A dear friend messaged me a couple of weeks ago out of the blue. I moved away a year ago and we hadn’t been in touch. She told me she’d been thinking a lot about writing — couldn’t fall asleep until she’d written something, no matter how terrible. Then she did something really brave; she shared her words with me.
When you share your writing for the first time it is beyond terrifying and the more personal the words — the more it means to you — the harder it is to share. But my friend did it, and honestly, it was a gift to me. I felt inspired by her bravery, her talent, the meaning behind her words, and the discussion we had after.
I promised her I would send her a list of all the things that helped me at the beginning of my journey. So, here are ten things from that list (in no particular order).
Read this letter on re-invigorating or developing your writing practice.
2. Read as often as you write. Reading well is key to writing well. There’s a book, an author, a genre for everyone. If you haven’t found your “thing” yet, start with one thing you’re curious about and go find a book on that. Here’s where I look for book recommendations:
Ask a friend (in my stories on IG, on Fb, or in-person).
Create a Goodreads account it’s free)
Go to your library and ask the librarian for a recommendation. Librarians are so knowledgeable and typically so underused.
3. Track your book recs on one page in a notes app on your phone. That way, when a friend or stranger gives you a rec on the fly you can enter it quickly and find it easily. I make my list on the Reminders app on my Iphone.
4. Join a writing group, or make your own. If you like to write, then you’re a writer and you need to find your writing people. Here are a few of my favorite writing communities:
Tell(h)er Co - I now run this community, but I started out as a member just like everyone else. It is filled with kind and talented writers.
Substack - obviously you’ve discovered substack if you’re here, but here are a couple incredible communities I’ve discovered since joining:
Time Travel Kitchen (not about writing, but a thriving community and am always inspired by her).
Motherscope - If you’re interested in motherhood and writing, you’ll love this community. I began as a follower and am now one of this year’s regular contributors.
5. Splurge on a Writer’s Retreat if you can. It isn’t necessary, but I gotta say, attending one changed my life — and that’s almost an understatement. This is the retreat I attended and LOVED.
6. K, this may feel a little out there, but I promised to share what works for me, and this is a part of my journey, so here it is,
pray.
If you don’t pray, then speak your questions, your wants, your worries out loud because manifesting works too! But for me, I pray. I ask for guidance every step of the way, and believe it or not, I get answers.
7. Find writers to connect with online. It’s great to have an in-person writing group, but having one online is just as important because your “people” might be across the world. Instagram has been the best way for me to find my people. For reference I live in South Carolina, USA and I have writer friends who live in Australia, England, Portugal, Arizona, Minnesota, Florida, and India (to name a few). Tips on finding writers on IG:
Look up hashtags such as #writingcommunity #womensfictionwriters #poetsofig Whatever relates to the kind of writers you’d like to find.
If you’re in a writing community on IG, scroll the comments, see whose engaged there and whose vibe you like. Go follow them and comment on their posts, that will lead to friendships and opportunities you never expected.
Support the writers you love. I found a writer (through hashtags) on IG and I loved her vibe. I followed, commented, and then saw she had made a chapbook. I asked if I could purchase the book, and a small friendship began from there. We stayed in touch and she invited me to read an essay for her writing group. From there I learned she led Yoga classes on zoom and I signed up. Eventually we became dear friends, developed a Yoga For Writers class together (mostly her - I was just the encouragement) and she became a big part of the Tellherco Community. We met for the first time this year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she led Yoga For Writers at Tellherco’s Writers Salon. Side note: She writes the most incredible letter every month and sends it by post (in your actual mailbox). If you want to sign up it’s free and beautifully done.
8. Start submitting your work to publications. This one feels scary, but really, it’s not a big deal. Your work will get rejected —guaranteed. I am pretty certain every successful writer has at minimum a handful of rejection letters under their belt. Rejections say nothing about you as a writer but the process will give you experience — you’ll learn from it and eventually (maybe sooner than you thought) you will get published. Submittable has been my go-to resource for finding publications. You can start a free account and search for publications by name, deadline, or topic. Submittable lists the publication name, their submission policy, deadline, and the pay (if applicable).
9. Say yes. If a writing opportunity comes your way, even if you’re scared, say yes. That opportunity may be an answered prayer. When I started working for Tellherco, my boss Azure told me I could begin a series of author interviews. I thought we’d start out small and work my way up, but no. The first interview she offered me was with Liz Gilbert author of,
Eat Pray Love, Big Magic, The Signature of All Things,
and on and on.
Liz was and still is my favorite modern author. When I first read her work more than a decade ago I knew I’d found one of my people…even if she doesn’t know it. Ha!
At first, I told my boss,
no.
I was terrified — I’d never interviewed anyone before let alone my favorite author on IG live! However, twenty minutes after that initial no. I said,
yes.
Saying yes led to a series of interviews with incredible authors like New York Times Best Selling author Natalie Goldburg, Reese’s Book Club author Peace Adzo Medie, the incredible literary agent Amy Bishop, and many more. It also led me to San Juan Puerto Rico where I got to conduct all of our behind the scenes interviews.
Becoming an interviewer was not something I planned on, but it has connected me to the literary world in a way I never expected. It’s an integral piece of my journey and I am so grateful I turned that first no into a yes.
You can watch that first interview with Liz, here.
10. Share something you’ve written with someone. Don’t wait, share it now. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it can be at random. Share it as an act of faith, share it as a sign to the universe that you are willing to show up however flawed — however unready you feel — just show up.
On that note, I’m gonna end this letter with the message and (gorgeous)poem sent to me by the friend I mentioned at the beginning of this letter.
Her name is Sonja Garcia and she is a writer.
I’ve been thinking about writing a lot the last couple of days, and I couldn’t go to sleep without writing something, no matter how terrible or small, tonight. It ended up being about you…and now because I’m trying to unearth my writer self, because I think she is part of my true self, I’m going to do something truly terrifying and send you that poem.
On the couch
Finally seen and exposed but
Safe
Your care the unseen seatbelt
around my middle
Swaddling the panic reflex of my infant motherhood.
- by Sonja Garcia
In your corner,
Jill
Ps. Who are you going to share your words with today?
Thank you, Jill. Your organization and beautiful voice make Dear Writer something special. This one will be a treasured roadmap for me. And thank you for helping me jump in.
Thank you for this post, Jill, and also for the shout-out!