I wanted to start a writing group for many years, had some fits and starts, but essentially never got around to it (#procrastination). Last year, sitting in the lobby of a music school while my son had his piano lesson, I was chatting with another mom and we realized that we were both writing books. We were also both struggling to make headway in our projects. Procrastination aside, we needed a reason to not put everyone else ahead of our work as moms and wives. To not doing laundry before we sat down to write. To hold ourselves accountable. To commit to our writing.
We each also needed a professional to act as another set of eyeballs and critique our work. Turns out we had a career in journalism in common. Huzzah! The Who Knows a Writer? writing group was formed.
Taking the one simple step of meeting Amanda at a cafe for the first time led me to now having a completed manuscript and potentially interested agents. We meet about every three weeks (now we Facetime, of course), have an agenda, take minutes, give each other feedback, share resources, and set new goals. If I were doing this alone, I would still be staring at a half-finished manuscript with an opening chapter in the wrong part of my story.
So look around at your community and see where you can get some help with whatever it is you want to accomplish. Likewise, offer help to others. Encourage and allow yourself to be encouraged.
I just listened to a great interview between authors Dan Blank and Jennifer Louden that inspired me to go to my Facebook page and ask my friends to follow Birthday Ranch on Twitter. I’m trying to demonstrate that I am committed to marketing Birthday Ranch, but struggling to come up with a way to get more followers. Aha! Just ask my 341 Facebook friends.
How simple is that? It never occurred to me before because many of us are uncomfortable asking for help. Well get over it! And realize your dream.
(And please follow @birthdayranch! xo)