There are Facebook groups for every cause, or, if you are old-school like me, there are in-person groups, also known as support groups.
When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I quickly learned I need other diabetics and started a support and education group that met twice a month.
When I first expressed my desire to write, a friend invited me to a writing critique group, where I met my good friend, Michelle Ule.
The group inspired me to attend writing conferences where I learned the craft and met hundreds of writers and others in the business.
The same friend who invited me to the writer group, a few years later started another writing group.
When we moved to Tennessee, I wished I could have taken my writing friends with me.
They helped me make decisions concerning my middle-grade novel series, The Rubber Band, and were very encouraging, inspiring me to keep writing on a regular basis. I missed them terribly and felt I would never find another group.
But God has answered the desire of my heart. I am pleased to have hosted a writing critique group with my friends Sharon Schuller Kiser and Laurie Herlich. We spent nearly four hours talking shop and going over our red-lined submissions.
Sharon Schuller Kiser, Christy Hoss and Laurie Herlich
Every writing group is unique and I count all of my writing experiences as useful and educational, but mostly, I value the relationships that have come from them.
I need my writing friends to keep me going and am thankful for each and every one of them.