My #amwriting buttons on the strap of my laptop bag.
Writing is a lonely business, which is why the the best writers seek out colleagues for support, guidance, feedback, and encouragement. I have three communities that I turn to most often: Willamette Writers, my critique group, and the #amwriting community.
#Amwriting celebrates it’s second birthday today. I missed the first year (I wasn’t even on Twitter until June 2010—I’m such a luddite), but since then it’s been a great encouragement as I sent out my writing, weathered months of rejection, and finally broke into the ranks of published writers. Through #amwriting I have celebrated the following achievements so far:
- My first paid work in print—an excerpt from my manuscript titled “Truth at the Benefit Sale”—will appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times, due out October, 2011.
- My second paid work in print (following soon after)—my conversion story titled “Here I Am”—will appear in an upcoming issue of Catholic Digest (Date: TBA).
- My first published work in an online publication—a humorous essay titled “I Miss the Terrible Twos”—was posted last week at Errant Parent.
- My first guest post—“One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic”—on Kurt Willems’ The Pangea Blog last May (and now on Patheos.com).
- My Guest Contributor gig at MyEugene.com which will soon lead to my first paid assignment (more on that later).
I also get to share my blog with fellow writers and read what they’re writing too. It’s an amazing idea and has grown into an amazing community. I’m so grateful that Jojo Jensen badgered me into joining Twitter, so grateful that I met Johanna Harness at the 2010 Willamette Writers Conference, and so grateful that I joined this community.
Happy birthday, #amwriting! May you have many more to come.
Fatherhood Etc is just one of a total of twenty-eight blogs celebrating #amwriting’s second birthday. The party continues at M.K. Hutchens’ Blog and on from there until you return here (or wherever you started). Pretty cool, huh?
Fatherhood Etc. 
I love reading that list, David! I’m doing a little dance for your successes and cheering you on for all you’ll accomplish this next year.
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I’ve been dancing more lately too! Thanks for commenting, and thanks againfor starting the #amwriting hashtag and community. It’s been truly an amazing way to bring so many writers together from all over the world.
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