the week, become a little less inhibited and a little more vulnerable. Or voluble. Both, maybe.

Last week I was with a group of writers who are in varying places in their writing careers. Some were just starting out with brand new ideas, some were working on their next novels. Some were multi-published, some were dealing with second book anxiety. (That’s a real thing.)

But the common denominator was that everyone wanted to write. They wanted to talk about writing. They wanted to talk about what they’ve written and what they might write in the future. They talked about characters, arcs, plot possibilities, and insecurities.

And it was amazing.

Writing is generally a solitary thing to do. Just you and your imagination and the words flowing from brain to fingertips. For months, if not years, at a time. If you’re a reasonably attuned human, you also do other things in that time, like speak to people, eat, drink, etc. But writing is a beast of its own creation, so to speak.

So being among other writers is incredibly freeing. While your partner/pet/parent/plant may not be terribly interested in your writing talk, other writers are. And not only will they listen, they’ll also engage rather than stare at you blankly. (If the plant is staring at you, there might be other issues afoot.) And that engagement can infuse you with the creativity you need to keep going. Did one of us suggest that the dirty sea foam along the shoreline was whale vomit? Yes. Did someone else come up with random stuff all week that made her seem like she had a shuffle button? Indeed. And so there was laughter and the free flowing sharing of ideas. Support, feedback, empathy…writing groups give you all of that. Or they should, if they’re worth the ink in your pen.

My suggestion is to find one. Go on a retreat, if you can. Meet up online, in person, or via a social media network if you need to. But connect. Stories are all about connection of a sort, aren’t they?