(Hint: It’s Not What You Think)

I’m happy to welcome author J.H. Jones. Today, she shares her experiences with writing groups and her recent release, From Draft to Craft.

Here’s J.H. Jones!

I’ve belonged to several writing groups over the years. With each group, I’ve been privileged to learn something important about the craft of writing or the business of being an author. But in 2024, the feedback process with my writing buddies dramatically shifted my work.

Let me be clear: there was no miraculous moment where violins played in the background and my fingers suddenly wrote perfect sentences and my brain came up with flawless plots. What happened was I developed my writing voice.

My writing voice reflects my unique personality, experiences, word choices and purpose. A writing voice isn’t something you learn from a book or in a webinar. Instead, it’s about gaining an understanding of your authentic self, coming to acceptance, and exposing it with intention on the page.

Before joining writing groups and online communities, I wrote sporadically in isolation, second-guessing every word, making assumptions about what people wanted to read, and trying to fit into certain story categories that I didn’t even like.

But something magical happened when I started sharing my work and reading the manuscripts of fellow writers. I realized what made a story interesting to me, and I learned what writing skills I was good at.

Through my writing buddies’ eyes, I saw patterns in my writing I’d never noticed before—the rhythms that felt natural to me, the subjects that made my stories come alive, the characters who tugged at my heart, the moments where my authentic self glowed. And just as importantly, I learned from their work. Even though my buddies’ styles differed from mine, each manuscript I read opened a new door, leading me to different approaches, varied techniques, and countless possibilities I’d never considered.

Thanks to my writing group, I started reading more widely instead of focusing on what I thought I should read. I also experimented with my writing. I tried new genres and formats, and tested various points of view. Some attempts fell flat, but others touched my writing buddies.

And to my delight, my jottings sparked something genuine inside myself, something that felt like me. With each experiment, I moved closer to discovering what I really wanted to say and how I wanted to say it—in other words, my writing voice.

Today, my writing voice is still a work in progress. Yet, my confidence is growing with every story I get down on paper. And I’ve learned an important lesson: the more I write, the clearer my voice becomes. It’s like tuning an instrument—each writing session brings me closer to the right pitch, the right tone, the authentic sound that is uniquely mine.

My writing buddies have been essential to me on this journey. They see potential in my work that I can’t always see myself, and they remind me to keep going when doubt creeps in.

If you’re searching for your writing voice, my advice is this: find your group or community and exchange your works-in-progress, write as often as you can, and be patient with yourself. Your voice is already there, waiting to be discovered. It just takes practice, some writing-buddy support, and your personal courage to keep showing up to the page.

J.H. Jones Bio

J.H. Jones (she/her) is the author of The Write Group, which helps writers tap into the power of writing groups, and From Draft to Craft: A New Writer’s Guide to Feedback which helps writers with the feedback process. For creative fiction, she experiments with dark gothic-vibe stories and paranormal romance, while she works on her debut gothic horrormance set in New York State in the 1850s. Visit her at www.jhjones-author.com and connect with her on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.

You can purchase her latest nonfiction ebook, From Draft to Craft, here: