It Takes a Village: Finding Your Writing Peers

Writer: Sita Romero

Writing & Loneliness

Writing can be a lonely business. From the time I first started taking writing seriously, I began to engage with monthly writing groups, coffee shop meetups, and online communities. As a newly “serious” writer more than a decade ago, I attended classes and workshops when I had the chance. Once I had decided to try and publish my writing, I found a local group where we read our work to each other and offered real-time feedback. It was a great way for me to see other seasoned writers offering critique in the moment while I observed and learned. At the time I was bouncing around between library-sponsored groups, a science fiction meet-up, and a children’s/young adult novelist group. It offered me a chance to see writers in different genres producing all types of work.

Pandemic Writing & Finding Your People

Then, sometimes life throws us a curveball. I’d been writing regularly at this point—I even went back to school for my MFA—when the pandemic hit in early 2020 and all in-person writing activities came to a screeching halt.  For a while, I enjoyed the slower pace and the insulation of alone time at my writing desk. But as the pandemic pressed on, so did my desire to connect with other writers. Then, a writing organization I participate in had a call for Friday Zoom chats. It wasn’t writing time. It wasn’t sharing time. It was simply time to talk about writing life together—the joys, the challenges, and everything in between.

Writing in Quarantine

Quarantine was enough to push me out of my introvert box and into a meet up with strangers. So I joined these Friday chats and what I found were some of the bravest, most inspiring, and brilliant women I have ever known. We started with an all-business focus on writing and the group has since evolved into a regular chat, in-person meet-ups, reading for each other, and sharing real-life moments that have nothing (and everything) to do with our writing. We’ve seen each other through break-ups, make-ups, moves, cancer, deaths, and one of our members has just made an organ match with another. While real life has firmly crept into the formal group sharing about writing life—the truth is, it’s impossible to separate the two. Who we are outside of our writing life informs who we are inside it. Now, as a group, we have a clearer view of the context of life around each of the writers who bravely participate each week—sharing our disappointments just as openly as we share our triumphs.

For Aspiring Writers

If you aspire to write, all I can tell you is this: don’t wait for an excuse to find your people. Look for others who are doing what you are doing, who will lift you up and support you on your journey. I know I wouldn’t be the same writer or person without the support of my Friday writing group. I can’t imagine spending the last five years trying to birth a book into the world without the support I’ve had in the last two years with this group of writers. They’ve celebrated every win, lamented every loss, given me pep talks, listened to my disappointments, and cheered me on along the way. Now, with just a little over two months until the release of my debut novel, I know it was all worth it.

About the Writer

Sita Romero received her MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte. Her work has been published in print and online literary journals. Before writing full-time, Sita worked in women’s health for 15 years. She grew up in Florida and now lives in Virginia.

Website: sitaromero.com