Reprinted from the WordCraft newsletter on BackWash.

It was late at night. I wandered into a Backwash chat. Had a good time. And I found myself saying “yes.” So, here I am, sending you a newsletter about writing, writers, books, literature, etc. And I have a difficult job to fill the shoes of she who precedes me. I hope I can do that.

What makes me think I can do this? I’ve taught writing for more years than I care to remember. I have published poetry. I read too much. I love words. I live to write.

Writing by nature is a lonely profession. No one sits with you and tells you what to write. You are alone with your thoughts. You sit alone and enter the world you are writing. And nothing frightens an artist (for that’s what you are) more than a blank sheet of paper. Whether you’re a creative writer or a writer of non-fiction, it is your goal to fill that page with words that will move people.

But there comes a time when you have to move out of your own world. You need contacts with other writers, readers who can critically look at your words. For many years not only did I spend time writing but also searched for a group of like-minded people. I was not only isolated by my passion, but by geography. I traveled the 120 miles to Carson City, Nevada, and the members of Ash Canyon Poets nurtured my growing art.

My point? Hie thee to a writers’ group. If you are in an isolated part of the country, search the Internet. There are groups of writers who will welcome you. There are fiction writers, fantasy writers, poets, mystery writers, non-fiction writers out there for you to find.

Also, read. If you are into anthropological fiction, find out what Jean Auel is writing. Who are some of her emulators and what are they writing? If you like lawyer/crime, see what John Grisham is doing now. If you like erotica, check out what is selling at this point in time.

This is enough for now. I do want to extend an invitation to anyone who has questions, suggestions or opinions to contact me. Your ideas are the ideas I build on for my columns and this newsletter.

Until next month, sharpen your pencils, file down your fingernails, and do some writing.

An old post from BackWash, written by a friend, now deceased. Her blog, Anything Under the Sun, is still up on WordPress.com. She was a teacher and a poet, among other things.

It’s the season for making resolutions. And this is no different for those of us in the writing world.

I don’t know about you, but I have not been writing like I should for a few weeks now. Procrastination has set in with a vengeance. So, it’s time for me to make some resolutions:

1. I will write every day. I don’t care if I have anything I think is worth saying. The physical act of writing will eventually spark some writing that will be worth pursuing.

2. I will read every day. It has been too easy lately to come home, sit down in front of the TV and three hours later I realize I have done nothing. I don’t care if it’s a newspaper, a magazine, or a book of poetry. Wide reading gives me fodder for my writing.

3. I will take a writing class, seminar, weekend, whatever. I need the interaction with other writers to grow and develop. I need their feedback.

4. I will attempt to publish more this year. If very little goes out, very little will be published. And I have a lot to share with others through my writing. All I have to do is find the right publication, the right editor, and hope s/he didn’t have a cucumber sandwich for lunch.

5. I will finally apply for that degree I have always wanted.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time.

Connecting: This page will list those who are participating. It also allows for comments if you have an immediate need. This where we can help one another. Check this page whenever you visit – if you can help a fellow writer, hop over to their blog and offer assistance. Be watching for updates!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

via Alex J. Cavanaugh: The Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

I’ve been reading websites and blogs online for several years, especially blogs and sites created for writers. I couldn’t even try to look back and count how many I have read, how many I still follow or how many I find new. The numbers don’t really matter. Overall I have noticed one thing divides them all, one thing makes them have or have not. Real experience, really being published (online doing it yourself or being published with an online network just isn’t the same, it doesn’t give the same challenges).

Writers who have been published just know more, have that extra experience with the reality of writing. They have set goals, met them and moved on to new goals. Writers who have only been published online have a softer market, it’s easier to break into online writing when you can even set up your own publication and do it all yourself. Writing online, the main challenge is to find someone to read what you write. Writing in print the main challenge is to actually get written in print. To get the work finished, to get it written well by stricter standards than you will find online and to get it in print/ published. Then, you start to work on getting readers. It’s a longer haul and you don’t have the cushion of being online and being your own boss more or less.

So, this is my goal for 2012. I want to be published in print. Not a zine, I’ve done that. Not a magazine either. Although I have not done that I’m not as interested in magazine writing as a goal. I know I can write that type of content. I’ve been writing it for years online. I want more. I want to push myself, challenge myself to write a book and get it published. I’m not aiming too far over my own head. Just enough that I will be pleased with myself in the end and yet I don’t feel I’m setting myself up for a fall right from the start.

Wish me luck on crossing the great divide.

Get started writing, get paid a little as you go, get used to keeping a writing schedule and get your name on something published for others to read and give you feedback.

These are some interesting places to write for online:

• Yahoo!Voices
• Open Salon
• Technorati
• Suite101
• HubPages

This was a pretty funny hashtag on Twitter yesterday. I posted a few myself.

It’s not easy being funny. If you have time to warm up you can get better, your jokes become smarter and you come up with them faster.

Try write several ideas for the hashtag #FactsWithoutWikipedia. Write at least 3 and see how you improve as you warm to the subject matter.

Writing is like that. You don’t sit down and light the keyboard on fire with your great ideas. Start, then warm up and then you will find yourself in gear, roaring into the first lap of your writing race.

Would you take a job as a house sitter? It seems pretty glamorous to live somewhere else and get paid for it. But, there would be a lot of responsibility as well. Not the same as a property manager but still a good idea to have some of those same knowledge and skills. I thought it was a career worth looking up. If not for me, it could always be a career for a character I write, they can’t all be bookstore owners.

• The Lost Girls: Sitting House: How to get House Sitting Jobs Abroad
• The Guardian: House Sitters who Live like Millionaires
• More: How to Land a House Sitting Gig

Journaling Saves - Inspiring prompts and creative guidance to jump-start your journaling.

What inspires you to journal, write something personal about your life? People tend to write about the bigger events in their lives. But, when you actually read your old journal entries, the best are those written about an ordinary kind of day. Or a catch up entry which helps you remember everything that was happening at that time in your life. Things you had long forgotten but remember all over again with that little reminder.

Write about three people you appreciate. If they have a site link to it. If not you could post a photograph or in some other way represent them.

What is it you appreciate about them? How long have you known them? You can write a mini interview with each of them and let them speak for themselves.

Write about a topic you have been interested in but keep putting off for one reason or another. You know there’s something… check your notes, think about it for a minute, phone a friend, whatever it takes.

Don’t just write a short article, add links, look for relevant clubs or associations, find a photograph (or take one yourself) to go along with your post. Draw an illustration if you can’t take a photograph to go with the topic. Build the article into a resource for others who are interested or might just wander in and become interested.