Learning writ large; it’s better together

Validation. That was my key takeaway from the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland the first weekend of this month.
I’ve only recently gotten back into creative writing, after stepping away for several years to pursue my career in journalism, and I forgot how meaningful it was to have a community of writers surrounding you.
Writing can sometimes feel isolating, but being alone with your words, secret worlds and crippling perfectionism (just me?) can take a…