Every writer wants to find their readers, but I believe you must find fellow writers first. Stop Writing Alone is here to help you find (or create) your writing community, so you can grow as a writer, and fine tune your work(s) in progress.

I started writing like nearly every other writer I know: alone, with paper and a pen, slowly graduating to a laptop sprinkling some words around the Internet. Poetry, stories, articles, essays, blog posts, guest posts, and even novel-length works all spilled out before me.

And then what?

I read my words, I re-read my words, and could not deny that they simply did not sing in the same way the words within the covers of the books on my shelves did.

I started to think it was me. I decided it was because I wasn’t a “real” writer. Then, while lurking around another writer chat on Twitter I was sure I couldn’t join, a real working writer presented the following paradigm-shifting idea to me:

Why do you call yourself an aspiring writer? If you write, you are a writer.

It was all the permission I needed. I joined a local writing group and a number of online writing groups. I told them all of the Twitter-permission I had been granted. I explained my newbie status and apologized for my naivety in all aspects of the craft. But I kept at it.

That is when the magic began to happen! Merely surrounding myself with other writers in a mutual aspiration to better our writing was enough to help my words sing.

This is what I want for you. I want you to embrace your role as a writer, and I want you to take your place within the writing community to challenge yourself, to learn how to give and take critique, to collaborate, and to share your writing with writers to polish it to its best form for your future readers.

I want you to Stop Writing Alone.

Think you might be interested? Here’s how you begin:

Introduce yourself in the comments section here. Let us know what you’re writing and what you are looking for in a writing community/partnership.
Follow this website.
Like our Stop Writing Alone! Facebook Page or — even better — JOIN our Facebook group Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera
Follow me on Instagram @stopwritingalone and Twitter @nv_rivera
Sharpen your pencils, stretch your fingers, and charge your laptops — in other words, get ready to write!
Start listening!

[Happy Campers Interview] Audrea Martin, Cozy Mysteries, Community, and Conferences – Stop Writing Alone

This episode is part of the Happy Campers Interview series. Since April 2020, Nicole Rivera has been hosting an online writing community intensive called the Happy Campers Club. Now Nicole is writing the Stop Writing Alone book about all of her experience with writing community, and wanted to the perspective from the members in the club. This is one interview toward that end. Audrea Martin is a cozy mystery writer getting ready to release her debut novel Blue Blue Christmas. In this episode she discusses how she fell in love with cozy mystery, strove to find herself in the genre and then worked to create the stories she craved. She shares her experiences within writing community, in writing conferences, and her love of books on the craft that she has turned into a new venture with Amy Strong on their YouTube channel The Write Crowd. Mentioned in this episode: Audrea Martin’s Website https://audreajackmartin.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soveryaud/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr-7kh4ySX7AQ3Y5WQNFVQ/featured Clubhouse @soveryaud Communities mentioned Crime Writers of Color https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/ Sisters in Crime https://www.sistersincrime.org/ Conventions mentioned 20 Books To 50K https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/about/ Bouchercon https://www.bouchercon.com/ Thrillerfest https://thrillerfest.com/ Writers Police Academy https://writerspoliceacademy.online/ Books mentioneed Jane Cleland MASTERING SUSPENSE https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9781599639673 Sara Rosette HOW TO OUTLINE A COZY MYSTERY https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9780998843155 Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/the-prolific-author/ STORY HOARDER Substack (The new home for Nicole’s writing): https://storyhoarder.substack.com Music for coffee break from freesound by lemoncreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/186942/ Stop Writing Alone FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone Bookshop https://bookshop.org/shop/Stopwritingalone NV Rivera YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPlp1EVzQhDFPdGp5w2KoQ?view_as=subscriber Stay connected to learn about all Stop Writing Alone stuff — get on Nicole’s email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals Buy Nicole a coffee (AKA support the podcast!) https://ko-fi.com/stopwritingalone Places to connect to the STOP WRITING ALONE community and introduce yourself: Stop Writing Alone FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/stopwritingalone/ Join the Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone website: https://stopwritingalone.com/ Join the Stop Writing Alone email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals Stop Writing Alone Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/stopwritingalone/ Nicole’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nv_rivera The Stop Writing Alone voice number (call to introduce yourself!): (646) 907-9607 When you find a group of people who lift you up on a daily basis, it is important to share their awesome. Here are links to the women in Nicole’s Mastermind group (currently going by the name The Voxer Vixens!). Please support these women who do so much to support Nicole on a daily basis! Kim A. Flodin https://www.kelekilove.com/ Lisa Murray https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/ Claire Oldham West https://slimmingstories.podbean.com/ Johanna Jaquez-Peralta https://www.instagram.com/latina_livin_keto/ Emma Isaacs https://www.instagram.com/emmaisaacsdesign/

11 thoughts on “Stop Writing Alone”

Ken Guidroz says:

May 23, 2019 at 7:01 pm

I just entered this on FB. I write memoir, including personal essay pieces. I’m working on my first book entitled, Letters to my Son in Prison, Dear Lucas. I write 1-2 hours/day and am about two years into working on the craft.

I’m not sure what I’m looking for but I think it is 1-2 fellow memoirists who would like another pair of eyes on their work. Because I want another pair on mine.

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Antoinette Truglio Martin says:

July 12, 2019 at 8:20 am

I’ve been writing family stories and general musings on my blog Stories Served Around The Table. Sometimes I think I am just blabbing into dead air. Writing is a lonely business.

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Eilidh Horder says:

October 2, 2019 at 5:30 am

Hey Nicole! I love, love, love your podcast and the work that you do… I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award (https://eilidhhorder.com/2019/10/02/versatile-blogger-award/) just in case you’re interested… 🥰

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Akiré says:

January 18, 2020 at 3:56 pm

Hey, My PenName is Akiré Rose, and I guess I’m a writer, and an aspiring published author.
Im currently working on my first YA (low) Fantasy Novel. But I’ve written tons of fanfic and have lots of various unfinished ideas for books.
I’m looking for someone(‘s) to help me along the road. Hear my ideas and make sure I don’t give up. Critique is also a plus. Friends who want to read my stuff but also will politely tell me that it’s trash.

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1. NV Rivera says:
  
  January 22, 2020 at 11:39 pm
  
  Hi Akire! Have you found Stop Writing Alone on Facebook? That’s a great place to start this conversation and see if you can make a connection!
  
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Gayu says:

January 21, 2020 at 11:37 pm

Hey I am a budding writer and freelancer. I write stories at waatpad and also have started writing some professional writing for some research papers and contents. I am hoping to learn and create a great environment here.

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1. NV Rivera says:
  
  January 22, 2020 at 11:40 pm
  
  Welcome Gayu! How do you like writing on waatpad? I have a story up there, but I have never been very active so I haven’t realized it’s full potential.
  
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thesoulwhispersblog says:

July 1, 2020 at 11:44 am

Writing has returned my once silenced voice. I seek to write honestly revealing my vulnerable self in hopes to connect with others. https://thesoulwhispersblog.com uncovers pain and pleasure with imagery, befriends the natural world, finds meaning in mundane moments and playful memories. 🌳

Looking forward to seeing the world through the lens of other writers.

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christophergranczynski says:

August 27, 2020 at 10:09 am

Hi, everyone. My name is Christopher Granczynski. I thought that I had posted this to the comments last night but apparently not. I am a writer and a freelance proofreader and editor.

I’m currently writing a collection of stories called 50 Ways To Dump The Donald. Hoping to have that out by Election Day, if not sooner. The goal right now is sometime around September 13th, that way it will be 50 days until Election Day and I can promote it as 50 Ways in 50 Days. I am also writing a collection called Lives. I’ve been writing this for quite a number of years, actually. It is about characters with strange names and interesting abilities and what they do with them. Finally, in current projects, I am writing what I’ve taken to calling Project Red. Without giving away too much, it takes place in the vampire genre and I am enjoying blowing up myths in this genre.

I am looking for a sense of community within the community. When I edited and published crime and noir fiction at A Twist Of Noir (a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com), my own online “magazine”, I felt like I was part of something bigger than I was. I felt like those of us in the community pushed each other to do better and better fiction. It showed in my own writing and it showed in the submissions that I got from others. And I really love that about the writing community.

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Srilalitha says:

September 10, 2020 at 2:55 am

I’m Sri from thevibrantspace.wordpress.com I write blog posts, but I’m also working on a historical fiction novel.

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John Seegers says:

January 16, 2021 at 8:15 am

I am currently researching the history of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage through northern Spain on the Camino Frances route and writing background information. I originally planned to walk this last spring but delayed due to the covid. Now looking at late August 2021. Will follow up with a memoir detailing the experience. Until then I will be blogging periodically about the Camino and walking on my blog at https://www.johnseegers.com/blog. Constructive criticism is allowed in my blog comments.

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