A Community of Beautiful Strangers

PiBoIdMo participants, 12 x 12 groupies, critique group members, Writer's Support 4 You folks, bloggers, editors, agents....... I am amazed every single day at the community of writers that I find myself a part of. After all, I haven't met any of them in person ..... not one..... but they help me every day! There are people in my life, even relatives, even published writers, who have not stepped up in the way these individuals have.

Daily I read messages via the internet from aspiring and published writers alike, sharing their own secrets to success. They WILLINGLY help their competitors.... do you get that? We critique one another's works in an attempt to improve their chances of publication - the very prize that we covet!

We blog and post via FB - sharing the resources that we have discovered. Many spend countless hours organizing online contest and instructional sessions. We remind one another of contests that we are entering ourselves. We share strategies, encourage one another and give constructive criticism.......... all in an attempt to help one another.

We don't get paid for it, there is no proof that it will help us in our own journey to publication and we know that others are too busy to acknowledge our efforts at times, but we venture on. Some would say it has something to do with the "misery loves company" adage, but it is, in my opinion, more about camaraderie and support. We all get discouraged and overwhelmed at times... and there is always someone there to pick us up.

We are cheerleaders and therapists, teachers and event planners. And in the end there is comfort in knowing that there is someone there, day and night, to enable our dysfunctional behavior and tell us that the housework will wait, because it's all about the books!