To all you writers out there groping in the darkness of your room with only your computer screen for company:

GET THEE TO A WRITERS GROUP!!

It was just about this time of year 5 years ago that my husband saw a tiny announcement in our local newspaper. A Christian writers group meeting about 15 minutes from my home.

“You should go,” he said.

“I don’t know.”

“Here.” He handed me the cut out square of paper. “At least call the number and ask about it.” (Hm, I wonder if he regrets that yet!)

I summoned all my courage and called. Then I showed up at the meeting. Since I had been really working on my writing for the past couple of years, I even had something to bring for critique. I took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

A few months later, I found myself in a critique group with people who knew a whole lot more than me but took me in anyway—Leslie Wilson and Mary DeMuth (and Suzanne Deschidn, before she moved away.) We formed a bond. We named ourselves Life Sentence.

All of a sudden, I had a real support system for my writing life, people to help me move toward my dream. Since then, I’ve met so many others through conferences and online writer organizations like The Writers View and American Christian Fiction Writers. I’ve written a lot. I’ve published a bit. But most of all, I’ve made some really good friends.

So what are you waiting for? Find out who else is out there—in your city, in your town, in cyberspace—pounding away at the keys of their computer, wondering if what they’ve written is worth reading. Link arms and walk the journey together. It’s always better that way.