An Absolute Necessity for Your Writing Journey: You've Got To Have Friends

I just got back from the My Book Therapy Polish and Pitch Conference in Seattle. Bestselling author Susan May Warren and literary agent Chip MacGregor packed the weekend to overflowing with information.



I rewrote my novel's synopsis and got a realistic view of the publishing industry. (Thanks, Chip!) I put together and practiced my pitch and presented it to Chip on Saturday night. One of my questions: How do you bridge the nonfiction and fiction writing worlds? Chip's answer: You don't.


I went to the conference knowing I'd come away with more than enough information to apply to my writing. But there was another reason I plunked down money for a plane ticket, conference registration and hotel room: meeting up with my writing friends for an all-too-quick-and-all-the-more-precious weekend.


You'll hear it said again and again that writing is a solitary life. And it's true that you'll spend a lot of hours with just you and your computer.


But don't overlook the friendships you'll make along the way. The people you'll meet at writers conferences. The folks you chat with via Instant Messaging. Your online critique group who can come to understand your voice better than you do.


The women in the picture posted with this blog are some of my writing comrades. We live all over the country. We have different lifestyles. Different writing styles. But we are committed to one another--to cheering one another on as we pursue our writing dreams. We share our successes and failures with one another--and we even share our word counts. We're already planning when we can meet up at the next conference.



So, let me ask you: Who are the friends you've made along the Writing Road? What's the best thing about those friendships?