The plan was to return to Peru after six weeks in the US. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I’ll apparently be here for double that time. It’s killing me. I long to be around friends I’ve made there in Peru, to be back in travel mode. Most of all, I miss the writing schedule established during the six months spent in Lima last year. Living with your newly retired father who doesn’t at all understand your writerly wackiness does not an easy writing schedule make.

Fortunately there’s SheWrites. Here we global writers share our writing yays and woes, especially with events such as next week’s Global Writers chat (8 PM EST, Tuesday, 10 Jan.). The first chat I participated in, in outstanding Anna Leahy‘s Submission Mission group, blew me away. The hour flew. After which I wondered, “What the H just happened? When can I have more?”

The conversation never lulled. We had much to share, much to ask each other, much to commiserate about, much to celebrate. From that we all extended our literary tentacles, sharing invaluable information on the submission process.

In my 15 years of professional writing, only twice have other writers extended a helping hand. Why is that? Here at SheWrites, especially in these chats, the information gleaned helps us advance our abilities more rapidly than we alone can do. These chats are the difference between swimming in the kiddie pool and jumping off the high dive. They are a game card that allows us to  advance enough spaces to handily win. How…liberating…it is to have a group of people–friends– who know your  plight, who know your scheduling and inspiration challenges, who know your needs, and who all have information to readily share.

SheWrites give me, for instance, the courage and confidence necessary to approach writers whose success and skills far surpass and therefore intimate me. SheWrites has helped me garner exceptional critique friends, increase productivity, write better, get a reviewing gig, and discover literary publications which may have otherwise eluded me.

In the spirit of paying it forward, I’m hosting this month’s SheWrites Global Writers group chat. It’s an honor to stand in our gracious host Tracy Slater, who’s got a super busy career. My hope is that many women experience the relief and glean rewards as I do with each SheWrites chat I do. I hope that you take a nugget from it that helps you move exponentially closer to your career goals.

Consider some of the things we’ll be discussing at 8 PM EST on Tuesday, 10 January.

• It’s unlikely we can subscribe to every publication we’d consider publishing in, especially given foreign subscription rates and length/iffy postal delivery in our respective countries. How do you keep up with your hopeful or favorite publications, especially those only in print form?
• Which web sites and/or social forums (outside of SheWrites) help you connect with fellow writers? (Such as LitReactor, NewPages, MediaBistro.)
• How do you keep up your writing flow whilst traveling?
• Are you participating in NaTraWriMo? Have you participated in other monthly challenges? What are the benefits or drawbacks of NaTraWriMo? Have you experienced success with these writers challenges?

These chats remind me that being stuck in the States isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me. After all, my fellow traveling writers know what it’s like to be forced to put your wanderlust in neutral. We know what it’s like to miss our writers groups back home.

Eventually I’ll be back writing in Peru. Until then, and after, I’m thankful for SheWrites.