All images from the wonderful UNSPLASH community.
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I cannot stress this enough. If there is ONE PIECE OF WRITING ADVICE YOU TAKE TO HEART, let it be this one.
No artist (nor human being) can work in a vacuum. As authors and writers, we write words to be read, to be cherished, to be ABSORBED. And yet we are also a bundle of nerves and paradoxes. We are arrogant enough to believe we have it in us to make something beautiful worth publishing, yet vulnerable enough to open our soul to the terrifying process of sharing that little piece of our inner most selves with the outside world.
I’m not gonna lie. Being an artist, in any form, is wonderful but grueling journey. If you’ve spent any time at all at the blank page, you know it’s not all steamy deliciousness, cathartic tears and unicorn rainbow farts. Some days the slog will feel like it will never end. This is when you turn to your critique group. They are your unshakeable cheerleaders. Other days, you’ll be on cloud nine and you need someone to shake their booty with you as you relish your hard-won success. That’s when your crew will drop everything to shout it from the mountain tops right along side you. And when you finally, finally release that work you’ve put your heart and soul into, these are the people who will stand fiercely at your side, come what may.
I found my tribe. Lucy Eden and Marina Garcia are the fabulous, frickin’ talented romance authors who make up my Romance Critique Group. And I honestly wouldn’t be here without them.
I wish this sense of community for you, fellow artist, with all my heart. I truly, truly do. Because there is no greater force in this world than love.
With love,
M.S.
