by Hallee Bridgeman, @halleeb
For the most part, writing is a lonely job. You go into your own head and stay there for hours, days, weeks worth of time, bringing to life what only you can see and imagine. It’s an amazing gift, but it is also very isolating.
There is a way to come out of that isolation and find yourself among people who think like you, who talk to non-existent people in their heads, who also spend hours a day/week/month pounding at a keyboard, praying fervently that the words they type will mean something to the readers who consume them.
Attend a writers event.
There are all kinds of different styles of events: book signings and reader events, local writer group meetings, conferences, conventions, workshops. No matter what you pick, go to one. Yes – even you introvert you who is suddenly actually physically cringing away from my words. You, too.
Here are reasons why you should attend:
- You will meet people who understand, I mean really understand what you do, what you go through, how hard it all really is, how incredibly fulfilling and exciting and amazing finding that perfect word to go into that brilliant sentence is!
- You will make friends. Yes, even you. Friends you will see at the next conference and the next workshop. Friends you can connect to on social media and keep tabs on and hold each other accountable for deadlines. Good friends. Writer friends.
- You will learn something new about yourself, your writing, the world of publishing. Writers LOVE to get with other writers and talk and share and learn and teach. It’s wonderful.
- You will find encouragement like nowhere else on earth. Because, see numbers one and two.
- You will discover, as you leave, that attending was exactly what you needed in exactly the timing you needed it. And you’ll start looking for the next event/workshop/conference you can attend so that you can reconnect with these wild and wonderful people who get you and understand how you think and respect what you do with words.
I know it’s hard to get out there – especially if you’re stepping out alone. But your writing will only thrive under the special care you give it by exposing it to other writers – especially other Christian writers.
Broken and battered, Valerie comes home and finds a lifetime of love waiting for her. Since boyhood days, Brad has always carried a flame for Valerie. Her engagement to another man shattered his dreams. When she comes home, battered and bruised, recovering from a nearly fatal relationship, he prays God will use him to help her heal.
With over half a million sales, Hallee Bridgeman is a best-selling Christian author who writes action-packed romantic suspense focusing on realistic characters who face real-world problems. Her work has been described as everything from refreshing to heart-stopping exciting and edgy. Hallee is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the American Christian Writers (ACW) as well as being a member of Novelists, Inc. (NINC). An accomplished speaker, Hallee has taught and inspired writers around the globe, from Sydney, Australia, to Dallas, Texas, to Portland, Oregon, to Washington, D.C., and all places in between. Hallee loves coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. Above all else, she loves God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength; has been redeemed by the blood of Christ; and relies on the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide her.