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[MAKING THE LEAP] It's All About the Community
The town I live in is small--in population and actual size. A grocery outing is like the TV show Cheers: everyone knows your name, like it or not. One night each year during the holiday season, the town shuts down its main streets, sets up barricades manned by police cars with cheerfully flashing lights, and a huge tree, decorated by the elementary school children, is hauled in and set up right in the middle of one of the roads. There are lighted displays all up and down the street with pit fires burning brightly in the road so kids can roast marshmallows. The boutiques stay open late and serve hot cocoa and cider while people walk up and down the street, shivering in the chill and greeting each other warmly. It’s a real life Whoville celebration if ever there was one.
In a small town, no one is a stranger, unless, well, you really are a stranger. Whether it be in a church pew, the aisle of a grocery store or PTA involvement, we get to know each other. Once, on his way into school, my son’s car broke down. He putted and stuttered along frontage roads trying to make his way to the college where I worked so he could leave the car, and I could take him to school. By the time I got to work—and it's only about a 15-minute commute—I had three calls waiting for me on my work phone asking if my son was all right. People had seen his limping car and were concerned. One of the calls was from the wife of a local police officer. That evening, I reminded my son this ought to be a lesson for him: never try to get away with anything. I will know.
We are more than just a small town. We are a community--united by proximity, bonded by commonality and a sense of belonging.
The Writing Community
The writing community is a bit like my little town. The first week I wrote an article for She Writes, one of the members, Rebecca Forster, left a comment encouraging, “reach up for your dream but reach down to help someone climb.” That’s really what it’s all about, isn't it? We are a community.
In a profession that is rife with competition and where the economics of the supply and demand curve definitely weigh heavily in favor of supply, I have found writers to be extraordinarily supportive of each other.
After all, only another writer understands…
- staring at a computer for hours, trying to lasso words into meaningful and artful sentences.
- the stomach-clenching pressure of the simple question, “so what have you published lately?”
- how incredibly satisfying an acceptance for an article, short story or book is—money or not.
- how our heart sings when someone tells us, your words really spoke to me.
- the sheer joy when the muse whispers and sentences follow each other until a creation is born.
- why when people tell us once we sell a book our money worries will be over, we laugh.
Sites like She Writes help facilitate the community of support. I can’t imagine having to take the leap without the encouragement of writers like you.
Some of us are farther along the path, published and seasoned in the world of words. Others of us are new, just starting out, with barely enough faith to believe in our own gifts. Let’s remember Rebecca’s words and as we climb for our own dreams, pause to reach a hand out to help someone else along the path.
I will make this commitment to you: if you add me as a friend, jot me a note or leave me a comment, I will personally respond. I will be a venting ground for your insecurities if you need it or a one-gal cheering squad for your triumphs and successes. I will read your posts and respond to your tweets. Let’s make 2013 the best yet at She Writes. Let’s reach beyond competition, jealousy or insecurity and be the community that helps each other along generously and freely. Because together, we can and we will…
Keep writing,
Julie
Comment
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Comment by Julie Luek on January 22, 2013 at 7:29am -
Hi Jenny-- what a warm response. Thank you. I love small communities, even have a blog kind of dedicated to the warmth of small-town living, but the isolation can get lonely. Writing is a unique pursuit. I love the concept of your blog and am going to visit it. What is your second novel about? Keep us posted on your progress!
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Comment by Jenny on January 22, 2013 at 5:22am -
Hi Julie, I am new to She Writes, and still learning how to navigate this site, so it is lovely to come across such a warm piece of writing from you! I too live in a small community in England where 'everyone (well almost) knows my name' but none are authors. It is good to find a community exclusively made of authors here. I made that leap from paid employment to the life of writing fiction and a blog too. My first novel got some encouraging replies from agents, but no takers. My second novel is a work in progress, to be finished this year. My blog is growing in readership, month on month. (I write about what makes us happy at www.mystripybook.com) When I read of some of the achievements on here, I am encouraged and humbled in roughly equal amounts. It's great to be able to reach out and chat with others who are going through the same kind of experience, and lovely that you have extended the hand of friendship. Thank you for your post, Jenny
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Comment by Danyelle C. Overbo on January 16, 2013 at 12:34pm -
I really appreciate all the feedback. It gives me a lot to think about, thank you so much for sharing!
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Comment by Julie Luek on January 16, 2013 at 12:04pm
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Hi Olga, Ahhh yes, someone who truly gets where I was at. I'm so glad you shared! Like you, our lifestyle has taken a hit. We don't subscribe to pay TV or go out to eat much. There aren't a lot of leftovers for luxuries, but we made the decision together-- my husband and I-- with a budget fully in mind. The other piece that is scary is the lack of input into a retirement account now. I have a few sources, but they are somewhat limited. Good thoughts for Danyelle-- or any of us-- to think about.
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Comment by Olga Godim on January 16, 2013 at 11:59am -
Julie, I just read your post about leaving your job. The similarities are uncanny. I also left my job several years ago to pursue my writing. At the time, I was in a situation where I had to chose: either-or. My health wouldn't allow me to do both. And I'm not sorry, although financially I'm so much worse now than when I worked as a computer programmer. But inside my soul, I'm so much better, happier. I know how many agonizing hours of doubts go into such a decision, how hard it's to step onto that invisible bridge which leads, for all you know at the moment, to nowhere. My deep bow to your courage.
Danielle, my look at the situation: think hard before you jump. For some people, it takes 5 to 10 years to start making money with their writing. Perhaps you can do both for a while, write in your free time. Or perhaps you can lighten your load at work (part-time or something) to get more time for writing. Unless you have a solution to your finances - an inheritance, a husband providing income, a lottery winning - don't quit your job. Most writers do both: work for a living and write in their free time. It's not easy to find a writing job that pays well or at all.
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Comment by Julie Luek on January 16, 2013 at 10:40am
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Hi Danyelle, I just left you a note, but my first post with Making the Leap was all about that scary jump into the unknown, leaving my steady and good career to pursue this unstable and non-lucrative career (at this point anyway) of writing. If you need the support, drop me a line. I'll gladly share my experience and what I've learned up to this point.
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Comment by Danyelle C. Overbo on January 16, 2013 at 10:11am
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I spend a chunk of time yesterday writing a blog post asking for advice on taking the leap, but never posted it. I'm afraid it will show up in a general search and my current employer could find out. You see, its all about needing advice on taking the leap if you currently have a good job. Maybe commenting on this post is safer. I am not sure. But I desperately need advice from people who really know what I am going through. Also, sidenote, would I just post it on the my blog section of the site? Is that all you need to put something out there like Julie above?
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Comment by Wendi Nitschmann on January 15, 2013 at 6:02pm -
Thanks Julie, I'll definitely visit your blog and try there!
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Comment by Julie Luek on January 15, 2013 at 2:37pm
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Good luck, Karen. That's kind of where I'm at too.
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Comment by Karen Dawkins on January 15, 2013 at 2:10pm -
Thanks, Julie. No WIP for me.... I'm merely a blog in progress! Hoping for some paid articles soon. :)
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