Writing in Isolation
It’s a well known fact that writing is a solitary
occupation. Isolating even. But some of us are more isolated than others. Like
Naomi, I’m pretty much alone in my area. She’s probably a little more isolated
than I am though, geography-wise. I do have an ACFW chapter two hours away, but
the price of gas makes it incredibly difficult to justify going to the meetings
since I’m the only member who writes trade length historical romance.
I joined ACFW in January, 2007. It was such a thrill to be
surrounded by so many other people who know what it’s like to argue with the
people in your head. And lose. While the online companionship was awesome and I
made friends right away, I still felt isolated because I had no other writers
to talk to face-to-face. And no other writers who understood and shared my
burning desire for European historical settings.
Enter Therese Stenzel in April, 2007. She announced the
formation of a sub-group just for those of us who wrote about England and
Europe. Sign me up! I was one of the very first members of His Writers (not to
be confused with the Denver ACFW chapter of the same name). See, I have this
undying obsession with Russian history. I own more non-fiction about Russia
than any other subject, though Louisiana in the 1860’s is now running a close
second.
Immediately I had a “home”. Every writer in the group
understood my frustration with prairie settings and the West, and shared my
desire to see setting no longer be a deterrent to making a sale. We all bonded
immediately over our shared loves.
We’re not a big group. We don’t have a lot of “rules”. We
have a lot of fun together. All online. It’s every writer’s dream for support.
We laugh and cry together, brainstorm, ask stupid, crazy, ridiculous questions.
Rely on each other’s expertise in a given setting or era, try to figure out the
English title system and make contest entries bleed.
But above all else, we’re a band of sisters, of prayer
warriors and shoulders to cry on. I’m almost on the other side of the darkest
two years of my life, and I never would have survived without my HW sisters.
Many of them know the ugly details of what I’ve been through and held me up as
I dealt with it all.
We get together at the ACFW conference every year and it’s
always a joy. We sit together in classes when we see a fellow member. We cheer
over contract news. We celebrate every milestone, no matter how small and
seemingly insignificant. When I finished my first novel last summer they were
some of the first to know. Without their support and encouragement I would not
be sitting here writing this blog post, or shopping my manuscript.
Just because you live in an area where there are no writers
to fellowship with doesn’t mean you have to remain isolated. Online friendships
are real. The group has grown and changed in the five years since it began.
We’ve gained members and lost members. But above all, we’re a group of sisters.
Naomi and I aren’t the only members geographically isolated. That’s part of
what makes our group so wonderful. We get it, on so many levels, how hard it
sometimes is to be a writer.
Rachel Wilder - A born and bred Southern belle and lifelong resident of Louisiana, Rachel writes historical romance set in the 18th and 19th centuries. Her love of historic fashion and needlework covers these eras. You can visit Rachel at www.rachelwilder.net
Rachel Wilder - A born and bred Southern belle and lifelong resident of Louisiana, Rachel writes historical romance set in the 18th and 19th centuries. Her love of historic fashion and needlework covers these eras. You can visit Rachel at www.rachelwilder.net
