Goodreads asked Chip Colquhoun:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Chip Colquhoun I expect "Just do it!" will have been heard too often by those who ask this question, along with the suggestion that this proves it to be the best advice. But it's absolutely true: you'll never be a writer if you don't set aside the time to give it a go.

Second to that, though, is to remember that writing is not a solitary profession by nature. It can be, if the writer makes it so – but if your goal is to one day be read, appreciated, and/or paid, one of the most successful moves you can make is to find your writing community.

If you write in a genre, there will be a national community for you. If you write in a city/town, there will almost undoubtedly be a local writer's group you can join. If you use social media, you'll be able to find groups or hashtags of communities. Jump into them, and don't be afraid to share snippets of your work for criticism and encouragement – so long as you give back to that same community.

Personally, I'm a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, the Association of Christian Writers, the National Association of Writers in Education, the Crime Writers Association, the Authors Licencing and Collection Society, the National Centre for Writing's Springboard group, and the Society of Authors (which has multiple spin-off groups). Each one of these has provided a supportive hand at some point which, looking back, I couldn't have done without.

And if you only find one person, that's fine too! Ask if they'll be your accountability partner, and exchange prompts and encouragement to get writing! My writing career has improved dramatically since I had an accountability partner to share it with. They have turned that advice of "Just do it!" into "Done it. $;-) ...Now what?!"

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