Learning and Growing as a Writer (or in Any Profession or Hobby)

Photo credit: Newsweek

If you’ve watched NCIS: New Orleans, especially the early seasons of the 7-year-run of that CBS procedural series, you’ve heard Special Agent Dwayne Pride tell his team “Go – learn things.”

Old or young, professional baseball player or restaurant server, a person can improve themselves by learning.

I’ve been a writer for more than 30 years; I’ve learned much during those decades. Now that I’m also an author, I continue learning, whether the craft or book marketing techniques. A writer learns from other writers, from editors, and from publishers. That education improves our skills, and such improvements benefit our readers.

There are many ways writers and authors learn.

Critique Groups

I take part in two different writers’ groups in my community. Each meets once a month. We share our current work in progress and provide feedback on other writers’ works. We do so in encouraging and constructive ways, not with visceral words or attitudes.

Some writers use online groups to receive feedback on their work. Either way, participating in a writers’ community helps you grow in your craft and discover how people react to your creations.

Some writer friends and I occasionally gather at my mountain property for a half-day retreat. We meet monthly to help one another with our works and words. Photo credit: Gayle IrwinWorkshops

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many writers’ workshops and classes were held in person, either in a special location (think ‘retreat’) or through a college, university, or special writer’s organization. After COVID hit, a new version of these courses came to light: the Zoom webinar. Many authors, publishers, editors, and organizations began providing online writing sessions, often for free or a reduced cost. That type of class continues.

I recently participated in a book marketing workshop that cost only $19, and I signed up for a 5-day Author Challenge that cost ZERO DOLLARS! We are blessed to be living in an age of strong technology, for we can watch such educational sessions online live or view the recorded sessions later (sometimes however, the upgrade to watching recorded sessions costs money, which can be minimal or spendy, depending on the WHO that’s offering the course).

Conferences

As with writing workshops, writers’ conferences went to an online platform (or cancelled) in 2020. Zoom provides the opportunity for writers to attend full conferences from the comfort of their home, saving a great deal of money because one doesn’t have to travel. Recently, Flourish Writers served up a 3-day online conference, and earlier this year, Women in Publishing did the same. So did Inkers Con and West Coast Christian Writers (I signed up for all four).

Several upcoming conferences are virtual this year, too, including the Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference, which takes place online the last weekend of August 2021. Write on the Sound, generally held live in Edmond, Washington, will also be online this year as it was in 2020; it takes place in early October.

Writers’ conferences are great for several reasons, including: (1) to learn more about the craft of writing; (2) to learn book marketing techniques; and (3) to interact with and meet agents and editors, possibly pitching your work and landing a contract. You also get to network with other writers, which can build your confidence, add to your skills, and create bonds of friendship.

Developing friendships with like-minded people benefits us in many ways.
Photo credit: UnsplashFacebook Groups

Facebook groups have grown in popularity. Spending time with like-minded people online also provides benefits. There are many different readers and writers Facebook Groups; I belong to six. These don’t have to be all about writing either. If you have a dog, for example, you can engage with other dog-lovers. Maybe it’s woodworking or photography, baking or scrapbooking. There can be groups with similar interests in your community or online. You can even make your own Facebook Group for special interests or based upon your work as a writer. Being in community with others helps us all grow in various ways.

Reading

To be a good writer, you must also be an avid reader. Read books in and outside your genre and read books about the craft of writing. Blogs and articles are other opportunities to help you grow as an author or freelance writer. The blog on Reedsy.com and Jane Friedman’s blog are great places to start, as well as the articles published on WritersDigest.com. All three also offer classes – many of those on Reedsy are free.

Whether a profession, from attorney to writer, or a passion, from fly-fishing to woodworking, learning improves our skills. So, “Go – learn things!”

Pet Principle:

Our beloved animals can also learn. Whether obedience commands, fetch, or agility, our dogs and cats (and other animals) can be taught. Some are quite intelligent. I once learned of a border collie who learned more than 1,000 words. I’ve also heard of cats participating in agility. And some people teach rabbits to use a litter box.

Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HfJB...

We can also learn from our pets. I’ve written a few devotion books about the life and faith lessons I’ve learned from my dogs, including my blind dog named Sage. Some of those lessons include courage, perseverance, trust, and joy. If our hearts are open to education by animal, we will discover a treasure-trove of learning opportunities that can change and re-charge our lives.

Side Note:

I’m blessed to have two of my pet stories as part of a forthcoming book, The Animals In Our Lives: Stories of Companionship and Awe. The anthology, a collection of 43 short stories from various authors,releases August 20, and highlights animals, wild and domestic, that have positively impacted the story writers. This anthology is available from Amazon here: https://bit.ly/2WvhY4B_AnimalsinLives_Print.

The short story collection releases August 20, 2021.