And with that, summer is over, and summer is almost over, if you know what I mean. I graduated from GVSU over 30 years ago, and still feel energized by the start of the new school year.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group question for September 2023 is: The IWSG celebrates 12 years today! When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?

I discovered the IWSG when I started following the blog of Jean Davis, who I met through the Ottawa County/Grand Rapids region of National Novel Writing Month. I noticed that every once in a while a blog post with an oddly familiar title would pop up, and after some investigation discovered the IWSG blog hop.

I joined the blog hop in March of 2021, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. The connection with other writers was a welcome relief after a year of isolation.

I participate in the blog hop every month, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but I try to stay engaged every month. Jean Davis is the only IWSG participant who I know personally.

Due to when I joined IWSG, I would say that the biggest benefit is the reminder that the world is full of creative people and everyone has successes and failures, triumphs and struggles, and that communities are things actively created, not passively experienced.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
is a community dedicated to encouraging
and supporting insecure writers
in all phases of their careers.