Interview with Rob D. Young on Community Fridays

So I've actually had this interview sitting around for a few days, just getting around to putting it up now. Rob D. Young graciously agreed to not only participate in Community Fridays, but also to be the guinea pig for a new format using Google Hangouts to broadcast and record the session.

Although Rob was absolutely fantastic, this first experimental run ended up having a fairly major hiccup: namely the fact that I didn't realize for a big chunk of it that I had to press the big, red "start broadcast" button in order to record. And I call myself a techie... Luckily, Rob was awesome enough to repeat a lot of the great stuff he said on the first run-through.

When you're done watching, I highly recommend signing up for the Creative Writing Collective so you can subscribe to Rob's fascinating thoughts.

Video is below! Watch Rob riff on writers' feelings about getting paid, how writing affects the brain, and more.

And here's the tail end of the first chunk of the interview:

I was originally going to transcribe part of the session, but didn't want to put off this post any longer. I am, however, including links to the people in the industry doing cool things - specifically, performance poetry!

R.J. Walker

Jamaal May

Taylor Mali 

Marshall "Soulful" Jones

Rives

Wannabe Writers Unite! (Online and In Person)

One of the hardest parts of being a writer (other than actually sitting down to write... and editing once you've actually finished something... and getting someone to read what you've written...) is that it gets a bit lonely from time to time. Nothing but you and your computer screen, and often a blank computer screen at that. Not exactly socially stimulating.

Meeting other writers, both wannabes and seasoned authors, can be a huge boost to every aspect of your writing - your motivation, your dedication, your willingness to get through rough spots, your technical skills and your knowledge of the industry. Not to mention, getting connected is one of the best ways to get published.

If there's any chance whatsoever that you can get together with an actual, physical group of writers, go for it! There's no better way to boost your writing career. Check out Local Writers' Associations of America to find a group near you.

I live in Virginia, and like to write science fiction and fantasy. If you're like me, you might find Mid-Atlantic Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Conventions of interest.

Online groups are great as well. Here's a review of online writers' groups. And if you're up to the challenge of writing a novel in a month, the community aspect of national novel writing months like NaNoWriMo can't be beat.