A Little Help From a Friend

There are always those times when a writer gets stuck with a particular piece. I have two humor articles that have been sitting on my hard-drive unfinished for a long time. I pulled them up again and started reading. Hmmm, they had potential, but I couldn't think of anything to add.

Luckily, I have a friend who also writes humor. She's terrifically funny and she thinks I'm funny too. Naturally, I turned to her to see what she thought of my unfinished pieces.

Now, there are some writers who cringe at the thought of showing anyone a piece of work that's unfinished or in a very rough stage, but sometimes it's crucial to get feedback from someone just to make sure an old piece is worth revisiting and reworking. Not just any someone will do either. It should be someone who is familar with the writer's work, knows something about the writing process and can offer advice on what needs to be done. Someone who is just a cheerleader isn't often helpful, but neither is someone who is too judgemental. I believe a writer has to find that special person (maybe persons) who strikes the right balance between blind enthusiasm and brutal honesty.

My friend and I met up on IM and I pasted what I had into the chat window. She enjoyed the first piece and said so. I trust her when she tells me "Yes, this is good. Keep going."

I showed her the second piece and that is when our conversation really took off. It was a subject with which she could identify. (It seems we both have "brown" thumbs and can't get house plants to grow.) Before long we were trying to top each other with funny, outrageous comments--trying to get the other to laugh. It worked wonders for a piece I thought was going nowhere because I thought I'd run out of funny things to say. I copied the whole conversation and soon I'll go back, pick and choose what I think are my best lines and get going with my article again.
Better yet, my friend, who hasn't written much in the last few years, says she's been inspired to give writing a whirl again. Hurray!

Writing can sometimes be a lonely, frustrating experience. Having writing friends to turn to, who have "been there," can relieve some of the frustration---it sure helps with the lonely feelings too.