In my last blog post, I asked the question, “Does writing ever get easier?” In it, I shared some of the miseries and craziness that goes on in a writer’s head and/or life.
This time, I want to share one of the joys: Other writers.
On Monday I returned from the 14th annual brainstorming retreat that I have been a part of from the start. I have blogged before about how these brainstorming retreats work. (And please don’t confuse brainstorming with plotting. Although plotting comes out of it, they are not the same thing.) Anyway, I won’t repeat that info, even if it has changed a little since 2011.
Our group, by the way, is made up of Brandilyn Collins (our fabulous hostess), Tamera Alexander, Karen Ball, Gayle DeSalles, Sharon Dunn, Tricia Goyer, Robin Lee Hatcher, Sunni Jeffers, Francine Rivers, Sandy Shepherd, and Janet Ulbright. Most of us write fiction but not all.
This year seemed extra special. There was such a strong presence of the Lord throughout the five days. There was such peace, even in the members of our group who are going through seasons of pain and hardship and grief. Tricia Goyer wrote a beautiful, heart touching Facebook public update about what the other (older) women in our group have meant to her since she is the “youngster” in our midst.
Then Tricia and Tammy said, “Let’s do a Facebook Live.” Their phones wouldn’t cooperate, but my phone has done it before and so behaved. We laughed, we teased Francine Rivers, eventually others joined us on camera. Want to see how goofy we can be? Well, take a few minutes and watch us.
I guess the gist of this post is that I would not care to walk this writing journey without these women. We love the Lord. Every one in the group has a generous, creative spirit. We are together via email throughout the year. We pray for each other all the time. God knit something wonderful together in 2003 at our first retreat, and it’s just grown better and better every year since.
And now, here is a peek at our retreat:
The wildlife isn’t just among our group
We take tons of photos over the weekend (Karen Ball, Robin Lee Hatcher, Gayle DeSalles, Francine Rivers)
Brandilyn thought I looked cold and “took care of” me
All eleven of us in a beautiful pose
All eleven in a fun pose
And a little silliness comes out of us at the end
Now, back to my revisions. The book they all brainstormed for me will have to wait until I fix the current one.
~robin
Robin Lee Hatcher
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This is a truly inspiring post, Robin. Sometimes it’s easy to succumb to walking this writing journey alone. But every now and then, I’m reminded of how much a sisterhood of writers can be of help and comfort. Thank you for sharing.
Delighted it inspired you, Miranda!
What would we do without our writer friends. One of the blessing of this job!! I admire all of you and I cherish the life-long friends I’ve made throughout my career. Wonderful pictures!!
Thanks. The friends I’ve made through the years is absolutely such a blessing.
What an encouragement to new writers to work with a group of faithful friends! I wouldn’t be where I am today without my writers’ group.
Amen, Lynn.
I loved seeing you all together having a good time.A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..I have all of Tameras books and have read books from all the authors that were there on Facebook with you.It was so fun seeing you.God Bless keep the books coming.
A merry heart does, indeed, act like medicine. Thanks for joining in via Facebook.
Looks like you had a blast, and I can’t wait to read the books that result from all your brain-power unleashed in one place! 🙂
We had a blast, Deb, and I always love seeing the finished books. Sometimes they are very recognizable and sometimes I only see glimpses of what we brainstormed. Either way, it is great fun.
Loved seeing the pictures and hearing about the fun you all had together. I’m sorry, I can’t help “coveting” this sisterhood of writers. (Is that a sin?) I would love to have a group like this to meet with regularly. I started writing in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s and was in conferences and critique groups with some of you and your contemporaries. Then my father got Alzheimer’s disease and life happened and I put my writing on the back burner. Just last year I started writing again. I have followed many of your writing careers and read many of your books. Looking forward to reading more.
Praying that your circle of encouraging writer friends will increase, Joyce.