THE Writer's Guide

Part 17 "Writing Groups, podcasts, blogs, courses."

Writing Groups: Join one.

Although writing is primarily an individual activity, it can be greatly beneficial to get the input, insights and creative touches of others.

First and foremost, your writing group needs to people you like and trust. Going to your writing group should be something you look forward to and not something you dread. Yes, they may have some ideas for your story that you weren't expecting to hear or are going to mean a lot of rewriting on your part--but they're just suggestions. Some you'll use and some you won't.

How do you find a writing group?

Depending on your age and location, you can find writing groups connected to school, libraries, and bookstores. You can also look online with "Meet up" type of outreach. Be very careful--don't go to the home of someone you don't know. Meet in public places, always.

Podcasts

There are so many out there. If you're crazy busy like me, listening to podcast on the way to school or work is a great way to get few writing tips.

Look for podcasts with a variety of topics and have a strong following.

In my Part 3, I listed some Podcast suggestions.

Blogs, Websites and You tubes

Reminder: I have listed some valuable Websites in Part 3.

Here is a partial list or Author's Blogs. You may want to scan this list to see if there's an author's name you recognize. If you like his or her work, chances are you will like his or her blog.

by David Allen by Bruce Sterling by Debbie Ridpath Ohi by M.J. Rose by PJ Parrish by Carolyn Jewel by C.J. Barry by David Brin by Cory Doctorow by Dave Barry by Kathleen O'Reilly by Scott Adams by Poppy Z. Brite by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner by Stephanie Klein by Gregg Hurwitz by Keith Thomson by John Walkenbach by Jayne Ann Krentz by Lawrence Lessig by Laurell K. Hamilton by Meg Cabot by Neil Gaiman by Brenda Coulter by Douglas Clegg by Lynn Viehl by Patti O'Shea by Peter David by Holly Lisle by Bill Crider by John Battelle by Seth Godin by Julie Kenner by Jennifer Weiner by Tess Gerritsen by Marjorie M. Liu by Wil Wheaton by Lee Goldberg by Crawford Kilian

As far as the YouTubers go, again, the list is infinite. Just type in a topic, any topic, and a slew of videos will appear. I don't have the attention span to watch a "talking head" for more than, say, 20 seconds. Generally I will scroll across using the lower bar and see if there is any animation or graphics to go along with the you tube.

Writing Courses and Retreats

There are writing courses and retreats offered at almost every part of the globe. Some even take place on cruise ships! There are Webinars and college extension on-line courses.

I strongly suggest you make it a priority to branch out and connect with other writers. Look to see what works with your schedule and your budget.