If there’s a game of dare and if I ever had to introduce myself in the most honest way possible, I would get up and say: Hi, my name is Radhika, I am a writer, and I am lonely. Starving, in fact, for some peer company.

Actually, I think I have already said that. To many people, writers and non-writers.

Way back in the 2000s, when the incredibly slow Internet came to Chennai, a laidback city in south India, like many other teenagers, I used it for mainly emailing, chatting and research. It was only after I graduated from architecture school in 2003 and decided to ditch the degree to become a writer that I discovered the true potential of the Net. For a wannabe writer in a third world country, it was like a School of Information, so many articles, ebooks, writer interviews. A free and easy MFA, but without the degree!

I was tickled pink, especially, by the concept of writing groups. How awesome! Like an exclusive club for writers, eh? I immediately joined the free Writing in India yahoo group, and went on to become a part of a very small community of writers, all of whom were also new to the Net. Ha, those times make me smile now. It was a classic case of blind leading the blind, but we all eventually found our way and started to learn from each other (WIN is now on Facebook with the same controlled membership, probably the first writing group established in India.)

In two years, I would respond to a random call for submission in enter a contest for budding children’s writers and win an all-paid fellowship to the US (http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2004/07/10/stories/2004071000450300.htm), sponsored by Highlights for Children magazine. I would intern at the same magazine office in Pennsylvania a year later, learning to live alone and becoming familiar with writing groups. I would also discover my love for travelling, and Amtrak and Greyhound the heck out of the East Coast, during when I would meet my future husband.

In another two years, back in India, a random conversation on WIN would give seed to a great idea. Along with a few interested writers, I would organize the first women’s writing retreat in south India (http://www.thehoot.org/media-watch/media-practice/a-women-writer-s-retreat-3147), where we would travel to a pretty hill station in Tamil Nadu and spend three days writing, laughing and connecting with fellow peers. None of the women had met each other. The entire retreat was planned on email and on WIN yahoo group.

The next year, I would resign my job as the web editor of one of the most prestigious children’s magazines in India (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-youngworld/childrens-day-out/article1444669.ece) and move to London, in hopes of studying creative writing at one of the best literary cities on earth. Some people think I was crazy to do that, and sometimes I agree with them. But at that time, it was crucial. I had stopped making progress by self-learning and needed expert feedback, and my country had no writing courses (at all) to offer. So I took a decision, and in many ways, it’s one of the best decisions of my life.

London was a revelation. The first course I enrolled required us to meet on once a week, for three hours. I couldn’t afford full time education, but could purchase separate modules (3 month and 6 month courses) of the MFA offered by Birkbeck. I had already found a job as a live au au pair in Richmond by then (room and board free for a few hours of child care every day – what a sweet deal for a creative writing student!). On Wednesday mornings, I would drop three kids at their school in East Sheen, take the bus to Hammersmith, change to the Piccadilly line, get down at Russell Square and walk to University of London, Birkbeck.

I was always thrilled to enter the modern glass building where the adult education cell was located. There was nothing beautiful or romantic about it, it was a functional building with acceptable interiors, but that place taught me the simple, cheap yet most profound way of becoming a better writer – via live critique groups. Twelve students and one mod, and we read our works to each other and every one commented on them. I later enrolled in two more courses, at Richmond College and City Lit, and they all employed the same method – work shopping as a way to teach creative writing.

After two years living in London, the writer in me came back home to – nothing. Nada. A bleak desert. No live support for writers, no advanced writing courses. Worst of all, no weekly discussions and socializing with fellow writers. Once in a blue moon, some publisher will hold a literary festival or a workshop. Facebook was just becoming a sensation, but nobody progressed beyond gaping at the Home page. The published authors were in a different planet, they were busy creating books and had no time to build a community. Or if they are part of one, it was all a closely guarded secret.

I was at the end of my tether. I had become a rabid writing group addict, and I was deprived of my drug. Where would I get my fix? Nowhere, was the answer. Nothing similar to the set up I knew of in London existed in Chennai. I spent quite a few months fretting and moaning, to anybody who’d listen. Zen philosophy says, let the muddled water settle, and you can see clarity. I started focusing on answers. Alright, I told myself, you know the problem. What can you do to make it okay?

The answer: I had to start a writing group myself. And it had to serve two things. One, meet new writers. Two, build a community of writers.

Enter Meetup.com.

I had used meetup in the UK, to attend writers’ meetups and to explore London. Surely, that should work in my city too? And so I started the Children’s Writers in Chennai group two years ago (http://www.meetup.com/childrens-writers-in-chennai). I had doubts whether the website was even known in Chennai, and initially, it looked like I was the only person in the room, but eventually people started to become members, and even show up. Hallelujah!

I thought I was an island. That I was alone. But no, there are all these people, in my city, few of them from my own neighbourhood, who are writers! I was revved up. I envisioned a mini Birkbeck in my city. I would be the change I am looking for, I vowed to myself. I printed handouts and posters. I spent money on café arrangements. I derived a bi-monthly schedule of infominars and workshops at the basement of my home, and to my great relief, people did come and attend them.

But slowly, I began to realize that most of them were coming because of a mild interest in writing. Not because they were panting for a writing group, but because they were curious and they just wanted to check in out. Some of them were mighty interested, and I did see a promising writer or two with talent, but their life and work obligations did not allow them to take their writing seriously. I was a guide for them, but they could never be a peer.

Don’t mistake me - I did and do enjoy these workshops I organize, via Meetup. I get to meet and help many budding writers, and it satisfies the volunteer spirit in me. It gives me great pleasure that I am blessed enough to help, in a minor way, to offer them what was never available to me in Chennai – a chance to learn the basics in one place, from one person.

But I missed belonging to a community. By then, I was a member of many online writing groups, and they all have helped me shape my writing. I still needed something I can call my own – well, my own literary family, if you will. It was time Phase 2: An online challenge group.

Writing challenges are not new. Most writers will never write a word if a deadline is not involved. At Richmond College, I had enrolled in another moderator-led course called WRITE A NOVEL IN A MONTH, based on the popular Nanowrimo model, and while I didn’t complete that particular novel, the entire experience taught me how much more obediently we tend to follow an authority figure!

So, why not a similar challenge for Indian writers? I primarily identity myself as short story writer, so, why not a challenge – to write one short story a month? A lot of writers (including myself) are very disorganized and may need a moderator to sort out their writing goals. I can be that person. I will take care of all group management logistics – all they had to do was show up. Though I was doubtful again – after all I had seen what happened during my meetup-created workshops - I set to work.

I posted about my intention on WIN in Nov 2013, and then to a lot of other writers’ groups on Facebook and linked in. The gist of my post: I am going to moderate a writing challenge in 2014. The aim is to write the first draft of a short story, every month, starting from Jan 2014. Participants should submit their completed story on the 15th and can get it critiqued by the other members. The idea is, by critiquing others’ works, we improve our own. The website is www.shortstory12x12.in

Again, to my relief, people started enrolling. I was luckier in this venture. The very nature of the challenge vetted the merely curious and the time wasters. Sincere writers began to arrive. Even those I had not heard for a while said they would be delighted to take part in the challenge. There was even a waiting list! I felt like Nick Fury. I was collecting my own superheroes (and heroines)! Bit not to avenge, just to write.

Once January arrived, it was all about setting up a Google group (perfect medium for an online writing group!), drafting the challenge guidelines and easing everyone into the challenge. It quickly became clear that moderating could be a full time job! I had new appreciation for Nick. After several confused moments, it took me a good two months to breathe easy, and understand the nitty-gritties of running an online writing group.

Of course people dropped out. Though it sounds easy, the challenge required a lot of discipline. Around 18 people had joined, and by mid-year, only 9 remained. This was the core group, and we completed the year successfully, writing one short story a month. An anthology of the stories we wrote in 2014 is available on Kindle, at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TM7AC28

That online group had members from all over India, and from Hong Kong and Hawaii. Members started selling their stories, and one even won a national contest. It even got recognized in the media. The challenge is now in its second year, though only a few members are attempting it the second time. It happens and I perfectly understand. A challenge like this, to write a fresh story every month, can be sustained only if writing is in one of the Top 5 priorities in your life, and it often is not for most.

And now, it was time for the final test. A live writing group.

It remained my ultimate dream. I know the difference between an online community and a live one. The UK taught me that. There is a reason why so many literary masterpieces came from that country. Do you know that you have literary bars in London? I am not so greedy to expect that in conservative Chennai, but I needed at least a basic version of that! Magic happens when creative minds unite in the same room, and talk about their art. I wanted that magic. For myself, for my peers, for history.

Thanks to the short story in a month challenge, I was now confident enough to moderate a live group. When a random meetup was organized by the Chennai wing of Nanowrimo, I suggested my idea and it was met with warm support. I also contacted a couple of writers from the Short Story 12x12 challenge who were based in my city. After a few initial hiccups, Writers’ Ink (http://chennaiwriters.wordpress.com) was born.

Writers’ Ink members are a varied bunch, united by a love for writing and learning. The youngest is 22 and the oldest, well I am not going to tell, but almost all of us are published in some way or other, and open to critique feedback. We have a Whatsapp group to chat every day, and a FB group online where we hold nightly writing sprints. We meet once a month to chat and critique each other’s work.

Sometimes, I pinch myself! I quite cannot believe that the writing group exists. But it does. Not just because of me, but because of our members too - each and every member is needed for a community to be truly magical. Thanks to the collective spirit and support, even dedicated short story writers in our group have started trying their hand at novel writing. What else could I ask for? It is perfect. There is even a monthly kitty, which is used to purchase refreshments and go towards hall rent for the monthly meet.

I am always grateful to – God? Fate? Serendipity? Mark Z? – for having born in an era where it was possible for a budding writer in India to win a US fellowship, all thanks to a random post in an online forum. The Short Story 12x12 challenge would not be possible if not for Facebook and Googlegroups. Even Writers’ ink would not have been complete without an online place to hold our writing sprints, where every day, we get together online for 20 minutes to write our novel, step by step, bit by bit, word by word, because it takes a village to raise a child AND write a book.

Finally, I have a community. I am home.