Writing is a lonely profession,
especially at the outset of one's career, when body, mind and spirit fixate
on the blank page or a computer
monitor for endless
hours. Even more so if you're a classic introvert, and your
"battery" is charged more in
solitude than by socializing.
The solution? Network with other writers. Join a critique group or a writer's club for guidance and cameraderie. Attending workshops and taking online and real world classes keeps writers
connected and focused.
Not only is writerly solitude balanced
by networking, the practice leads to opportunity and publication.
I wanted to "pay something
forward" to new writers after being helped by others.
I discarded my reclusive ways to serve as PWP Programs Chair in 2003, as 2004-2007 Info Coordinator and Editor
of E-PWP, the PWP monthly submission,
contest, marketing, and writing events e-zine
retooled as the Friday Markets for the PWP Google Forum in 2007, and as 2006-2009 Webmaster.
I've learned a lot and made many like-minded friends as as a member of Professional Writers of Prescott, Arizona (PWP), the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI-AZ) and the Arizona State Poetry Society (ASPS).
