I’m thrilled to be part of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association first ever quarterly Author Happy Hour. Thursday, March 22, at 7 pm Eastern Time (4 pm PacificDaylight) I was on live video, answering questions and chatting with three other women’s fiction authors! Here’s the event link — now archived on Youtube. Even oddities about myself, such as the fact that my name is on a piece of floating space junk. I’ll talk about Italy and the amazing art history tour I had there, capping a year of studying the Italian Renaissance.
The Internet’s capacity to host author appearances and interviews by live streaming radio and video expands our writing community. We can learn #writingtips and about the #writelife from other writers and poets.
Every day I can attend as many of these events as I want, and they nurture my own development of my craft. Hearing that other writers go through the same process — sometimes ecstatic, often excruciating, but always compelling — helps me persevere. Author appearance, podcasts on writing craft, radio poetry readings and interviews, have all becomne part of our literary conversation.
There are so many resource now for writers that didn’t exist when I started writing, many years ago. It’s so great to be part of the wonderful Women’s Fiction Writers Association! And to help premiere this new quarterly Author Happy Hour! I’m a happy author indeed.
I believe that joining an online writing group enriches any writer. In-person groups are wonderful too, and I’ve belonged to quite a number. But for ongoing support in the daily trenches of writing long-form fiction, an online community is indispensible. You can find someone who’s experienced the very thing you’re wrestling with right now, whether it’s point-of-view, character and plot development, or querying agents. You can learn from those who have more experience — and most writers are incredibly generous in sharing. You can also get publishing tips and opportunities. Best of all, the feeling of camaraderie sustains you as you engage with the solitary occupation of creating whole worlds out of your imagination. And Facebook has a wealth of writers groups. It’s not hard to find one or more that might suit you and your work.