Expanding the Work

Being a writer and becoming a published author involve so much more than the writing of the stories.  It involves editing, revising, working on different aspects of craft, etc.  When I met my peer critique group (and overcame my fear to get myself in the door- see First Steps for more on that process) I knew I’d found something that was just as vitally important to my writing as editing and bettering my world-building skills.  I’d found a writing community.  We all support and inspire each other and I am so grateful for that.  I know it’s not an easy thing, to share and put oneself into that vulnerable position, but there are so many ways to get involved in a writing community at different levels, depending on what you’re comfortable with.

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been working on other things, and that my peer critique partner has also.  One of those things, that all seven of us in my peer critique group are proud to share, is the launching of our group website and blog!  The Page Half Full is a group website run and contributed to by seven writers.  We range from picture book to Young Adult authors, some published, some not, all with a huge love of the work and enthusiasm to share the journey with others. 🙂 The blog will be posted weekly on Tuesdays, with content on the other weekdays to delve deeper into the topics and discussions of that week.  All seven of us will be writing individual blog posts with collaborative posts in the mix as well.  I’d love for you to follow us over there and get to know these other writers.  This idea was born out of our experiences creating a writing community, and wanting to share that experience with others.  We really look forward to interacting with you!

This week I’m going to be taking a step back from getting my next manuscript ready to switch with my peer critique partner to set up and research a gift from my husband.  For our anniversary this year, he gifted me a year subscription to MasterClass Online Classes!  I cannot even explain how excited I am!  I didn’t know what this was until I saw an advertisement for MasterClass: Neil Gaiman and realized I NEEDED to figure out what this was and how I could gain access to it.  I want to take time to see what classes are available and figure out how it works.  I see R.L. Stine, Judy Blume, Dan Brown, Did I mention I’m excited? 🙂

What are you up to this week?  What’s exciting about the writing and the projects you’re working on or planning to work on?  Or, how do you interact/create/participate in a writing community?  Also, has anyone done any of the MasterClasses?

Happy Writing!