You are not alone

Writing is a very lonely venture.

It might be fun to make up different stories and invent characters to populate galaxies far, far away, but when someone spends day after day in front of a PC or a piece of paper, avoiding anything that might mess with their "juju"(be it music, the latest episode of your favourite TV show, or a loved one stripteasing down to an elephant-shaped G-string - photos upon request) the tormented writer may suddenly find himself/herself in desperate need for some companion other than that of people living in aforementioned made-up galaxy.


Add to that the constant insecurities most writers have to fight with (if you claim not to have insecurities then you are a liar, liar, liar!), the outrageous amount of competition out there, the exhausting rejections and the fact that most people don't live in caves feeding on grass and snails but in the real world with jobs, responsibilities and families; it's no wonder why many people give up writing very early down the road.

I too used to mull over my abilities, my latest idea, the approach I should take with a story, the tense of a verb, the proximity of my goals etc. until I joined a writers' group in Facebook.

Now I still mull over all of the above, but get over myself and move on with my writing projects much quicker than before, which in itself is a pretty big, time-saving success.

Besides the fact that it's enormous fun and quite informative to share a little corner of the cyber world with people who share the same passion, the most important gift I received from being in this group is knowing I am not alone.

What fear I have, others have had before me, what problems I deal with, others have dealt with already, what good news I get, I get to share with a group of people who can appreciate their significance, what goal I have, I know I can reach because fellow group members have done it already and proven that with hard work and resilience (some talent doesn't hurt either) aspiring, struggling writers can reap the fruits of their efforts.

So do it. Today. Now! Join a writers' group. Worst case scenario you get free tips and news about the writing world, best case scenario you make friends who will support you in your quest for the big literary success.

If it weren't for my writer's group, I'd probably given up permanently.

So, go on. Look for a group online or in your neighbourhood. You won't regret it.

P.S. And when not even your writers' group can help you with your frail confidence, read a bad story and remember Stephen King's words: "I can do better than this!"