A Place to Come Together

What do you get when you have a sunny and warm Santa Barbara Sunday morning, six women, six manuscripts, a cozy meeting place, fresh fruit, coffee and other goodies?

A writing group!

We come from Los Angeles, Ojai, Ventura and Santa Barbara. We write memoir, magazine articles, short stories, mysteries, and women’s fiction. When we meet we share about our careers, our children, husbands, and love lives. We read each others’ work, we give honest feedback and then we go back home to write more. Until the next month when we’ll meet again.

I have been part of a few groups like this over the years and each in its own way was exactly what I needed.The Santa Barbara group gives me feedback on the flow of my writing, my characters and the plot. I’ve had Los Angeles writing friends meet me in cafes and we spend our time writing. We take a break from our busy schedules and do the work.

Being a part of a writing group reminds me of the great literary salons of the past.  New writers, published authors, philosophers, politicians, patrons of the arts and artists themselves gathering together to discuss the important works of the day, to comment on culture, and the meaning of life. My present day groups, in our own way, do just that.

Readers often ask what was the biggest support over the years as I struggled to finish my first novel. My answer is my writing friends, the community of women I’ve had the privilege to work with, write with, and know.

If you are a writer and want to brainstorm with other writers, or get advice from someone who has been down the publishing path, or want honest critique, a writing group is just what you need. Yes, writers need the quiet solitary time to write. But writers also need other perspectives, other viewpoints, and new ideas.

Here’s to my writing friends! Lara, Marcia, Eva, Erin, Laura, Nancy, Lisa, Roberta, Banks, Sherri and Leslie. Thank you for your feedback and support. I toast to your future writing successes!