Why Writer Friends are Indispensable

It's February. Valentine's Day approaches. And do you know what I love?

Fellow creatives.

That means you! Lovers of art and story and imagination.

Media often depicts creation as a solitary act. An artist toiling alone in a studio. A tortured musician hunched over her instrument. A tortured writer hunched over her keyboard.

And though we must retreat into our own imaginations to conceive an idea, demand the focus of absolute silence in order to birth it, creation is not an isolated endeavor.

We learn as a community. We grow as a community. We share memes, contests, advice, tools and tricks, ideas, inspiration. We drag each other out of maudlin moods by the hair. We make each other better.

And I live for it. I live for biweekly meetings with my local critique group. I live for the stories fellow writers post for feedback on Discord groups. I live for gushing over a new book or Twitter post from a favorite author. I live for the moments when life gets too hard and I can talk about how to turn that into art with people who dream the same sorts of dreams that I do.

If you, like me, fancy yourself a creator, find yourself a tribe. Your own little island of misfit toys. Find people who will love you but be honest with you, lift you up while encouraging you to do better. Who will love your creations nearly as much as you do, so much so that they’ll demand you give no less than your very best. And will expect you to do the same for them.

To all those who dare to create, who put their hearts on display for the world to see, all my love and respect to you <3