Writing Support Group - Guest Post!
- J.H. Jones
- Oct 9
- 4 min read
This week you're in for a special treat: Three outstanding mystery authors--Sue Anger, Kate Michaelson, and Sally Milliken--have collaborated to prepare this guest post about their Writing Support Group. This is a different type of group, where enthusiasm, perspective and wisdom are welcome! They developed their unique group to sustain their writing careers and help each other to grow as writers. More details about each author, latest books, and contact information follow the post.
Kate and Sally met online through the Sisters-in-Crime Guppy chapter. Kate posted that she’d be attending Malice Domestic for the first time and was looking to meet other first-timers, and Sally responded. They met up on the first day, hit it off, and were together after a session when they met Sue. The three of them clicked and were laughing their way through lunch when Sue mentioned the idea of forming a support group. That was nearly three years ago, and they’ve been meeting almost every week for an hour since. Though they live in three different states, because of Zoom, geography has not limited them. Sue and Sally write historical mysteries, while Kate writes contemporary. All three write stories with amateur sleuths, with themes very much based on where they live. Each week, they end their meetings by setting goals for the coming week. Here are a few reasons, in their words, why their support group works:
SALLY: I’d never heard of a writing support group. Sure, a critique group, but not a support group. When we first began meeting, I worried that I didn’t have enough experience to be a contributing member. Sue and Kate had each recently celebrated their debut novels, and I was still working on my first book. I’ve since realized that everyone has knowledge to share. For example, by attending classes or conferences, we pick up helpful hints. I’ve published several short stories and could share what I’ve learned working on those.
Being part of a support group has given me many benefits, most of which I never would have predicted when we began. We do critique each other's work periodically, but that’s not the focus. I love being able to share disappointments, celebrate good news, and push past struggles. We share resources, books, webinars, and classes. Writing can be lonely and hard! We encourage each other to keep going and move forward.
SUE: A support group is a critique group without the judgement. I’ve had some rough experiences with writing critique groups. It’s important to look objectively at a group to determine if it’s a good fit. Are the writers familiar with your genre? Do they want to publish or are they writing for friends and family? Is the group too big and it’s hard to review everyone’s work?
Writers can be vulnerable when they’re creating a piece. There are so many ways a story can go and we want to pick the best way. While I love to write, it can be hard to sit alone at my desk with only my characters for company. And working alone can bring out the worst doubts in a writer: Is this dialogue contrived? Is the subject too niche? When I met Kate and Sally, I was looking for a safe place to explore the writing process and share ideas. In addition, the challenges of publishing and marketing can be daunting. When we meet, we work through lots of these issues together.
KATE: Whenever I meet with Sally and Sue, I know to expect two things: to refocus on my writing goals and to laugh. Along with being talented writers, they are smart, kind, and funny women I’m lucky to have met. Only writer friends get the ups and downs we go through on a day-to-day basis. One week I’ll be ecstatic because I got a piece published and my book is going well. The next, I’m in the dumps because my publisher is being sold and I’ve hit a wall with my manuscript. Each week, Sally and Sue are there to celebrate with me or to help me find my way out of my slump, and I’m just as invested in their ups and downs. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve gotten to see them take stories from the idea stage, to rough draft, and publication. They inspire me with their victories and when they struggle, remind me that writing a mystery is a difficult thing to do, and we’re lucky to be doing it together.
SUE ANGER published her debut novel, LAST KNOWN PORT, in 2022. Set in Beaufort, NC, during Prohibition, the mystery is loaded with boats, booze and ragtime jazz. In 2025, her book was a finalist in the American Legacy Book Awards. Her short story, “Hurricane Buddies,” was accepted for the Malice Domestic Anthology in 2024. Sue’s also worked as a freelance writer and creative writing instructor. She’s a long-time member of Sisters in Crime. When she’s not writing or fighting environmental and humanitarian injustices, she loves to sail on a fair Southeast breeze. Preferably at the helm of a wooden sharpie. Visit www.sueanger.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
KATE MICHAELSON is the IPPY-Award-winning author of the debut mystery HIDDEN ROOMS. She lives with her husband in Ohio, where she enjoys hiking, reading, and anything that takes her outdoors. You can learn more about her writing at www.katemichaelsonwriter.com and follow her on Instagram.
SALLY MILLIKEN writes contemporary and historical mysteries and crime fiction. Besides bringing villains to justice, she enjoys bending clay to her will on the pottery wheel and shooting pucks on net with her ice hockey team. She is working on her first novel, a historical mystery set in 1882 Massachusetts. (See the new Historical Novel Society/North America anthology, DESERT OF DREAMS, for one of her most recent short stories.) Find links to her short stories at SallyMillikenAuthor.com and follow her on Instagram.
Thanks so much for having us as your guests!
I love that you have found each other for support. We writers have to provide that and lift each other up!