Choosing Your Winner’s Circle
Cultivating Community that Inspires Everyone
I was watching the Kentucky Derby recently—mostly for the fabulous hats—when the camera lingered on the winner’s circle, and I couldn’t stop thinking about my writer friends.
The analogy was immediate. Here was a group of people who had poured years and thousands of hours into perfecting the slightest nuances of their craft, all gathered in one small, hard-earned space. That’s exactly what the right writing community looks like.
Whether you’re just beginning your writing journey or have been at it for decades, one truth never changes: surround yourself with good writer friends. They will encourage you, struggle with you, learn with you—and if you’re really lucky, they’ll inspire you.
I’ve spent years cultivating my circle. These are people with the grit to endure the long road to publication, the heart to know where the words come from, and the discipline to keep striving. Writing takes stamina, and having the right people in your corner is often the difference between giving up and getting the nudge that keeps you going. What I’ve discovered is that what I share with my writer friends in private looks very different from what I share in public.
Here’s what I’ve learned about building that circle:
- Walk beside your peers. Seek out writers at your level—people who can journey with you as you learn the craft and navigate toward publication. Go to conferences. Take classes together. Struggle and grow together. There’s something irreplaceable about people who are in the trenches alongside you.
- Choose people who respect the work. Look for writers who challenge you, who share your hunger to improve and your refusal to settle. The ones who are continually educating themselves and pressing themselves further. Gently distance yourself from those who don’t believe they need to grow—their complacency is contagious.
- Cultivate mentors a few tiers above you. These may not be the people you text or grab coffee with, but they can be quietly transformative. Follow them on social media. Ask politely for a few minutes at a conference. Sit at their table during a meal and ask about their process. Heed their advice. Learn from their wins and their missteps. You don’t need to be in their inner circle to learn from them—you just need to pay attention.
- Guard your core. Cherish and fiercely protect the small, trusted few who brainstorm with you and are genuinely invested in your success. I have fewer than a handful of people who know what I’m working on or who read my writing before it goes public—and that’s intentional. They’ve earned that privilege. Their opinions matter deeply because that trust was built, not assumed.
WCCW is a great place to make those valuable friendships.
My hope and prayer for you is that you find—and build—a community like this one, where you can cultivate your own winner’s circle. Because the horses and riders in that circle didn’t get there alone.
And neither will we.
Are you interested in writing an article for the newsletter? E-mail newsletter@westcoastchristianwriters.com
2026 WCCW Conference
“I have always loved writing and want to start taking it seriously. But I have no idea where to begin.”
If this is you, a writers conference is the perfect first step!
Join us in November for the West Coast Christian Writers Conference and get the guidance you need to begin your writing journey.
Member Priority Sale GOES LIVE July 1-3
Public Flash Sale GOES LIVE July 4-6
Not a member, yet? Join Today!
Already a member? Refer a friend and receive $20 off conference registration AND a free workshop!
Head over to our website for all the details!
Author Joy Michelle Austin on the Meaning of Community
One Writers Conference Transforms A Stranger to A Friend
Check out this 4-minute video with Joy Michelle Austin, an award-winning Korean American novelist writing contemporary fiction about survival, rebuilding, and hope after hard seasons of life. Recipient of the West Coast Christian Writers 2025 Encourager Award, Joy continues to plant seeds and spur growth in community and fellowship every day.
Her debut novel, Half Agony, Half Hope, introduced readers to emotionally rich stories of resilience and quiet restoration. She is also the author of The Seaside Sleuths, a middle-grade cozy mystery series that extends her redemptive storytelling across generations. Through her fiction, she creates space for readers to feel deeply understood and be reminded they are not alone.
Connect with Joy on her on her blog The Joyous Living, on Facebook, or on Substack Joy Michelle Austin | Author
Join in June - WCCW Membership
Ready to find your people? Dive in!
Ready to take the next step with your writing? Do you finally want to stop struggling alone? In membership, there are peer-to-peer groups and mentorship opportunities just for you.
For just $70 a year, your membership unlocks critique groups and monthly events such as Mini-masterclasses, Writer Connex, and Latte & Lit book discussions along with an annual Agent Pitch Slam! There are also submission and byline opportunities only available to members.
If you’ve ever been curious about membership, there is no better time to join!
As valued members, you’ll have exclusive admission to the members-only conference flash sale, ensuring first access to:
Limited Agent/Editor appointments 📝
Coveted Coaching & Critique appointments 👥
Pre-conference CREWs 🤝
🔥⚡ The member-only FLASH SALE happens July 1– 3! ⚡🔥
Join in June and you’ll also receive one of our top-tier workshops free, delivered right to your inbox!
Already a member? Refer a friend today, and you’ll receive $20 off your conference registration and a free workshop! (Delivered by email at the end of the month.)
Author Tim Riter’s Reflections on the Spiritual Definition of Fatherhood
Bible Passages on Fatherhood Might Seem Contradictory but Actually Reveal a Powerful Truth
As we honor fathers, one verse troubles me, “do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven” (Matt. 23:9). However, he also told us to honor our parents in Mark 7:11-13.
Contradictory? Not really, because the context of Matthew chapters 22 and 23 tells us to also not call anyone Rabbi or teacher or instructor—IF that term sets them above all others, because we are all brothers in verse 8.
So fathers, be a godly father by realizing your children are just as important to God as you are. Yes, you have a leadership function, but no more value. View them as your brothers, not just your children.
Humility gives us the value of fatherhood.
One other passage must be included: the definition of fatherhood, “there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came” (1 Corinthians 8:6). That includes fatherhood.
Ponder this: your pattern for fatherhood comes not from your earthly father, whether good or flawed, but from God our Father.
Who loved and gave his son.
Who balances grace and truth.
Who helps his children reach their unique potential.
Fathers, do these, and you will do well.
DO YOU HAVE A NEW BOOK?
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WE ARE WRITERS SUPPORTING WRITERS
WCCW is more than just a conference; we’re also a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports writers in many different ways, including offering a hand-up to further the ministry of writers.
Want to find out more about joining our Community of Champions, a group of committed donors? Click here to make a difference in the life of a Christian writer (and it’s tax deductible!)
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