Don't Write Alone- Get Yourself a Support Network

One of the hardest things about being a writer is that it can be a very solitary experience. Reporters get to meet colleagues in the office and go out and about where the news stories are. But if you're a freelancer working from home, as I do, you can quite easily feel as if the walls as closing in on you and the only sensible conversation you've had that day is with next door's cat.

It isn't just full-time professional writers who feel this way. If you're just starting out and writing in your spare time, you can feel as if you're working in a vacuum. Wouldn't it be nice to have somebody to share your concerns with? Someone who can tell you if you're on the right road or getting hopelessly lost?

I think for most writers a good support network can be a lifesaver. But how are you going to get one? How can you meet other writers?

Fortunately, there are lots of ways of doing this. Creative writing classes, like the ones I teach, are a marvellous way of getting advice and encouragement from an experienced professional writer and stimulation and support from your fellow students.

The money you spend on them will be a good investment. If you have a good tutor, you'll be shown not just how to write, but how to market your writing, so you'll have a chance of earning back your fees in competition winnings or commissions.

But more important than the money is the chance to share your writing with fellow writers who will be sympathetic and offer constructive criticism. Writing is a means of communication and it really comes to life when it's shared, even if all you do is read it out loud to the other members of the class once a week.

Lots of towns have writers' groups or authors' circles where people who write regularly can meet up to discuss their work, have competitions and workshops, and run competitions. These can be a good way of meeting someone who's a bit further on than you in getting published.

Groups differ in their entry requirements - for example, one of the ones that I belong to, Huddersfield Authors' Circle, will ask you to come along for one or two meetings to see how you get on. Then if they think you might be suitable, we will ask to see some samples of your writing. It isn't because we're elitist - it's purely because we're not a group for complete beginners who would be able to find more help and support at a writing class.

There are groups for people who have specific writing interests too, like Script Yorkshire, which is for people who write drama. And, of course, there are professional organisations such as The Romantic Novelists' Association, The Society of Authors, The Crime Writers' Association, and The Writers' Guild of Great Britain.

For those writers who are unable to get to a class or a group regularly, writers' conferences or holidays, like the ones at Swanwick or Caerleon, can be very exciting and stimulating, a great place to meet experts and to make friends with other writers from all over the country.

The Arvon Foundation also runs courses on specific themes, like Writing for Children or Television Scriptwriting. These are more intensive and more intimate than the big writers' conventions.

Don't forget that your own friends and family can also be a source of support and encouragement. But be careful who you share your work with. There's not a lot of point in showing it to someone who says that everything you write is absolutely marvellous, even if it's a load of rubbish. There's even less point in sharing it with someone who's going to tell you that it's a load of twaddle and suggest that you grow parsnips instead.

Why not sit down now and make your own 'Support Audit'? Work out what support you are able to receive as a writer and what steps you could take to get more, if you feel that's what you need. Then write down what your first step is going to be and a date when you'll have taken it.