Game Changers - Finding My Tribe by Jana Richards

My tribe at a retreat a year ago.

We’re talking about game changers this month, particularly game changers that have affected our writing careers. There are probably a few things that I could name: learning how to blog and to use social media (still have lots to learn), getting better at plotting, realizing that my first draft didn’t need to be perfect.

But the thing that probably made the most difference to me was finding my tribe - writers who enjoyed romance as much as I did.

This goes back more than twenty-five years. I’d been reading a lot of romance and trying my hand at writing during the few free minutes I had; my kids were small, I worked part-time and there always seemed to be another load of laundry to do. My first efforts were pretty lack-luster. Not to mention that I wrote in long-hand. I couldn’t seem to get the knack of composing at the computer. Despite my slow start, I was hooked on writing. I just seemed right.

At that point, I didn’t know anyone else who wrote romance. I joined a local writers’ group in the small town where I lived at the time and I enjoyed the camaraderie and the information we shared on writing. But most of the people in the group aspired to more literary writing, or other genres. I longed to find people who enjoyed what I liked to write.

Then I saw a poster in the local library. A writing group in a city about 200 kilometers away (a drive of about two hours) was holding a conference. And they’d invited Nora Roberts to speak! It was so exciting! I copied down the information and quickly sent in my registration.

Unfortunately, when I called to book a hotel room later, I was told the conference had been cancelled. Apparently, they hadn’t received enough registrations. I was devastated. I had so looked forward to it.

I thought that was the end of it, but then my husband suggested I contact the group who had tried to put on the conference to see if there was an organization I could join. So I did and was introduced to the Saskatchewan Romance Writers (SRW). Everyone in the group read romance, wrote romance and believed in the romance genre. I’d finally found my tribe.

From the beginning we had a ridiculous amount of fun together. At our monthly meetings and retreats we talked, we laughed, we complained, we laughed, we ate, we laughed. We still do. It’s so great to be with a group of people who get it, who understand the joy in a finding that perfect word, and the heartache of rejection.

SRW was the first place I felt safe to show my work. Everyone was learning just as I was and we all had great respect for each other. We all understood how much writing meant to one another. I remember the first time I submitted a work for critique. I was terrified but I knew these women had my back. And after they read my manuscript and said it was good (they also gave a TON of critique suggestions), I started to believe I really had what it took to write stories people could enjoy. That was a game changer for me.

More than twenty-five years later I’m still a member of the Saskatchewan Romance Writers even though I now live in a neighboring province, several hundred kilometers away. I don’t get to go to monthly meetings, but we connect online and I try to make it to Saskatchewan at least once a year for a retreat. The group members have changed many times over the years, but there are still some original members. However we change, the raison d’être of the group is still to write romance novels. And to have a lot of fun doing it.

I’ve found other tribes over the years; my fellow Word Wranglers are a great example. But first love is often the deepest and the longest lasting. I’ll always go back to my roots and to my home.

I can hardly wait to read about the other Word Wranglers’ game changers!