Laura, I went for a long time without finding a writing community and I know now that my writing suffered because of it. I didn’t realize how much I needed that back and forth, those bits of encouragement, knowing that when I’m feeling like shit because nobody cares about what I write I can say something and my writer friends will know exactly how I’m feeling. Because they’ve been there.

At the same time, I love being able to support someone who has worked hard and finally finds some success. Most of us have friends and families who just don’t get it. They don’t understand the drive, the ego, the pain, the disappointment. They’re happy for us when it goes well but they’re not the people we can go to when we need a boost.

It’s normal to get discouraged, and sometimes it’s right to step away when it’s just not working. We beat ourselves up over needing the kinds of things we would need on any job — days off, long breaks, small talk, fun stuff — and tend to believe that garbage about never, ever slowing down or forgetting our writing goals. So sometimes we just need to be reminded.

Thanks for commenting here. Always appreciated.