Writing groups.  Not everybody agrees in the efficacy of writing groups, but my group has done a lot for me.  It keeps me writing, revising, cleaning up what I write.  Plus, I enjoy sharing what I’m working on and talking about the writing process with other writers.  My group is an open-minded, thoughtful, kind and supportive group.  I’ve heard horror stories of groups with members who decimate other members’ writings.  If you find yourself in that sort of group, get out immediately.  If the group does not support you, improving your writing through kind and supportive suggestions, then pay its members no heed and find a group that will.

For a brief time, I was a member in an online writing group, and that worked well for me at that time in my life.  In these environments, you can meet up with people from far away, and revise and comment and talk when the time is convenient to you.  I worry(ied) a little about sending electronic copies of my material into the ether, but a writer can only worry about that for so long.  Afterall, I’m having such a difficult time getting my own stuff published, why would someone else have an easier time of it? 

So, my recommendation is to find a writer’s group that fits your needs and is supportive.  Then, write, write and write!