M is for Meetup

Have you ever used Meetup.com? I wanted to highlight this tool today because I think its one that often goes vastly underrated for us writers.

Even when our lives are filled with friends and family, these people can occasionally not quite understand some of the quirks that come with being a writer. They just don't happen to be people with whom we can really discuss the plot hole we just found in our WIP, or the latest news from the publishing industry. They may be fully supportive and lovely about our writing, and I believe we do need non-writers in our lives. They can often keep us grounded and sane.

However, we also need fellow writers. That is one of the best things in my opinion about the blogosphere and other social media outlets. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I have learned more about the publishing biz from reading the great author blogs out there than I have in any other way. The fellowship and support I have found in this community of online writers has made all the difference for me, and I will be forever grateful.

But we need IRL writer friends too.

I'm lucky enough to have a group of best friends that are also writers, and to even live with one. We talk about the writing process and our current projects and afterwards I always feel motivated. We edit each other's work and I know they have helped me become a better writer.

We've all become spread out, though, and I communicate with most of them through Skype. Plus, I think in general it's just a really good idea to regularly get yourself out into your local writing community, and that brings me to Meetup.com.

Although I've known about Meetup for a while it isn't something I've seriously looked into until very recently. And I'm kind of wowed by what I'm finding. Seriously, I encourage you to just go to Meetup.com and type in your town and look up 'Writers.' Here in Vegas I found a plethora of good options. For example, I plan on attending for the first time the monthly meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group on Thursday. There is also an RWA group that has an open to the public monthly meeting at the nearby library. (If any of you are in the Vegas area and planning on attending these events, I would love to meet up!)

Anyway, I'm just really excited to meet some local fellow writers and make those connections and build that support. I know great things can come of this, and I wanted to share.

If you've used Meetup.com before, let us know how it goes. And if you find some cool meetups in your area, post a link in the comments so others that might be in your area can see what awesomeness is going.

Sarah Allen