Friendly, aren't we?

If there's one thing I believe none of us can really live without, it's friends. I realize of course that some of us prefer to be alone, that we savor the time we spend by ourselves, but friendship is something that I believe every one of us can still admit that we need in order to fulfill some hole in our lives.

But here I'm going to talk about why friends are good for writers, four reasons why we need to surround ourselves with friends, and three type of good friends we should strive to find.

1. Friends help us create characters

Logic, right? I'm sure you've said before that your friends are characters, meaning that they're unique and interesting. Well, I say take some of those traits and put them into your writing. It'll make your characters feel far more real, because they're more closely based on real life.

2. They help build us up when we're down, and they encourage us to keep going, to keep writing (even if they're not readers)

We're artists, we're creators, and let's face it, we get down a lot. We use our emotion in our creation, and it's draining. But friends are good to have around in those times, because they'll always encourage us to keep going and to follow our dreams even when all we want to do is curl up in bed and binge watch The Walking Dead.

3. They provide a break from the insanity of a novel's end

True, your friends are probably pretty insane themselves, but at least it's not the type of insanity that's mostly going on inside your head. Spending time with friends, especially when you're writing the end of a novel or have been focused on the same short story for too long, can be a very welcome breath of fresh air.

4. They share in the joy when we succeed, and they sit by our sides in when we feel failures.

Friends want us to succeed. Real friends aren't jealous of us when we do good in life, they're happy for us and they celebrate by our sides. In turn, we get to do the same for them. And it's those moments that bring us closer together the more time passes by.

And as promised, three types of friends every writer should have...

1. Writer friends

Comeraderie, anyone?

2. Reader friends

"Hey, read this and let me know if it sucks."

And they will.

3. Friends who neither write nor read

These are good to have because they'll usually let you talk details of your story's plot, and they won't be too upset if you give anything away.


I hope that each of you have a close set of friends to rally by your side, and I trust you know how much I'm rooting for you!

[love]

{RD}