The power of friendship is something we hear throughout our lives, especially when we are children. But I want to talk about a different kind of friendship—a writer friendship. This past week was my vacation away from work and I spent it with my friend who I haven’t seen in two years due to distance. Stephanie, or as I call her Stephie, and I met in college about five or six years ago. And to be honest, when we first met, she was so bubbly I couldn’t imagine how someone had that much energy! But, our acquaintanceship blossomed into a friendship and we’ve been tight ever since!
Now, what does this have to do with writing? Well, Stephanie is a writer like myself and we deal with similar genres. During our college years, she taught me so many new writing techniques that I would have never thought about in a million years. It’s because of her that I am the writer I am today. Throughout this week we’ve gone on so many adventures and each one we go on, she inadvertently gave me some more writing tips that I didn’t think about. For example, we were watching a reality show that was on TV and she suggested, “This is a really fun show! All these contestants have their own story that you could use them as inspiration for a character!” This thought never crossed my mind, but now I want to go back and watch every reality show because she was right!
We even took a day and went on a book crawl (its like a pub crawl but with books). And because of Stephanie, I have a to-read list larger than my phone notes can handle. I’m telling you, guys, if you get the chance, think of that one writer friend in your life and go on a crazy adventure with them this summer, and if you aren’t able to…video chat with them! Listen to their helpful suggestions and maybe you’ll get some great ideas for your next writing project!