So you want to be a writer? Good for you! It’s one of the most rewarding, exciting—and irritating—careers out there. The good news is you can work in your pajamas. The bad news is 80% of those books you see at Barnes and Noble are authored by people with a day job, so you might only get to wear those jammies part-time.

Writing can be a solitary pursuit. If you’re serious about this journey, you’re going to need support. Take my word for it. Below are some of my favorites. 

American Christian Fiction Writers – This professional organization is thousands strong and offers teaching, contents, networking, and one of the strongest national conferences on fiction writing. It’s a must for serious novelists with a Christian Worldview.

ACFW Colorado – If you live in my state, check out our state website. We have lots of great resources, information about local chapters, and a blog that helps writers. The organization also offers high quality writing seminars through their local chapters. I serve as the ACFW Colorado Coordinator, so I’m especially partial to this resource!

Writers Conferences – If you want to learn to write and meet editors and agents, writing conferences are the way to do it. Just google writing conferences for a full listing. One of my favorites is the Colorado Christian Writer’s Conference, located here in my backyard. It was through this conference I made connections that led to many of my early paying writing jobs. Many conference offer teaching on both non-fiction and fiction writing. If you want to be a novelist, consider attending an ACFW annual conference.

My Book Therapy – One of the fastest growing private teaching and mentoring groups for writers, this organization was founded by novelist Susan May Warren. She has a great book coaching staff and they offer teaching retreats, one-on-one mentoring, and on-line support.

Writing Blogs – There are a ton of great writing blogs out there, but below are a few of my favorites who were listed in Writer’s Digest as the top blogs for writers last year:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/

http://hartlineliteraryagency.blogspot.com/

http://kidlit.com/

I’d also recommend the following:

http://acfwcolorado.wordpress.com/

http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/

http://michaelhyatt.com/

http://www.storymastery.com/

http://wordservewatercooler.com/

http://cecmurpheyswritertowriter.blogspot.com/

http://www.nickharrisonbooks.com/blog/

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/announcing-the-best-agent-blogs-of-2011