The Co-Co's Writer Cohort from the Perspective of Breene Wesson

By: Breene Wesson

I will be honest…At first I felt like a bit of an imposter signing up for the Co-Co Writers’ Group. I mean, that great American novel percolating in my gut has yet to surface and I don’t have much to prove myself as a writer…a few online essays, press releases to promote other writers, personal journals that should probably be burned and…perhaps I could unearth some articles from my college days interning at The Hartford Courant where I covered exciting stories like the approval of a new stop sign. So did I really belong in a writers’ group?

Like a kid playing dress-up, I bravely entered the Co-Co conference room and spent the following 85 minutes feeling inspired, intimidated, motivated, scared (please don’t make me read aloud!), and completely at home with this eclectic group of women. There is Judy, who represents my fantasy self…she gets up at 5 AM every day to write for a few peaceful hours before her house awakens. She has written several books and has found her rhythm and success…a legit writer. Then there is Kara, an in-demand speaker whose incredible book about her mountain-climbing adventures has been optioned for a movie! Mind blown! Fortunately, there are also a few others like me who are at varying stages of “being a writer” and simply trying to find their way.

While I am used to promoting other writers and helping them find the right words to say, I am still searching to find my own voice. Coming here allows me to focus and think of myself as a writer (I mean if I belong to a writers’ group I MUST be a writer, right?), and I am reminded that I need to allow space in my life to try my hand at this. Being a part of this group gives me permission to do just that and also reinforces the one inescapable truth that all of us face…that in order to be a writer I need to sit my butt down, take out my laptop or notebook, and actually write.